The hottest Teamwork Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

Nevermore

Secretum Secretorum • 454 implied HN points • 21 Jan 25
🎾 Sports Football Athletes Games Teamwork Fan culture
  1. Sports can evoke strong emotions and create alternate realities in our minds. After a tough loss, it can be helpful to imagine a better outcome.
  2. There are words or ideas that can deeply affect us, either breaking us down or helping us heal. It's important to recognize both the harsh truths and the potential for recovery.
  3. In life, teamwork and understanding are crucial. Just like in sports, everyone plays a role, and being supportive can help everyone move forward together.

7 Estimation blunders

Ageling on Agile • 39 implied HN points • 24 Oct 24
💼 Business Management Agile Software Teamwork Estimation
  1. Estimating work is hard, especially for complex tasks. It's okay to acknowledge that some work can't be easily estimated and to focus on learning instead.
  2. Teams often have different opinions on estimates, which can lead to valuable discussions. These conversations help everyone align on the work and understand each other's perspectives.
  3. Estimates shouldn't be treated as strict commitments. If people outside the team are pushing for deadlines based on estimates, it's important to push back and clarify that estimates are just rough calculations.

Group meetings waste time

Respectful Leadership • 108 implied HN points • 25 Jan 25
💼 Business Management Marketing Teamwork Productivity Collaboration
  1. Group meetings can take too long and often don't use everyone's time well. Fewer people in meetings may lead to better and faster decisions.
  2. It's helpful to have a single person from each team act as a bridge during meetings. This keeps the focus on their main jobs while still solving issues together.
  3. A good manager knows when to end long discussions and helps keep teams on track. The best solution may be to avoid unnecessary meetings altogether.

So You Want To Become an Engineering Manager

Diary of an Engineering Manager • 539 implied HN points • 08 Aug 24
💼 Business Management Careers Skills Leadership Teamwork
  1. Make your career goals clear by sharing your intent with your manager. Talking about your desire to become an engineering manager will help you get guidance and support.
  2. Focus on developing crucial skills like self-awareness, people skills, and project management. These skills are essential for leading a team effectively.
  3. Look for growth opportunities within your current company or elsewhere. Being prepared is important, but finding the right chance to step into an EM role is key.

The Captain Class

Software Design: Tidy First? • 1082 implied HN points • 01 Nov 24
🎾 Sports Leadership Teamwork Communication Psychology Success
  1. Great sports teams have successful captains who share important traits. These traits include perseverance, pushing boundaries, and doing hard work for the team.
  2. Captains are key to strong teamwork because they communicate well and can handle tough conversations. They help keep the team focused and motivated.
  3. Organizations should recognize and support the behaviors that good captains display. This support helps teams improve and succeed together.
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Scrum Is No Excuse To Avoid Accountabilities

Ageling on Agile • 99 implied HN points • 03 Oct 24
💼 Business Management Agile Productivity Teamwork
  1. Scrum helps teams work better, but it doesn't mean people can ignore their responsibilities. Everyone needs to step up and be accountable.
  2. Self-management in Scrum isn't just about freedoms; it also includes taking on duties and being responsible for their work.
  3. It's important for everyone in a Scrum team to communicate clearly and understand what is needed to succeed, especially regarding project timelines.

What Is Being An Engineering Manager Like

Diary of an Engineering Manager • 119 implied HN points • 05 Sep 24
💼 Business Management Leadership Teamwork Career development Work Culture
  1. An engineering manager's role is more about teamwork than just giving orders. It's important to work together and support each other.
  2. The manager's job is like being a driver on a road trip. They navigate and ensure everyone is comfortable and safe along the journey.
  3. Being an engineering manager doesn't mean being smarter than everyone else. It means having different responsibilities while being part of the team.

3 Ways To Thrive.

The Future Does Not Fit In The Containers Of The Past • 25 implied HN points • 19 Jan 25
💼 Business Leadership Teamwork Strategy Organizational Culture Innovation
  1. Finding balance is important. It means weighing the old ways against new ideas to grow and adapt.
  2. Unity helps teams succeed. When everyone shares a common goal and works together, they can achieve more than just individual talents.
  3. Integration is about blending different perspectives. It means accepting and using diverse opinions and ideas to create strong solutions.

TBM 323: Quick Tool Tips

The Beautiful Mess • 542 implied HN points • 21 Nov 24
💼 Business Management Strategy Tools Processes Teamwork
  1. Make tools fit your needs by trying them out and getting feedback. This way, you can avoid forcing your team into a system that doesn't help anyone.
  2. Involve all kinds of team members in decisions about tools. If you only ask certain roles, you might miss out on important ideas and needs from others.
  3. Start simple before automating. Test simple methods first to see what works, then build on those ideas rather than jumping straight into complicated solutions.

Bayer Leverkusen's Fairy Tale Season

Original Football • 279 implied HN points • 10 May 24
🎾 Sports Football Teamwork Coaching Success Resilience
  1. Bayer Leverkusen had a remarkable season with 49 consecutive games undefeated, solid teamwork, and late dramatic goals.
  2. Xabi Alonso, Leverkusen's coach, played a pivotal role with his tactical brilliance, leadership, and experience.
  3. Leverkusen's success is attributed to resilient players, Alonso's positive influence, and the team's strong unity.

Putting the I in Team

In My Tribe • 364 implied HN points • 02 Dec 24
💼 Business Management Workplace Teamwork Employee Relations Organizational Behavior
  1. Teamwork relies on everyone doing their part. If some people don't contribute, it can hurt the whole team's chances of success.
  2. Hiring people who are responsible and committed can help encourage teamwork. When employees feel connected to their mission or colleagues, they're less likely to slack off.
  3. Measuring how well employees cooperate can improve teamwork. Giving clear examples of what good teamwork looks like can help everyone understand how to contribute.

No more Theatre: How I embraced failure as an Engineering Leader

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 139 implied HN points • 20 May 24
💼 Business Leadership Teamwork Success Coaching Learning
  1. Leaders need to embrace failure and turn it into a learning opportunity without fear of judgment.
  2. Teams require leaders to set clear boundaries, values, and expectations to create a psychologically safe environment.
  3. Continuous delivery in engineering leadership involves delivering faster, reducing stress, fostering a positive environment, and supporting team growth.

How to grow from a mid-level to senior Data Engineer

SeattleDataGuy’s Newsletter • 694 implied HN points • 14 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Data Engineering Software Engineering Learning Teamwork Leadership
  1. To grow from mid to senior level, it's important to continuously learn and improve, share new knowledge, work on code improvements, and become an expert in a certain domain.
  2. Making the team better is crucial - focus on mentoring, sharing knowledge, and creating a positive team environment. Think beyond individual tasks to impact the overall team outcomes.
  3. Seniority includes building not just technical solutions, but solutions that customers love. Challenge requirements, understand the business and product, and take initiative in problem-solving.

Looking for problems instead of solutions

Sunday Letters • 99 implied HN points • 27 May 24
💼 Business Mindset Problem Solving Teamwork Leadership Productivity
  1. It's important to focus on solutions rather than just identifying problems. Always looking for issues can slow down progress and creativity.
  2. Effective people know when to take action, even if they don't have all the details. It's okay to jump into something and learn as you go.
  3. When you have concerns, think about whether they are relevant now or just distractions. Finding solutions should be your priority to keep moving forward.

How Leaders Can Make the Open Door Policy, Inclusive

Thinking Through • 750 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
💼 Business Leadership Diversity Inclusion Teamwork Psychological safety
  1. Two things must be true for someone to take advantage of an open-door policy: self-confidence and psychological safety.
  2. Psychological safety in a team means feeling okay to take risks, express ideas, ask questions, and admit mistakes without fear of negative consequences.
  3. To build a psychologically safe environment, leaders can practice candidness, sharing mistakes, inclusive language, encouraging team input, and teaching team members to grow.

high drama over the krka

derailleur • 959 implied HN points • 18 Jun 23
🎾 Sports Cycling Competition Emotions Teamwork Victory
  1. The Tour of Slovenia's fifth stage featured high drama over the Krka river.
  2. The top contenders in the race were separated by mere seconds, making the competition intense and close.
  3. Matej Mohorič won the stage, honoring a fallen cyclist and emphasizing the importance of cherishing every moment in cycling.

2024 NBA Finals Leadership Lessons

DruGroup • 79 implied HN points • 04 Jun 24
🎾 Sports Leadership Teamwork Motivation Strategy Performance
  1. Success can lead to complacency. When teams or leaders get too comfortable after success, they often fail later on. It’s important to stay humble and keep pushing forward.
  2. Failure can be a stepping stone to success. Just because something didn't work out before doesn't mean it can't succeed later. Learning and adapting can turn past failures into future wins.
  3. Having great team players is key to winning. In basketball, no one can do it alone. It's important to recognize and appreciate the role of all team members in achieving success.

Vitamin C for Engineering Teams: Building Resiliency through Compassion

The Healthy Engineering Leader • 39 implied HN points • 20 Jun 24
💼 Business Leadership Teamwork Communication Emotional Intelligence Workplace culture
  1. Compassion helps build strong and resilient teams, especially during tough times. Just like Vitamin C boosts our health, compassion boosts team spirit.
  2. Good communication is crucial for leaders. By talking openly and listening to team members, leaders can create a safe space where everyone feels valued.
  3. Giving teams time and freedom to recharge can make a big difference. Leaders should encourage breaks or fun activities to help everyone cope with stress better.

The Cultural Characteristics of Fast-Paced, High-Performance Teams

Voohy Leadership Insights • 2 HN points • 15 Sep 24
💼 Business Teamwork Leadership Innovation Management Performance
  1. Teams work best when all members collaborate to solve problems together. It's important for everyone to see problems as shared challenges.
  2. Recognizing and valuing each team member's contributions helps build trust and improves teamwork. This makes it easier to work through complex tasks.
  3. Diverse skills within a team can lead to great ideas, but can also cause confusion. Leaders should encourage collaboration and shared problem-solving to bridge these gaps.

When Orgs Become Siloed

Suzan's Fieldnotes • 98 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
💼 Business Leadership Organizational Culture Teamwork Management
  1. Leadership is a shared experience, not an individual effort. A siloed leadership team can lead to a siloed organization. To shift organizational behavior, start at the leadership layer.
  2. Signs of a siloed culture include individualism, rise of 'poop umbrellas', influence behind closed doors, and apathy turning into fear. These signs can lead to missed business goals and a slipping company culture.
  3. Siloed cultures often form unintentionally due to tough market conditions, organizational changes, focus on individual parts instead of the system, and lack of intentional culture. Realignment starts by rallying the team around shared objectives, identifying desired team culture, and rewarding desired values.

Managing Inside Growing Companies

Lessons • 176 implied HN points • 21 Feb 23
💼 Business Management Leadership Startups Growth Teamwork
  1. Managers inside growing companies need to accept that change is constant, and it's important to focus on facilitating the process of finding solutions rather than having all the answers.
  2. It's okay for managers to acknowledge and accept the things they cannot control, and instead, focus on what they can control to set their team up for success.
  3. Helping people on your team grow and learn is a crucial aspect that managers can control and should prioritize in a growing company environment.

RDEL #25: How can engineering managers improve the OKR and goal setting process?

Research-Driven Engineering Leadership • 99 implied HN points • 15 Jan 24
💼 Business Management Teamwork Strategy Communication Data
  1. Improving the OKR process can enhance team development by focusing on effective goal setting methods.
  2. Investing in data quality and transparency and promoting communication can address challenges in working with others and ensuring alignment on goals.
  3. Striving for consistency, promoting learning communities, and guiding teams in OKR implementation can lead to successful adoption and use of OKRs across the organization.

Simple phrases to make your TDD pairing more enjoyable

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 79 implied HN points • 14 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Communication Teamwork
  1. Communication during pair programming is a skill that can be learned and improved. Adapt to better communicate with your team.
  2. In Test-Driven Development (TDD), not only technical aspects matter, but also how the team interacts. Share code, responsibilities, and voice disagreements effectively.
  3. Consider subscribing to publications like Crafting Tech Teams for more insights into improving team dynamics in TDD.

8 Ways Organizational Culture Kills Agility

Ageling on Agile • 79 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
💼 Business Organizational Culture Agility Management Teamwork
  1. Implementing Agile in an organization goes beyond just claiming to be Agile; it requires a cultural shift.
  2. Having a hierarchical structure, lack of learning culture, and siloed responsibilities can hinder an organization's agility.
  3. Organizations valuing output over outcome, prioritizing individual efficiency, and fostering HIPPO culture undermine Agile principles and hinder effectiveness.

Nine rules for effective meetings

A Bit Gamey • 6 implied HN points • 15 Dec 24
💼 Business Management Leadership Productivity Meetings Teamwork
  1. Every meeting should have a clear leader and a specific purpose. This helps everyone know what to focus on and what to achieve.
  2. It's important to keep everyone involved in the discussion, but also to stay on topic. This means selecting participants carefully and using tools to stay organized.
  3. Conclude meetings with clear actions and responsibilities. This ensures that everyone knows what they need to do next and helps keep things moving forward.

The Inspiring Team Spirit Behind Apple TV's Ted Lasso

PeopleStorming • 79 implied HN points • 27 Jun 23
🎭️ Culture Inspiration Leadership Diversity Collaboration Teamwork
  1. Passionate and dedicated individuals inspire and unite a team to achieve remarkable outcomes.
  2. Promoting humble leadership and recognizing the contributions of team members is key to fostering a positive work culture.
  3. Encouraging diverse contributions and allowing individuals to explore different roles can lead to unexpected strengths and richer results.

As an engineering leader, you’re not managing a cruise ship. You’re managing a flotilla.

Developing Leadership • 78 implied HN points • 07 Apr 23
💼 Business Leadership Management Teamwork Communication Collaboration
  1. As an engineering leader, don't treat your organization like a cruise ship, but rather like a flotilla of multiple boats working towards a shared goal
  2. Approach your organization as the admiral of the flotilla, allowing each team to move independently but aiming for overall success
  3. Encourage communication and collaboration between teams, so they can leverage their unique strengths to achieve more collectively

3 areas to drive clarity for sustained high-performance in teams

Effective Software Leads • 39 implied HN points • 03 Jan 24
💼 Business Management Leadership Teamwork Planning Communication
  1. Driving clarity of purpose, direction, plan, roles, and boundaries leads to sustained high-performance in teams.
  2. Clarity of purpose is essential for motivating and guiding team members towards a common goal.
  3. Having a clear plan and understanding of roles and responsibilities are key for effective team performance.

How To Run An Offsite

Build To Scale • 59 implied HN points • 03 Oct 23
💼 Business Management Strategy Leadership Teamwork Creativity
  1. An effective offsite meeting should have a clear purpose, such as planning for strategic changes, setting priorities, or working on challenging problems creatively.
  2. Include the next-level up-and-coming leaders in executive offsite meetings to have a broader impact and develop managerial talent.
  3. To tackle hard problems, gather a diverse group of people from different areas within the company to brainstorm solutions, as fresh perspectives can lead to creative breakthroughs.