The hottest Teamwork Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

8 Ways Organizational Culture Kills Agility

Ageling on Agile • 79 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
💼 Business 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.

Celebrate the Wins

Tippets by Taps • 6 implied HN points • 14 Jan 26
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Founders often work years ahead of the company and see milestones as inevitable, but the rest of the team lacks that context and needs wins acknowledged.
  2. Celebrating achievements shows people that their long hours and sacrifices mattered and gives them a clear story about progress.
  3. Pause to mark meaningful moments with simple rituals—Slack messages, all‑hands, dinners, or small swag—because those shared memories build culture and help the team through tough times.

Ours

The Weasel Speaks • 137 implied HN points • 07 May 23
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Delegating more than is comfortable is critical in leadership roles.
  2. Leaders should avoid the traps of 'I can do it better' mentality or helicopter management.
  3. Embrace ruthless delegation as a way to help your team grow and succeed.
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Group meetings waste time

Respectful Leadership • 108 implied HN points • 25 Jan 25
💼 Business Teamwork
  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.

The Inspiring Team Spirit Behind Apple TV's Ted Lasso

PeopleStorming • 79 implied HN points • 27 Jun 23
🎭️ Culture 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 Teamwork
  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

The Simple Secret to Influence

Perspectives • 10 implied HN points • 20 Nov 25
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Influence comes from making other people feel smart, not from showing how smart you are. When people leave a conversation feeling capable, they trust and follow you more than if they just feel impressed.
  2. Use simple habits—give clear context, speak plainly, ask curious questions, avoid assumptions, and give credit—to invite ideas and keep conversations productive. These small choices help people feel heard and willing to share.
  3. Real leadership is about creating psychological safety so people can take risks and learn, not about dominating the spotlight. You gain lasting influence by empowering others to grow and contribute.

Driving Extreme Clarity

Perspectives • 7 implied HN points • 11 Dec 25
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Prefer a clear no to a messy yes because vague agreements hide real disagreements and cause wasted work later.
  2. Prioritize by force-ranking hard choices; if prioritization doesn’t feel painful, you aren’t prioritizing clearly enough.
  3. Capture decisions in writing (prework, live notes, restatements, and a running alignment document) so alignment lasts and people can act confidently.

How To Run An Offsite

Build To Scale • 59 implied HN points • 03 Oct 23
💼 Business Teamwork
  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.

The power of yes

Sunday Letters • 179 implied HN points • 07 Aug 22
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Saying 'yes, and...' helps create better conversations and collaboration. It opens up more possibilities instead of shutting them down.
  2. In negotiations, aiming for a quick agreement might seem good, but exploring deeper can lead to greater benefits for both sides.
  3. A 'yes' mindset encourages listening and empathy, helping everyone involved to find better solutions together.

getting stuff done

Midnight Musings • 19 implied HN points • 19 Feb 24
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. It's really important for everyone on a team to be clear about what success looks like. When everyone understands the goals and expectations, it helps avoid frustration and saves time.
  2. Planning is key before starting projects. When people know their roles and the project scope from the beginning, things go smoother and it's easier to stay on track.
  3. Good communication can make a big difference. Sharing information openly helps build trust and keeps everyone on the same page, leading to better teamwork and collaboration.

Bad communication is always your fault

Sunday Letters • 199 implied HN points • 03 Apr 22
🚌 Education Teamwork
  1. Effective communication is a shared responsibility. If someone doesn't understand you, it's worth examining how you can express your thoughts more clearly.
  2. People generally want to understand each other. If communication fails, it's important to explore what might be blocking the other person from grasping your message.
  3. Assuming good intent can help improve communication. If you treat every miscommunication as your responsibility, it can lead to better conversations.

Building more Psychological Safety on teams using the power of fish!

PeopleStorming • 39 implied HN points • 03 Oct 23
🎭️ Culture Teamwork
  1. The Stinky Fish exercise is a tool to help teams surface worries and fears in a safe space, promoting open dialogue and confronting concerns.
  2. The exercise, rooted in cognitive behavioral therapy, can be used at the start of projects to create psychological safety in the team.
  3. Steps include providing context, allowing team members to jot down 'Stinky Fish', sharing in a circle, and emphasizing the value of open communication for team success.

Is the team for you or are you for the team?

Sunday Letters • 119 implied HN points • 18 Sep 22
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Think of leadership like an upside-down org chart. The people doing the work should be at the top, and the manager is there to support them. It shows that the team's work is what truly matters.
  2. Managers shouldn't push team members into roles they aren't excited about. Instead, they should place people where their skills fit best, benefiting the team.
  3. The team exists to achieve goals together, not to serve the manager's needs. As a manager, your job is to help the team solve their problems, not the other way around.

Humility in leadership

Sunday Letters • 179 implied HN points • 07 Mar 22
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Leadership is more about humility than ego. Good leaders focus on building teams and serving others rather than seeking personal glory.
  2. Delegating tasks shows trust and humility. When leaders do everything themselves, it can lead to team disengagement and increased pressure.
  3. Healthy leaders help their teams shine. They prioritize the success of their team over their own needs or recognition.

Building Bridges

The Radar • 19 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Leadership potential involves connection and building bridges between people and organizations beyond operational delivery and political skills.
  2. Strategic leaders build bridges to foster cohesion and unity of purpose, enabling effective decision-making and problem-solving in dynamic environments.
  3. Bridge builders in organizations facilitate interconnectedness, reduce factionalism, and enhance speed and alignment in achieving strategic goals.

Sports after a Stolen Childhood

Variations on a Theme • 19 implied HN points • 22 Dec 23
🎾 Sports Teamwork
  1. Sports provide children with the opportunity to experience success and failure in a short period, helping them learn to navigate intense emotions.
  2. Experiencing emotional highs and lows in sports is crucial for children's emotional development and teaches them to control powerful feelings.
  3. The pandemic deprived children of valuable experiences in sports, impacting their emotional growth and development negatively.

RDEL #22: How does gratitude influence the stress levels of software engineers?

Research-Driven Engineering Leadership • 19 implied HN points • 11 Dec 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Teamwork
  1. Gratitude has a significant negative relationship with perceived stress and fatigue in software engineers - more gratitude means less stress and fatigue.
  2. Women software engineers reported higher levels of stress and fatigue on average compared to men in the study.
  3. Showing gratitude in software engineering teams can reduce stress, increase happiness, and boost productivity - leaders should prioritize cultivating a culture of gratitude.

Asking the dumb questions

Sunday Letters • 159 implied HN points • 08 Nov 21
🚌 Education Teamwork
  1. When you're new to a situation, it's good to watch and listen first. This helps you learn more about what's going on.
  2. Asking 'dumb' questions can be really powerful. They often bring up thoughts that others on the team might be too shy to voice.
  3. Encouraging new team members to ask questions keeps the team flexible and open to change. Celebrating these questions can help everyone grow.

Humility in leadership

Sunday Letters • 99 implied HN points • 24 Apr 22
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Leadership should be about helping others, not just about personal achievement. Think about how you can support your team instead of just focusing on being at the top.
  2. An inverted org chart can help visualize leadership as a service. Instead of one person at the top, imagine the leader at the bottom, supporting the team that does the work.
  3. Making decisions in leadership requires humility. It's important to delegate and build trust, as this creates a more effective and supportive team environment.

3 Ways To Thrive.

The Future Does Not Fit In The Containers Of The Past • 25 implied HN points • 19 Jan 25
💼 Business Teamwork
  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.

Is Entrepreneur First Worth It? Part 2: Bad Ideas

Dan’s Substack • 19 implied HN points • 24 Mar 23
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. At Entrepreneur First, learning to quickly test ideas is a valuable skill.
  2. Mapping out the Idea Maze can save time by visualizing paths to success and understanding potential obstacles.
  3. Avoid tar pit ideas by seeking problems that are less obvious, less saturated by founders, and with high market demand.

How to ask questions

Splattern • 19 implied HN points • 03 Oct 23
🎭️ Culture Teamwork
  1. Think carefully before asking questions. It helps if you try to solve the problem by yourself first, as this can lead to new ideas.
  2. Building social connections with coworkers is important. Joining in on conversations can strengthen teamwork and collaboration.
  3. Having support from coworkers, like feedback on your work, can really boost your productivity and motivation.

"My favorite colleague"

The Daily Developer • 19 implied HN points • 04 Aug 23
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Describing someone as your favorite colleague is a significant compliment as it reflects trustworthiness, professionalism, and skill.
  2. Proactively updating colleagues on your progress can elevate how they perceive you, improve your preparedness, and set a good example for the team.
  3. Taking the initiative to communicate with your team members will not only earn you more respect but also enhance collaboration and productivity.

Ask your team this simple question: 'What can we subtract?'

The Kahneman Bot • 19 implied HN points • 26 Apr 23
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Subtraction can be more effective than addition in problem-solving. Always ask 'What can we subtract?'
  2. In product development, companies like WhatsApp, Canva, and Apple have succeeded by simplifying their interfaces and products.
  3. To incorporate subtraction in product processes, reduce cognitive load, optimize notifications, and reassess onboarding. Team exercises like 'Subtract the Obvious' and 'Worst Feature Elimination' can help identify what to remove.

From Command to Consensus

The Radar • 19 implied HN points • 10 Aug 23
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Flexing authority can lead to resentment and limited commitment in real-life scenarios.
  2. Inviting disagreement and consensus from team members can lead to stronger decisions and higher motivation.
  3. Disagree and Commit principle can help in calibrating the use of authority, creating more commitment and reducing resentment.

Sunsetting Downshift

David Spinks' Newsletter • 9 implied HN points • 08 Jul 25
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. The team decided to pause the Downshift project to prioritize personal alignment and well-being. It's important to take time for ourselves and reflect on what truly matters.
  2. Collaboration and genuine connection among teammates were key to creating a positive work environment. Real fun and honesty helped them grow both personally and professionally.
  3. The focus moving forward is on helping community builders and leaders find balance and mindfulness in their work. Supporting others in navigating their challenges is a priority.

How to Run a Data-Driven Engineering Org Without Being a Performance Tyrant

Dev Interrupted • 88 implied HN points • 22 Jun 23
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Stack ranking is natural human behavior, but it may not be suitable for engineering teams.
  2. Data-driven does not mean stack ranking; software development teams are more like bands where everyone depends on each other.
  3. Avoid data-driven leadership anti-patterns by knowing your 'why', measuring more than individual stats, and not relying on easily available metrics.

The Power of Recognition in Engineering Leaders: A Deep Dive into the Philosophy and Practice

The Healthy Engineering Leader • 19 implied HN points • 10 Jul 23
💼 Business Teamwork
  1. Recognition is more than just giving rewards; it's about appreciating each person's contributions. A simple thank you can boost team morale and motivation.
  2. Philosophers like Hegel and Honneth highlight that recognition helps people feel valued and fosters teamwork. When team members feel respected, they work better together.
  3. Leaders should be careful to recognize everyone fairly and genuinely. It's important not to overlook quieter team members and to give meaningful recognition without overwhelming the team.