Here is an excerpt from an article written by Lynda Gratton and Tamara J. Erickson for Harvard Business Review and the HBR Blog Network. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, obtain subscription information, and receive HBR email alerts, please click here.

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When tackling a major initiative like an acquisition or an overhaul of IT systems, companies rely on large, diverse teams of highly educated specialists to get the job done. These teams often are convened quickly to meet an urgent need and work together virtually, collaborating online and sometimes over long distances.

Appointing such a team is frequently the only way to assemble the knowledge and breadth required to pull off many of the complex tasks businesses face today. When the BBC covers the World Cup or the Olympics, for instance, it gathers a large team of researchers, writers, producers, cameramen, and technicians, many of whom have not met before the project. These specialists work together under the high pressure of a “no retake” environment, with just one chance to record the action. Similarly, when the central IT team at Marriott sets out to develop sophisticated systems to enhance guest experiences, it has to collaborate closely with independent hotel owners, customer-experience experts, global brand managers, and regional heads, each with his or her own agenda and needs.

Our recent research into team behavior at 15 multinational companies, however, reveals an interesting paradox: Although teams that are large, virtual, diverse, and composed of highly educated specialists are increasingly crucial with challenging projects, those same four characteristics make it hard for teams to get anything done. To put it another way, the qualities required for success are the same qualities that undermine success. Members of complex teams are less likely—absent other influences—to share knowledge freely, to learn from one another, to shift workloads flexibly to break up unexpected bottlenecks, to help one another complete jobs and meet deadlines, and to share resources—in other words, to collaborate. They are less likely to say that they “sink or swim” together, want one another to succeed, or view their goals as compatible.

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Here are the eight team success factors that Gratton and Erickson discuss:

1.”Signature” relationship practices that build bonds among the staff, in memorable ways that are particularly suited to a company’s business

2. Role models of collaboration among executives, which help cooperation trickle down to the staff

3. The establishment of a “gift culture,” in which managers support employees by mentoring them

Note: The “gifts” shared are prior experience, knowledge, skills, techniques, appreciation, and encouragement.

4. Training in relationship skills, such as communication and conflict resolution

5. A sense of community, which corporate HR can foster by sponsoring group activities

6. Ambidextrous leadership, or leaders who are both task-oriented and relationship-oriented

7. Good use of heritage relationships, by populating teams with members who know and trust one another 8. Role clarity and task ambiguity, achieved by defining individual roles sharply but giving teams latitude on approach

8. Role clarity and task ambiguity, achieved by defining individual roles sharply but giving teams latitude on approach

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Here is a direct link to the complete article.

Lynda Gratton is Professor of Management Practice at London Business School where she directs the program ‘Human Resource Strategy in Transforming Companies. Her most recent book is The Shift: The Future of Work is Already Here.

Tamara J. Erickson (tammy@tammyerickson.com) is the author of a trilogy of books on generations in the workforce and has written several articles for HBR, including” It’s Time to Retire Retirement” (March 2004), which won a McKinsey Award. A member of the Boomer generation, she is based in Boston.

Also, I highly recommend Team Genius: The New Science of High-Performing Organizations, co-authored by Rich Karlgaard and Michael S. Malone and published by HarperBusiness (July 2015).