The hottest Team Dynamics Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

The "Macros" for healthy engineering teams - part 1: Carbs

The Healthy Engineering Leader • 19 implied HN points • 19 Mar 24
💼 Business Team Dynamics Leadership Motivation Performance Collaboration
  1. Just like our bodies need carbs for energy, engineering teams need motivation to stay productive and innovative. Motivation drives teamwork and helps in overcoming challenges.
  2. Understanding and recognizing the importance of tasks keeps team members engaged, similar to how complex carbs provide lasting energy. When people see their work as meaningful, they stay motivated longer.
  3. Effective coordination within a team acts like fiber in our diet, helping everything run smoothly. Good teamwork and communication lead to better performance, especially in remote settings.

The Daily Scrum

Rethinking Software • 29 HN points • 25 Sep 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Project management Agile methodologies Team Dynamics Workplace culture
  1. Daily Scrum meetings can feel like micromanagement and add stress to developers. It often makes people feel pressured to justify their productivity.
  2. Development work is not always linear, and sometimes progress takes time. It’s okay if some days don’t yield immediate results.
  3. Scrum's requirement for daily check-ins suggests a lack of trust in developers. It would be better if teams could choose when and how to meet, respecting their autonomy.

How do you go so fast?

Sunday Letters • 119 implied HN points • 17 Jan 23
💼 Business Management Productivity Team Dynamics Innovation Leadership
  1. In bigger companies, things can slow down because there are many people involved and a lot of requirements. It's easy to get used to this slow pace, but it's important to push for speed when working on new projects.
  2. People often mistake being busy with actually making progress. Sitting in meetings and creating documents doesn’t always mean you are building something valuable for users.
  3. Moving quickly can be challenging because you have to adapt and learn while you go. It requires a different mindset and the willingness to take risks while focusing on what matters most.

Ode to Tuckman

Wednesday Wisdom • 47 implied HN points • 07 Mar 24
💼 Business Team Management Leadership Team Dynamics Team development
  1. High performing teams are not just a group of senior rockstars; diversity in levels, skills, and personalities leads to better outcomes.
  2. High performing teams need to go through Tuckman's stages of Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing to establish trust, norms, and identity before delivering quality work.
  3. Leadership is about adapting to team needs - understanding team diversity and dynamics is key for team success.
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Asking versus telling

Sunday Letters • 179 implied HN points • 14 Aug 22
🕹 Technology Software Development Team Dynamics Communication Problem Solving
  1. It's important to ask questions instead of just telling people they're wrong. This helps avoid defensiveness and opens up communication.
  2. When you ask questions, be genuine and curious about the other person's perspective. It’s not just about getting your point across.
  3. Understanding someone’s reasoning and context can help change their mind. Telling them they're wrong often just makes them defensive.

Evaluating Team Effectiveness with a Data-first Approach | Bhavini Soneji, Executive Leader (ex-Cruise, Headspace, Microsoft)

platocommunity • 19 implied HN points • 15 Feb 24
💼 Business Leadership Metrics Team Dynamics Execution Measurement
  1. Empowering people to discover their strengths and amplify their impact is key in leadership.
  2. When measuring team effectiveness, consider the three buckets: what (strategic value), how (execution), and who (team dynamics).
  3. Combining measurement with follow-through techniques is crucial to determine if you're measuring the right things and drive continuous improvement.

Conquering the Dreaded Annual Plan

Build To Scale • 39 implied HN points • 17 Oct 23
💼 Business Planning Management Team Dynamics Resources
  1. Annual planning is crucial but understand that it's a flexible roadmap, not a rigid rulebook for the year ahead
  2. Using SWOT analysis can help identify internal strengths, weaknesses, and external opportunities, threats to guide strategic initiatives
  3. Evaluate your team's readiness to scale, recognize their strengths, weaknesses, and consider bringing in new talent as needed

Groundhog Day: Don't expect anything new (or young) from the Warriors next season.

C.W.’s Newsletter • 39 implied HN points • 13 May 23
🎾 Sports Basketball Team Dynamics Player development
  1. The Warriors seem to be sticking with their core players rather than incorporating new or young talent next season.
  2. The team's decisions on playing time have drawn questions, especially regarding young players like Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga.
  3. There is a need for the Warriors to get bigger, younger, and faster to improve their performance, but they may not make significant changes.

Measuring the Productivity of Developers

burkhardstubert • 39 implied HN points • 04 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Productivity Metrics Organizational Culture Team Dynamics
  1. McKinsey suggests measuring developer productivity using new metrics that track time spent on development versus other tasks. This way, they want to see more time in real coding and less in meetings.
  2. Orosz and Beck argue that measuring effort or output isn't very useful because people might manipulate those numbers. Instead, they say to focus on the actual effects of the work, like the value that reaches customers.
  3. Team performance is more important than individual effort. It's better to measure how well a team works together than to judge each person separately.

Drama, Disorder, and Disintegration: The Many Faces of Dysfunctional Leadership Teams

The Leadership Lab • 39 implied HN points • 22 Jan 23
💼 Business Leadership Team Dynamics Communication Organization Management
  1. Having a conscious, connected, and effective leadership team is crucial for success. It's like having a stable stool with three legs - missing one means imbalance and struggle.
  2. Identifying the state of your leadership team is key - from disintegration when all aspects are missing, to different scenarios like codependence and friction with one missing aspect, or specific challenges with two missing aspects.
  3. The ideal is a complete team with all three aspects in place - conscious, connected, and effective. This requires dedication and commitment from all team members to maintain the standard.

Psychological safety: ‘You no longer have the option of leading through fear’

Make Work Better • 76 implied HN points • 21 Jul 23
💼 Business Workplace culture Team Dynamics Remote work
  1. Psychological safety allows constructive disagreement and reduces interpersonal risk.
  2. Teams can build psychological safety by bonding through tasks, normalizing learning from mistakes, and ensuring everyone feels 'seen'.
  3. Seeking input with humility and openness is key in fostering psychological safety in high-performing teams.

Brief thoughts on product management

Logos • 39 implied HN points • 11 Jul 23
💼 Business Management Leadership Product Development Organizational Behavior Team Dynamics
  1. The term 'product manager' can mean different things in different companies, which makes it confusing. This lack of clear definition can lead to misunderstandings and inefficiencies.
  2. Many roles within product management can overlap, such as those of engineers, designers, and analysts. It's important to recognize these roles and how they can work together in teams.
  3. A new approach could be to form multi-functional teams without a designated PM role, allowing individuals to grow into leadership positions while keeping their functional expertise.

Episode 32: Better Built By Burkhard

burkhardstubert • 79 implied HN points • 15 Dec 22
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Software Development Change Management Continuous Delivery Team Dynamics
  1. Continuous Delivery can greatly improve software development efficiency. It reduces the time for building and testing, leading to faster and more reliable integrations.
  2. Organizations should focus on both technical and social aspects to optimize their performance. The way teams are structured influences how the software is developed, so it's key to align team setups with software architecture.
  3. Successful change in organizations is best achieved by starting with willing participants. Using principles like attraction and scarcity can help create interested teams who want to improve rather than forcing everyone to follow new practices.

Scrum's "Product Owner" Problem

Rethinking Software • 14 HN points • 03 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Agile Methodology Product Management Engineering Practices Team Dynamics
  1. Product Owners should provide information, not direct decisions. Engineers need real-time data to make informed choices, rather than just waiting for orders.
  2. Engineering teams should ask deeper questions to understand their customers and competitors better. This helps them create better solutions instead of just following a checklist.
  3. The relationship between Product Owners and Engineers should resemble a restaurant. Product Owners gather customer insights while Engineers create the dishes, allowing for better quality and innovation.

Language isn't the cure

Sunday Letters • 119 implied HN points • 01 May 22
🕹 Technology Software Development Programming Languages System Design Team Dynamics Innovation
  1. New programming languages or techniques won't solve old problems. Teams need to focus on fixing their systems before expecting a new language to make things better.
  2. People often believe learning a new language will improve their skills, but it doesn't address deeper issues like organization or trust. Just like learning a different language won’t make someone a great writer.
  3. Fixing systemic team issues takes hard work and discipline. Sometimes, sticking with familiar tools can be more effective than constantly chasing new options.

Issue #18 – Organisational Structures for Today's Data Realities

The Data Ecosystem • 1 HN point • 11 Aug 24
💼 Business Organizational Structure Data Strategy Team Dynamics Leadership Collaboration
  1. Organizing data teams is tricky because they need to work with different departments. Companies often struggle to define who owns data responsibilities since data is needed everywhere.
  2. Data roles are changing fast, making it hard for teams to have clear structures. As new roles appear, it can get confusing to know where everyone should fit within the team.
  3. Choosing the right structure for data teams is important and should align with a company's goals. There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer, and each company needs to find what works best for them.

#2: Degrees of freedom

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 379 implied HN points • 13 Nov 19
💼 Business Management Team Dynamics Culinary Arts Risk management
  1. To handle unexpected problems, a team needs the freedom to act. This freedom helps them adapt and respond to changing situations.
  2. Giving people freedom in their work can lead to mistakes, but it also allows for creative solutions. Balancing freedom and structure is important.
  3. Organizations that embrace both risks and uncertainties are often better at dealing with surprises. This means they can thrive even when things don’t go as planned.

Why influence without authority is a vital skill for anyone

The Caring Techie Newsletter • 27 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
💼 Business Leadership Management Career growth Team Dynamics Organizational Behavior
  1. Influence without authority is a vital skill for everyone, from individual contributors to senior management.
  2. To get things done efficiently, you need to master the art of influencing without authority.
  3. Influencing without authority is essential for achieving career growth, turning ideas into reality, and building valuable relationships.

Nugget interactions

Splattern • 19 implied HN points • 18 Oct 23
🎭️ Culture Team Dynamics Work Environment Creativity Personal Growth Art Appreciation
  1. Team bonding is important for a positive work environment. Everyone had fun during the lunch meeting, showing that a high-performing team can still enjoy each other's company.
  2. Setting clear goals and planning tasks can increase productivity. One engineer felt proud to share that his work velocity improved when he had defined milestones.
  3. Ambition can be a double-edged sword in creative work. A local artist believes that staying present and less ambitious helps him create better art.

Is Your Team a Cost Centre Without Product Understanding?

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 19 implied HN points • 31 Jul 23
💼 Business Team Dynamics Product Management Engineering Tech Culture Product Development
  1. Product understanding is crucial for a strong team. A team without it may struggle to bring products to market efficiently.
  2. Ensuring a strong product culture is essential. It involves keeping the product team and founders aligned and integrated into the engineering process.
  3. Maintaining a balance between product and engineering value streams is key. This helps in avoiding a disconnect that can make a team function more as a cost center.

Answer three questions to make remote work productive for your company

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 19 implied HN points • 26 Sep 23
💼 Business Management Remote work Productivity Team Dynamics Corporate culture
  1. It's important for companies to measure performance at individual, team, and organizational levels. This helps make sure everyone is contributing to their goals.
  2. Culture matters a lot in remote work. A strong culture can keep workers connected and motivated, even when they are not in the same physical space.
  3. Employee satisfaction is key. Happy employees are usually more productive, so companies should focus on what makes their workers feel valued and fulfilled.

Engineering Managers Influence Limiting Beliefs

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 19 implied HN points • 18 Jul 23
💼 Business Management Team Dynamics Tech industry
  1. Engineering managers play a crucial role in addressing and overcoming limiting beliefs within their teams.
  2. It's important for managers to focus on inspiring and supporting their team members, rather than just the technical aspects of the work.
  3. Challenges like unsuccessful projects, financial setbacks, and technical debt are common in tech teams, but they can be opportunities for growth and improvement.

Meetings

Splattern • 19 implied HN points • 20 Sep 23
💼 Business Meetings Management Productivity Team Dynamics Communication
  1. Meetings often lack a clear agenda and can derail into side discussions, making them less efficient. It's important to have a structured plan to keep everyone focused.
  2. Bringing together different team representatives in a meeting can be beneficial for making well-rounded decisions. However, managing all these perspectives can be challenging.
  3. Taking the time to communicate effectively and set clear expectations can help ensure that meetings achieve their goals without running over time.

👻 Fight 💥

Venture Prose • 219 implied HN points • 29 Apr 20
💼 Business Venture Capital Entrepreneurship Leadership Conflict resolution Team Dynamics
  1. The importance of defending against disrespectful behavior and engaging in constructive conflicts to potentially change one's own perspective.
  2. Having a growth mindset involves welcoming different views and understanding others' feelings for fruitful discussions.
  3. Emphasizing positive honesty and the need for respectful engagement in discussions, negotiations, and conflicts.

Sunday Letters - what, who, and why

Sunday Letters • 119 implied HN points • 03 Oct 21
💼 Business Leadership Innovation Career Advice Team Dynamics Organizational Behavior
  1. The Sunday Letters started as updates to a team but evolved into discussions on broader themes like leadership and innovation.
  2. They serve as reflections and pieces of advice that the writer wishes he had known earlier in his career.
  3. Writing these letters regularly helps the author stay attentive to patterns in leadership and fosters good conversations around ideas.

The worst project manager ever: a total idiot

Respectful Leadership • 54 implied HN points • 22 Mar 23
💼 Business Management Leadership Project management Team Dynamics
  1. Qualities of a great project manager are qualitative and include moral convictions, confidence, and perceptiveness, rather than just formal credentials.
  2. Respect is key in achieving excellent project management: respecting time, understanding priorities, and communicating effectively define a good project manager.
  3. Dealing with changing priorities respectfully involves supporting the team emotionally, being transparent about costs and time estimates, and facilitating collaboration between different levels of staff.

Let's cut some cake

Sunday Letters • 79 implied HN points • 20 Mar 22
🚌 Education Decision-making Mathematics Team Dynamics Problem Solving Collaboration
  1. To share something fairly, one person should cut it while the other picks their piece. This way, both care about fairness.
  2. In team discussions or disagreements, break down decisions into parts to find common ground and make it easier for everyone to agree.
  3. Using a math-based approach can help settle arguments quickly and fairly, showing that cooperation can work better than fighting.

Principles and discomfort

Sunday Letters • 59 implied HN points • 31 Jul 22
💼 Business Management Culture Strategy Decision-making Team Dynamics
  1. Companies should write down their principles, but they need to focus on real-life situations. It's important to consider what happens during conflicts or tight deadlines.
  2. It's good to prioritize principles so everyone knows what matters most. Listing trade-offs can help teams make better decisions when things get tough.
  3. Successful teams must design principles that reflect real choices and constraints. This way, they can handle stress better and understand what they truly value.

Fear and metrics

Sunday Letters • 59 implied HN points • 30 May 22
🕹 Technology Growth Strategies Team Dynamics Long-term Planning
  1. Balancing short-term and long-term thinking is crucial for success. It's important to choose wisely between quick fixes and sustainable solutions.
  2. When measuring growth, it's easy to manipulate numbers to tell a comfortable story. Understanding both absolute growth and market share provides a clearer picture.
  3. Choosing comfort in metrics can lead to problems later, just like quick hacks can create tech debt. It's essential to prioritize long-term health over short-term ease.

Psychological Safety and Norm Clarity in Software Engineering Teams

Engineering Enablement • 21 implied HN points • 25 Aug 23
💼 Business Productivity Team Dynamics Leadership Research Effectiveness
  1. Team norm clarity is a stronger predictor of performance and satisfaction than psychological safety.
  2. Psychological safety and team norm clarity are both important for team performance and job satisfaction.
  3. Focusing on team norm clarity has a more significant impact on performance and satisfaction than psychological safety.

Money does not make a great product

Tech Ramblings • 19 implied HN points • 15 Jan 23
💼 Business Startups Product Development Team Dynamics Efficiency Entrepreneurship
  1. Money alone doesn't guarantee a great product. Instead, you need skilled experts and a dedicated team who really care about the work.
  2. A smaller, focused team can often create better outcomes than a large group. Quality and commitment are more important than throwing money at a problem.
  3. Dedication matters more than expertise. Strong work ethic is key, and having a passionate team can lead to innovative solutions and success.