Optimising for team health: Tools and techniques of supportive teams who build successful products

To build and maintain great products now and in the future, we need to work smarter: to be more efficient, inclusive, considered and collaborative. And to do this, we need to build and maintain team health.

As former VP of Engineering at Kickstarter and Engineering Director at Etsy, and now coach, consultant and trainer for managers and leaders across the tech industry, Lara Hogan has spent over a decade growing emerging leaders and developing healthy teams. In this talk, Lara will draw on her experiences to explore the powerful, but all-too-often overlooked tools we have available to us as we work with and support our teammates, those who report to us, and those we report to.

Whether you’re feeling some friction with your co-workers, wrestling with some feedback you need to give, or you’re just trying to weather a season of change within your organisation, this talk will help you feel more equipped to navigate whatever you’re facing when you get back to work, to help you and your team succeed, and your users reap the benefits.

Transcript

1. OPTIMISING for
 TEAM HEALTH Lara Hogan @lara_hogan
3. Teams are important.
4. #WOCinTech Chat
6. FORMING STORMING NORMING PERFORMING
7. STORMING NORMING
8. BRAINS 1 2 3 FEEDBACK TEAM PROCESSES
9. BRAINS
12. Don’t worry, 
 I’ve got this!
13. Core Needs
 at Work 6
14. Belonging Community, connection 1
15. Improvement/Progress Progress towards purpose, 
 improving the lives of others 2
16. Choice Flexibility, autonomy, decision-making 3
17. Equality/Fairness Access to resources & information, 
 equal reciprocity 4
18. Predictability Resources, time, direction, 
 future challenges 5
19. Significance Status, visibility, recognition 6
20. Belonging Improvement/Progress Choice Equality/Fairness Predictability Significance bit.ly/biceps-core-needs
21. “What is making 
 my teammate 
 react so strongly?”
22. #WOCinTech Chat DESK MOVES
23. Belonging Alienated Distant Left behind 1
24. Improvement/Progress Disruption Distraction 2
25. Choice Loss of control Represents a larger shift in the company 3
26. Equality/Fairness Unfair Some groups had choice, we didn’t 4
27. Predictability Surprise Disruption in routine 5
28. Significance No more corner office Far from leadership 6
29. Knowing and addressing core needs is a shortcut to making others feel understood and valued.
30. FORMING STORMING NORMING Feedback Core Needs
31. FEEDBACK
32. Feedback equation bit.ly/FeedbackEquation
33. observation of a 
 behaviour
34. impact of behaviour + observation of a 
 behaviour
35. impact of behaviour question 
 or
 request + + observation of a 
 behaviour
36. impact of behaviour question 
 or
 request + + observation of a 
 behaviour
37. impact of behaviour open question + + observation of a behaviour
38. Ask about their preferred feedback medium
39. FORMING STORMING NORMING Team Processes PERFORMING
40. TEAM PROCESSES
41. Retrospectives
42. Team charters and docs
43. Eng Manager drives “who” Tech Lead drives “how” EM ∩ EL ∩ PM: drive “why” ∩ Product Manager drives “what”
44. Product Manager + Tech Lead scope and estimate 
 project work Product Manager drives “what” Tech Lead drives “how”
45. #WOCinTech Chat Take care of yourself
46. FORMING STORMING NORMING PERFORMING Team Processes Feedback Core Needs