Recent decades have witnessed the fields of neuroscience and psychology advance the insight that feeling a part of a vibrant community enhances a group’s success, however that is defined. This simple insight can be applied to many endeavors, ranging from civic organizations to businesses. When structured correctly, belonging can attract skilled employees while producing first-rate results. In this book, David Burkus seeks to instill readers with virtues that enhance a team’s well-being and success.

Burkus’ thesis is that common understanding, psychological safety, and prosocial purpose feed off of each other to produce both happier team members and high performance. He does bring out a few quantitative statistics to bolster his case, but he mostly inspires through well-researched stories. This book, in many ways, falls under the genre of inspiration for management, business, and leadership more than a carefully argued or reasoned case.

That leads me to the main drawback of this book. It is high on the pathos through inspirational stories; it’s also high on ethos through examples of well-known organizations; but it lacks logos via a methodical, research-driven case. It feels like church, only for teamwork. Now, I go to church, and I like teamwork. So there’s nothing wrong with these. Nonetheless, given this book’s subtitle touting “surprising science,” I just wanted more cognitive stimulation than I found. Indeed, the theme of the strong value of community can be found all over today’s business books. I wanted more originality.

Team and organizational leaders serve as an obvious audience for this book, but anyone who wants to work better with teammates can benefit. Books like this can get my eyes off of just fulfilling my desires and refocus my eyes onto helping those around me fulfill their challenges. Since reading this book, I’ve started to listen more deliberately and attentively to colleagues’ updates in meetings. And that’s all you can ask for a book like this: to gain a few nuggets to make your performance just a little better. ( )