Don’t leave whether you’ll have a great team to chance. Learn how great teams can be produced through intentional design.

1. G R O W I N G G R E AT T E A M S
W O R D C A M P M I N N E A P O L I S 2 0 1 8
@dgorton #GreatTeams

2. D R E W G O R T O N
Director of Developer Relations @ Pantheon
Partial Team History
• Web: Developer, CEO, Product Owner…
• Other: Teacher, Camp Counselor, Factory…
@dgorton #GreatTeams

3. O U R PAT H
1. Traits of Great Teams
2. Great Team Growth
3. Manage a Great Team
4. Deserve a Great Team
@dgorton #GreatTeams

4. T H R E E T R A I T S

5. • Why does your team exist?
• What can you excel at?
• Aspire to something larger
• Big Hairy Audacious Goal
(BHAG)
S H A R E D P U R P O S E
G R E AT T E A M T R A I T # 1
@dgorton #GreatTeams

6. P O W E R E D F L I G H T
S H A R E D P U R P O S E : E X A M P L E
The impossible is possible.
We can do it and it will
change the world.
— Wright Brothers (approx)
I deserve a place in history.
Powered flight is my best
chance.
— Samuel P. Langley
(approx)
VS
@dgorton #GreatTeams

7. • Gender
• Race
• Religion
• Orientation
• Age
• Politics
• …
D I V E R S I T Y
G R E AT T E A M T R A I T # 2
https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter

8. R I G H T P E O P L E , R I G H T S E AT S
G R E AT T E A M T R A I T # 3

9. 1. Shared Purpose
2. Diversity
3. Right people, right seats
T H R E E T R A I T S
@dgorton #GreatTeams
G R E AT T E A M S

10. G R E AT T E A M G R O W T H
F O U R S T E P S

11. Ask team:
• What are we doing that isn’t working as well as it should?
• What should we do more of instead?
Ask team members:
• What do you want to do more of?
• What can you give to someone else?
I D E N T I F Y T H E S E AT S
G R E AT T E A M G R O W T H : S T E P 1
@dgorton #GreatTeams

12. • What are your values?
• Customer Service,
Teamwork, Passion …
• Filter for them!
F I LT E R F O R VA L U E S
G R E AT T E A M G R O W T H : S T E P 2
@dgorton #GreatTeams

13. Use structured questions:
• Factual: Do you know … ?
• Skill Assessment: Show me how you do …
• Behavioral: Tell me about a time when …
• Situational: What would you do if … ?
Behavioral and Situational will tell you the
most about the person’s potential
S T R U C T U R E D I N T E R V I E W S
G R E AT T E A M G R O W T H : S T E P 3
@dgorton #GreatTeams

14. • Pay, Benefits, If-Then Rewards
• Autonomy
• Mastery
• Purpose
P R O V I D E M O T I VAT I O N
G R E AT T E A M G R O W T H : S T E P 4
https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation

15. • Identify the seats
• Filter for your values
• Use a structured interview process
• Provide autonomy, mastery and
purpose
F O U R S T E P S
G R E AT T E A M G R O W T H
@dgorton #GreatTeams

16. M A N A G E A G R E AT T E A M

17. • Seek out the nasty problems
• Tackle them
• It’s expected
S E E K T H E T H O R N Y I S S U E S
M A N A G E A G R E AT T E A M
@dgorton #GreatTeams

18. • Going well? Pass through praise to your team
• Going poorly? Own problems & accept responsibility
• Praise publicly
• Address issues privately
• Celebrate success and failure
!18
S U C C E S S A N D FA I L U R E
M A N A G E A G R E AT T E A M
@dgorton #GreatTeams

19. P O L I C I E S V S P E O P L E
M A N A G E A G R E AT T E A M

20. • Seek the thorny issues
• Praise and blame appropriately
• Understand Policies vs People
R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
M A N A G E A G R E AT T E A M
@dgorton #GreatTeams

21. D E S E R V E A G R E AT T E A M

22. • We are all growing. None of us is ‘done’
• “Be smart — Learn” Michelle Schulp keynote
• “I'm not a ___ person”
• Change starts small. Focus on the process and build the habit
!22
G R O W T H M I N D S E T
D E S E R V E A G R E AT T E A M
@dgorton #GreatTeams

23. • “We” vs “I” vs “They”
• Language, action and thought are closely related
• Language is the place to start
!23
L A N G U A G E M AT T E R S
D E S E R V E A G R E AT T E A M
@dgorton #GreatTeams

24. • If you’re unhappy with a pattern, work to change it
• “What am I doing to enable this?”
• Change those things. (Let others know why)
!24
A D D R E S S P R O B L E M S W H E N Y O U S E E T H E M
D E S E R V E A G R E AT T E A M
@dgorton #GreatTeams

25. • Growth mindset
• Language matters
• Address problems
directly
R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
D E S E R V E A G R E AT T E A M
@dgorton #GreatTeams

26. O U R PAT H
1. Four Traits of Great Teams
2. Great Team Growth
3. Manage a Great Team
4. Deserve a Great Team
@dgorton #GreatTeams

27. Q U E S T I O N S A N D C O N V E R S AT I O N

28. H T T P S : / / J O I N D . I N / E V E N T / W O R D C A M P -
M I N N E A P O L I S - - S T- PA U L
S H A R E Y O U R F E E D B A C K . P L E A S E : )

29. S U G G E S T I O N S
• Tribal Leadership - Logan, King &
Fischer-Wright
• Drive - Pink
• Good to Great - Collins
• Mindset - Dweck
• Delivering Happiness - Hsieh
• Start with Why - Sinek
@dgorton #GreatTeams

30. I M A G E C R E D I T S
• Bambu: https://flic.kr/p/dqEkvk
• Path: https://flic.kr/p/bYhYEo
• Spice: https://flic.kr/p/q8aKYa
• Why: https://flic.kr/p/9yaos5
• Crowd: https://flic.kr/p/Wd54U
• Value: https://flic.kr/p/aGBrHF
• Responsibility: https://flic.kr/p/
bCQt7m
• Thorns: https://flic.kr/p/4mhwaL
• Ojos: https://flic.kr/p/jhtei4
• Mary Jo's Bookcase: https://flic.kr/p/
aQqY3z
• Wright Brothers: https://
commons.wikimedia.org/w/
index.php?curid=9571071
• Samuel P Langley: https://
commons.wikimedia.org/w/
index.php?curid=1496860
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