5 Things I Wish I Knew Sooner About Scaling Teams & Culture
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
1 like•13,841 views
The document discusses 5 things the author has learned about scaling teams and culture. The key points are: 1) Repeating important communications consistently is important for human understanding, unlike in programming; 2) Creating an environment where people feel a sense of purpose, autonomy, mastery, and inclusion predicts high performance; 3) Different challenges arise at different growth stages so focus on the right problems; 4) Checking that your actual impact matches your intent is important through techniques like retrospectives; 5) Diversity should be embraced and each person respected for their unique strengths rather than expecting homogeneity.
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to 5 Things I Wish I Knew Sooner About Scaling Teams & Culture
Similar to 5 Things I Wish I Knew Sooner About Scaling Teams & Culture (14)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
5 Things I Wish I Knew Sooner About Scaling Teams & Culture
- 1. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager 5 Things I Wish I'd Known Sooner About Scaling Teams & Culture Scale Summit March 2018
- 2. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager
- 3. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager
- 4. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager http://www.flickr.com/photos/kodomut/3667608102/
- 5. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager #1: DRY DOESN’T WORK FOR HUMAN COMMUNICATION
- 6. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager “DON’T REPEAT YOURSELF” IS A NICE PROGRAMMING PRINCIPLE IT IS A TERRIBLE HUMAN COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLE YOU NEED TO REPEAT IMPORTANT THINGS CONSISTENTLY (7 TIMES)
- 7. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager https://www.flickr.com/photos/psd/9613972159/
- 8. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TinFoilHat002.jpg
- 9. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager BE CLEAR BE CONSISTENT REMEMBER OTHERS STILL NEED TO HEAR BEYOND THE POINT WHEN YOU ARE WORRIED YOU HAVE BEEN REPETITIVE
- 10. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager REMEMBER WE DON’T JUST COMMUNICATE IN THE PRESENT USE ARCHITECTURAL DECISION RECORDS TO COMMUNICATE (TO FUTURE FOLKS) WHAT YOU WERE THINKING WHEN YOU MADE A CHOICE
- 11. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager #2: SCALING TEAMS IS ABOUT CREATING CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS
- 12. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager WE ALL HATE BAD BOSSES WE DESCRIBE THEM AS • Clueless • Empty suits • Pointless • Seagulls
- 13. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager
- 14. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager https://twitter.com/Caterina/status/6715084157
- 15. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Across industries, across countries, the best performing teams answer certain questions positively
- 16. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Predictors of High Performance 1. Do I know what is expected of me at work? 2. Do I have the materials & equipment I need to do my work right? 3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? 4. In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for good work? 5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? 6. Is there someone at work who cares about my development? 7. At work, do my opinions seem to count? 8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important? 9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? 10. Do I have a best friend at work? 11. In the last 6 months, have I talked with someone about my development? 12. At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?
- 17. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager
- 18. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager UNDERSTAND MOTIVATION • Purpose • Autonomy • Mastery
- 19. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager MOTIVATION = + PURPOSE (Do I believe in WHY?) + AUTONOMY (Do I get a say in WHAT?) + MASTERY (Am I proud of HOW?) - ANY NEGATIVE FACTORS THAT DETRACT
- 20. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Predictors of High Performance (remix) PURPOSE • Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important? AUTONOMY • Do I know what is expected of me at work? • At work, do my opinions seem to count? MASTERY • Do I have the materials & equipment I need to do my work right? • At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? • Is there someone at work who cares about my development? • Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? • In the last 6 months, have I talked with someone about my development? • At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?
- 21. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager And What Else? OTHER FACTORS: • In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for good work? • Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? • Do I have a best friend at work? ESSENTIALLY, AM I RESPECTED & REWARDED HERE? CAN I BE MYSELF AND SUCCEED HERE? I CALL THIS INCLUSION.
- 22. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Predictors of High Performance (remix) PURPOSE • Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important? AUTONOMY • Do I know what is expected of me at work? • At work, do my opinions seem to count? INCLUSION: • In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for good work? • Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? • Do I have a best friend at work? MASTERY • Do I have the materials & equipment I need to do my work right? • At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? • Is there someone at work who cares about my development? • Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? • In the last 6 months, have I talked with someone about my development? • At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?
- 23. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager SPACE TO BE AWESOME = + PURPOSE (Do I believe in WHY?) + AUTONOMY (Do I get a say in WHAT?) + MASTERY (Am I proud of HOW?) + INCLUSION (Do I BELONG HERE?) - ANY NEGATIVE FACTORS THAT DETRACT
- 24. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager EVERY PERSON IS CAPABLE OF VIRTUOSITY
- 25. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager #3 INFLECTION POINTS Semper in excretum, sed altuit variunt
- 26. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager DIFFERENT THINGS COME “FOR FREE” AT DIFFERENT INFLECTION POINTS
- 27. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager
- 28. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager
- 29. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager FOCUS ON THE RIGHT PROBLEMS AT THE RIGHT TIME
- 30. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager #4: WITH PEOPLE, OBSERVABILITY > TESTING
- 31. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager SOMETIMES HOWEVER WELL WE PLAN, HOWEVER HARD WE TRY, OUR IMPACT MAY NOT EQUAL OUR INTENT
- 32. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager REGULARLY CHECK WHETHER WHAT YOU INTENDED MATCHES UP TO THE ACTUAL IMPACT
- 33. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager https://speakerdeck.com/madtypist/retrospectives-look-back-to-move-forward https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIU6P9HRYzo
- 34. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager https://labs.spotify.com/2014/09/16/squad-health-check-model/
- 35. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager https://speakerdeck.com/thesambarnes/people-are-weird-im-weird-the-lead-developer- london-2015 https://vimeo.com/139910836
- 36. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager #5: CULTURE ADD MATTERS A LOT MORE THAN CULTURE FIT
- 37. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager https://www.flickr.com/photos/psd/8451589322/in/set-72157633230231221
- 38. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager “DO I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO WHAT I DO BEST EVERY DAY?”
- 39. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager WE NEED TO STOP LEVELLING PEOPLE OUT TO EQUAL CONSISTENT MEDIOCRITY AND INSTEAD FOCUS ON GETTING THE MOST OUT OF DIFFERENCE
- 40. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager WE JUST NEED A SHIFT IN PERSPECTIVE
- 41. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager
- 42. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager WE ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE RESOURCE UNITS
- 43. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager WE ARE COLOURS … OR FLAVOURS WE ARE BETTER IN COMPLEMENT, IN CONCERT WITH EACH OTHER
- 44. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager
- 45. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager WHAT IF WE THINK OF PEOPLE AND ROLES AS A MATTER OF CASTING?
- 46. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager HOW DO WE ASSEMBLE A GREAT TEAM WITH COMPLEMENTARY ABILITIES?
- 47. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager
- 48. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager CRAFT INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENTS 1. Am I EXPECTED here? 2. Am I RESPECTED here? 3. Can I BE MYSELF and BE SUCCESSFUL here?
- 49. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager IN SUMMARY…
- 50. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager 1. DRY Doesn’t Work for Human Communication – repeat, consistently, 7+ times. ADRs rock. 2. Scaling Teams is About Creating the Conditions for Success – Purpose, Autonomy, Mastery, Inclusion 3. Inflection Points Exist – focus on the right problems at the right times 4. With People, Observability > Testing – use tactics to check whether you impact is matching your intent (and adjust!). Retros rock 5. Culture ADD Matters a Lot More Than Culture FIT – cultivate inclusion, outperform the homogenous
- 51. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager
- 52. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager
- 53. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager
Editor's Notes
- I’ll be honest, it’s pretty intimidating to be standing at a conference focused on operability & scalability, largely focused on the technical side of that, and talk about the people side of things – so be gentle with me ;-)
- They were consistently recognized as one of the best places to work, and produced more leaders of companies than almost any other company
- Sometimes it’s just about helping people realise they don’t know what they don’t know
- The only thing that under-informed engineers produce more of than code is conspiracy theories
- They were consistently recognized as one of the best places to work, and produced more leaders of companies than almost any other company
- If you record context, then it’s possible in future for people revisiting the decision, or puzzled by the design, to start by going “Are the same things true now as were true at the time this decision was made?”
- Great, now I’m drowning in questions to ask myself all the time! Thanks Meri!!
- Different ones are easier and harder at different inflection points – it’s not hard to keep 10 people aligned around a clear purpose It is incredibly hard to keep 150+ people aligned around a shared purpose AND to enable autonomy
- Under 10 people, everyone knows everything, for free! Over 10 people, suddenly people get confused or lost or get the wrong end of the stick Over 50 people, you need to have career paths for people to understand their place in the group, how they can grow their careers. Specialisms emerge. Efficiencies happen in having people become more expert in certain areas Over 100, most people don’t know most other people – they struggle to trust each other’s intent Over 150, Dunbar number – most people literally cannot hold that many relationships up / know that many people
- Sometimes we get too focused on the problems that are on the far horizon Often because those might be more comfortable for us to solve – they feel less real, urgent, sticky, challenging – or maybe we just know more about how to solve THOSE problems
- As your organization grows you encounter different problems – each new fishbowl has a new set of watchouts
- Under 10 people, everyone knows everything, for free! Over 10 people, suddenly people get confused or lost or get the wrong end of the stick Over 50 people, you need to have career paths for people to understand their place in the group, how they can grow their careers. Specialisms emerge. Efficiencies happen in having people become more expert in certain areas Over 100, most people don’t know most other people – they struggle to trust each other’s intent Over 150, Dunbar number – most people literally cannot hold that many relationships up / know that many people