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gical collaborations that delivered stunning improvements in the 1990s and early 2000s, organizations have continually searched for ways to enhance their teams%u2019 effectiveness.Today, companies of all types are called on to demonstrate integrated, cross-functional, project-based teamwork in their operations. In the tech world, for example, software engineers are expected to connect with sales teams, data scientists to work on personnel projects, and user-experience designers to partner with plant managers. Team members may be working together not only from different offices but on different continents. Some industries seem to have cracked the code on highfunctioning teamwork%u2014software and manufacturing organizations in particular. Other industries, such as those that are more knowledge-based, are playing catch-up.Traditional thinking around how to innovate teamwork has often been based on intuition and observation, with a dash of psychology. But increasingly we face an environment of constant change and disruption, and new ideas about how to create well-functioning teams are emerging; some are based on experience, some are guided by new practices, and some are being made up on the fly. None of this has yet cohered into a systematic approach to improving how teams work.In recent years at McKinsey, we%u2019ve devoted ourselves to developing a new science of teamwork for our organization. This approach allows us to understand how our 4,000-plus teams are performing and to intervene when necessary. It combines the best of established wisdom with new data-driven techniques and insights. It relies on testing, learning, analysis, adaptation, and improvement%u2014in real time and with accountability%u2014to enable continuous learning. And it includes metrics that link practices to outcomes, for both individuals and teams. We have used the framework to test hypotheses about how teams work best and to apply insights to improve performance. We have applied this work not only internally but also at several of the companies that we advise, building on previous learning to understand what effective, crossfunctional teamwork looks like in different contexts.In this article, we present three key principles of our approach that can help teams in any organization perform at their best. And we describe%u2014through examples and a set of action plans how to put them into practice.1. Develop an Operating SystemWe use the term %u201coperating system%u201d to mean the building blocks for the way team members collaborate, create change, and support one another. Effective operating systems vary widely, depending on the needs and norms of the organization. What they all have in common is that they set out a view of how teams