What Wu-Tang can teach us about functional teams

Building a successful, happy team is a task that all tech leads strive for; it's an endeavour that can take time and effort to implement and then continuous work to maintain. There are plenty of amazing teams out there to take inspiration from but for me, the archetype will always be hip-hop group, the Wu-Tang Clan.

Still active after nearly 30 years, this team comprises of a range of diverse personalities with varying skills who were brought together to fulfil a collective vision. In their time, they have experienced great successes, while also weathering numerous trials and tribulations.

This draws upon the Wu-Tang saga to explore what it takes to assemble a team that has impact and longevity. From recruitment to objective setting, conflict resolution to mentoring, the Wu has it all.

Transcript

1. Matt Northam @mattnortham
4. Wu-Tang Forever 1997
5. Matt Northam @mattnortham
6. Matt Northam @mattnortham Da Mystery of Chessboxin’ Squad goals with the Wu-Tang Clan
8. RZA GZA / Genius Ol’ Dirty Bastard Method Man Inspectah Deck Raekwon Ghostface Killah Masta Killa U-God Cappadonna
12. “ – Raekwon Back in the day, the members didn’t all know each other well, because we didn’t mess with people from different projects. RZA was the middleman. Brought them all to the table because he knew them all from living around NY.
13. “ – Leah Ryder (Trello) At this initial stage, the team is essentially a collection of individuals beginning to think about the project and the role they’ll fill. Each person is operating from their personal vantage point, focused on the “what’s in it for me” reasons for joining the team.
15. “ – Leah Ryder (Trello) Since everyone is off on their own island, it's up to the team leader to kick off the team direction and paint a picture of the work to be done. Opportunities and challenges are discussed, and goals are laid out. What everyone needs most is a clear understanding of their part in the journey.
16. “ “If y’all give me five years of your life, I promise you in five years I’m going to take us to the top.” And so we gave each other our word. The Wu-Tang Clan was born. – RZA
17. “ – Christina Wodtke A team is the evolution of the workgroup. You need a team when you need a multi-disciplinary group to act in a coordinated manner over time toward a shared goal.
18. “ – Christina Wodtke A team is the evolution of the workgroup. You need a team when you need a multi-disciplinary group to act in a coordinated manner over time toward a shared goal. Team Vs Workgroup
19. “ – Christina Wodtke A team is the evolution of the workgroup. You need a team when you need a multi-disciplinary group to act in a coordinated manner over time toward a shared goal. Team Vs Workgroup
20. Enter The Wu-Tang 1993
21. “ – RZA We reinvented the way hip hop was structured, and what I mean is, you have a group signed to a label, yet … we still could negotiate with any label we wanted.
22. Aug 1994 Oct 1996 Sep 1995
23. Working on sub tasks Maintain a shared approach
24. Share your workings Working on sub tasks
25. “ –U-God I went to get Cappa because I knew he had what we needed to complete that record. There’s certain songs that you just can’t get that rhythm to, no matter how much time you put in. Then you bring the right person in and bam – that’s exactly what it needed!
26. Give & ask for feedback Working on sub tasks
27. Have a focal point Working on sub tasks
28. Stay in touch Working on sub tasks
29. “ – U-God Everyday we’d link up and talk about what steps we were taking that day to carry out the master plan.
30. Venture outside Working on sub tasks
33. Inclusive decision making Working on sub tasks
34. Wu-Tang Forever 1997
36. “ – Christina Wodtke In what I’m calling a collective, you see shared decision making and shared responsibility for goals. All members have a clear vision for what they want their results to be, and they both help each other and hold each other responsible.
37. “ – RZA Wu-Tang started out as a dictatorship. Then it went to something like a democracy … They can all function independently, although they’re organised under one umbrella, one family.
38. “ – Alicia Liu A way is to look at it as someone who creates the foundations to support their teams growth and development. Create conditions for individuals to thrive and reach their potential. Those individuals can then provide that support to others.
39. “ – Alicia Liu A way is to look at it as someone who creates the foundations to support their teams growth and development. Create conditions for individuals to thrive and reach their potential. Those individuals can then provide that support to others. Leader Team Leader Team
42. Iron Flag 2001 The W 2000
43. Iron Flag 2001 The W 2000
44. “ – U-God .. that kind of window makes you right and stressed. You cant get loose with that deadline hanging over your head. When you’re rushing to complete something , often you don’t bring your A-game with you, and more often than not that’ll be revealed on the final track.
45. Anxiety Inferiority Avoidance Desperation Resentment Time urgency
46. “ – U-God The winning formula was lost, the focus on production of the music took a nosedive, the guys spent less and less time together recording, thus the music was flawed.. this subsequently created a domino effect on the group. We haven't been on the same page in years. It is what it is. Sometimes that match burns out. It’s like being a coach and you won rings back in the day, but now your team is in ninth place. – Raekwon – GZA
50. A Better Tomorrow 2014 8 Diagrams 2007
51. “ – Raekwon My thing is … we’re on different pages when it comes to being creative because RZA, you’re not in the field no more. I’m still paying attention to what’s going on and an amazing group that’s got so much potential to be bigger than what they are if they just focus.
52. “ I said, ‘Y’all have been making records without me for 6 years, and they didn’t go anywhere. They didn’t sell nothing.’ And then they’re saying, ‘Your ish has been weak’. – RZA
53. “ – Ghostface Killah It sounded real horrible.
54. Handling conflict
55. Handling conflict See something? Say something.
56. Handling conflict Deferred ≠ Avoided
57. Handling conflict Be aware of people’s intentions
58. Handling conflict Have empathy
59. Handling conflict Identify the nature of conflict Model good communication Identify shared goals Encourage difficult conversations
60. “ –U-God It was just business, nothing personal.
61. The Saga Continues 2017
63. The Saga Continues 2017
65. “ – Bruce Tuckman Form Storm Norm Perform
66. “ – Bruce Tuckman Adjourn Form Storm Norm Perform
68. “ – Method Man Never let go of your cream, never let go of your dream / Players retire, but they never let go of the team
69. “ Even with all our confidence, ability, and drive, we could never see the future with 100% clarity - no-one can. We just had to do the best we could, bringing it every single time, every single day. – U-God
70. @mattnortham