May 6, 2022
This week, Dan Neumann is joined by three of his Agile colleagues, Erik Lindgren, Hal Hogue, and Adam Ulery.
In this episode, they discuss a common question with respect to Teams: Should we choose long-running Teams or dynamically formed ones? These four Agile colleagues share today valuable examples on how to form Teams and practical ways to help Teams succeed at delivering high-value products.
Key Takeaways
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Advantages of long-lived cross-functional Teams:
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Teams get to know each other better and build relationships.
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Teams have working agreements that make them more effective.
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Stability!
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Much less coordination is needed.
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Cons of long-lived Teams:
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There is not much flexibility.
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There is the risk of losing alignment with the rest of the organization.
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What to do when someone’s professional goals push them in a different direction?
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A Team could be kept together as long as possible but eventually, changes will happen.
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We always need to look for ways for people to grow professionally.
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What to consider when Teams are changing.
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Keep the Team involved with the decisions that are being made.
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When Teams change, the Team might be needing a skill that isn’t available.
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Change is inevitable, be prepared for them.
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What are the Team creation methods that work best?
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A formal Team-forming workshop sets up Teams nicely for success, developing shared values.
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Having a clear understanding of the type of work that the Team will be going after and based on that, finding the matched skills and competencies to that type of work.
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Allow self-organization to happen.
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Establish what is going to be created first in order to set up a Team; those Teams tend to grow organically.
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Choosing a Team’s name can help people feel they belong and gives them the ability to become part of something bigger than themselves.
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Why not both long-run and dynamically formed Teams?
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Decide with your colleagues what can work better, encouraging self-organized Teams, since it is always positive to decide how the Team wants to be organized for the task in question.
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The core of Agility is focusing on individuals and interactions.
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When to form a new Team?
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If you have some special project or initiative that may require deep specialties in an area.
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Some Teams can come together to innovate in a particular area.
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Mentioned in this Episode:
Listen to “Podcast Ep. 5: Exploring an Experimental Mindset with Adam Ulery”
Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Tantum Collins, David Silverman, and Chris Fussell
Netflix Documentary, The Last Dance
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