Increase team performance

What We Consider an Elite Engineering Team

We compiled the following commond denominators from our most successful teams and projects.

Clear and Inspiring Mission- the team is united around a common purpose, why they are a team. Most effective team missions also complement customer objectives.

Empathy for the Customer- the team loves to see their product used in real life. The team continuously talks to their customers. The team also understands that an angry customer is a caring customer and strives to meet customer demands.

High Expectations- the team has aspiring and challenging goals, even seemingly impossible to complete to some. Higher goals unlock more comprehensive options to meet those goals.

Safe Environment- people on the team can say anything without fear of retaliation. Team members feel cared for, appreciated, and valued.

Autonomy- after setting team goals, upper leadership and other folks are not breathing down the team's neck, giving room for the team to execute.

No Assholes- the team mainly engages in "yes, and" discussion. This rule enables the flow of ideas. Ideas are not attacked but improved. Sorry, but no brilliant jerks.

Strict Deadline- the team is committed to delivery by a specific date. A deadline helps a team focus on the project.

Ruthless Prioritization- the team constantly prioritizes and cuts scope. For any business to operate efficiently, deadlines and resourcing should be immutable, while the scope is flexible.

Fun- when the team feels good, it unlocks creativity, allowing it to come up with simple and elegant solutions to problems. Fun also increases the cooperation and cohesion of the team.

Opportunity to Innovate- the team provides engineers with opportunities to use new ways to solve problems. Trying out new things helps personal learning and growth, and improves engagement.

Test and Iterate- the team continuously pushes early features into production, gets feedback from customers and stakeholders, and keeps iterating. Iterative development serves both as a measure of progress and proactive requirements discovery.

In addition to the above, it is important to consider team dynamics, consisting of dimensions such as unity, cooperation, and role definition.