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This week, Dan Neumann is joined by three of his Agile colleagues, Erik Lindgren, Hal Hogue, and Adam Ulery.

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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.

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Key Takeaways

• Advantages of long-lived cross-functional Teams:

  • Teams get to know each other better and build relationships.

  • Teams have working agreements that make them more effective.

  • Stability!

  • Much less coordination is needed.

• Cons of long-lived Teams:

  • There is not much flexibility.

  • There is the risk of losing alignment with the rest of the organization.

• What to do when someone\\u2019s professional goals push them in a different direction?

  • A Team could be kept together as long as possible but eventually, changes will happen.

  • We always need to look for ways for people to grow professionally.

• What to consider when Teams are changing.

  • Keep the Team involved with the decisions that are being made.

  • When Teams change, the Team might be needing a skill that isn\\u2019t available.

  • Change is inevitable, be prepared for them.

• What are the Team creation methods that work best?

  • A formal Team-forming workshop sets up Teams nicely for success, developing shared values.

  • 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.

  • Allow self-organization to happen.

  • Establish what is going to be created first in order to set up a Team; those Teams tend to grow organically.

  • Choosing a Team\\u2019s name can help people feel they belong and gives them the ability to become part of something bigger than themselves.

• Why not both long-run and dynamically formed Teams?

  • 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.

  • The core of Agility is focusing on individuals and interactions.

• When to form a new Team?

  • If you have some special project or initiative that may require deep specialties in an area.

  • Some Teams can come together to innovate in a particular area.

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Listen to \\u201cPodcast Ep. 5: Exploring an Experimental Mindset with Adam Ulery\\u201d

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Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Tantum Collins, David Silverman, and Chris Fussell

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Netflix Documentary, The Last Dance

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