The 5 Obstacles to High-Performing Teams

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The 5 Obstacles to High-Performing Teams Maarten Dalmijn Escaping the Soul-Crushing Tentacles that Stifle Innovation and Frustrate All Your Employees

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Who Ever Felt: Disappointed After Joining a New Company?

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Who Ever Felt: “If only they let me do my real job...”

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Who Ever Felt: “Too busy and distracted from completing side quests to make an impact?”

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If Companies would be half as good at Product Management as the applicants who complete their interview assignments, we would be seeing far better products. My Realization: More and Better Expertise Isn’t the Solution

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Interviewing for the Job Interviewing for the Job

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Interviewing for the Job Interviewing for the Job Doing the Job Doing the Job

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Why The Massive Delta? Why The Massive Delta? Interviewing for the Job Interviewing for the Job Doing the Job Doing the Job VS. VS.

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Teams Do Work To Create Value Team Work Results We Want

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The Delta Obstructs Teams From The Results We Want Team Results We Want Work

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Making the Delta Visible 5 Obstacles to High Performing Teams Model

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Sad Reality Disempowered Teams Teams that are given: 1. features to build 2. that management asks for 3. because someone strongly believes it’s a good idea

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Example of Empowered Team

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Reality We Would Like: Empowered Teams Teams that are given: 1. important problems to solve 2. to serve their customers 3. in a way that also works for the business

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Model For Explaining the Delta Start Explaining at the Top of the Delta Don’t worry, I’ll get to the bottom! :) Team level Organisational level

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Teams Do Work To Create Value Team Work Results We Want

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Results We Want: Highly Context- Dependent Team Work Results We Want Output (features) Customer Value Business Value

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Not Linear, But Messy Team Work Results We Want

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#1. Obstacle: Missing Context Team Work Results We Want Self-referential: The goal of the work is to finish the work Result: Team unable to make decision when they encounter surprises

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#1. Obstacle: Missing Context Missing Context Missing Context Does the team have all information and context to make decisions about the work they are doing? Teams is capable of making decisions about their work to deliver more value.

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#1. Obstacle: Missing Context Missing Context Missing Context Symptoms: Teams are given features to deliver Teams care only about delivering outputs (features) on time Teams have a poor understanding of customer and business

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Why Do Elevators Have Mirrors? Sasser et al. (1979) Management of Service Operations: Text, Cases and Readings.

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Problem: The elevator is too slow Solution: Let’s make the elevator faster

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Problem: The elevator is too slow Solution: Let’s make the elevator faster Problem: Waiting for the elevator is boring Solution: Add mirrors so people can look at themselves Reframing the Problem

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Being Able to Reframe Means: Reframing means you have a problem you’re trying to solve in the first place. 1. Sometimes reframing is the only way to solve the problem. 2. Only when you have a problem you’re trying to solve, can you validate the solution. 3.

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Teams With Context Characteristics: Teams are given important problems to solve Teams hold themselves accountable for results by having clear goals Teams understand the customer and the business and how their work relates Context Context

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Adaptation Towards the Results We Want Team Work Results We Want Will Our Work Produce the Results We Want? With sufficient context team has all information to make decisions

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#2 Obstacle: Inadequate Autonomy Team Work Results We Want Other Teams Experts Outside the Team

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#2 Obstacle: Inadequate Autonomy Team Other Teams Experts Outside the Team The team lacks the expertise or trust to make decisions without involving others outside of the team The Real Team

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Does the team have the trust, expertise and skills without depending on others outside of the team to make decisions and act swiftly to create more value? #2 Obstacle: Inadequate Autonomy Waiting and inaction Inadequate Autonomy Inadequate Autonomy

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Symptoms: Teams must coordinate with many other teams Team can’t make decisions because they depend on others outside the team Teams scared to make decisions due to culture or environment #2 Obstacle: Inadequate Autonomy Waiting and inaction Inadequate Autonomy Inadequate Autonomy

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Overcoming the 2nd Obstacle: Conditions for Autonomy Characteristics: Teams can ship features to production independently Team can mostly make decisions without depending on others Team has trust and psychological safety Waiting and inaction Decisive Action Autonomy Autonomy

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#3 Obstacle: Lack of Collaboration Work Results We Want Subteam Subteam Subteam Subteam Subteam Subteam Subteam Subteam Subteam

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#3 Obstacle: Lack of Collaboration Sluggish Silos Lack of Collaboration Lack of Collaboration Do teams operate as a collaborative and effective teams of teams that help each other as necessary and do what’s best for the company and the customer?

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#3 Obstacle: Lack of Collaboration Symptoms: Teams work in silos and horizontal slices. When you need help from another team, you don’t get it Bottlenecks within and between teams, e.g. QA is slow Sluggish Silos Lack of Collaboration Lack of Collaboration

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Effective Collaboration Characteristics: Teams collaborate as necessary to produce vertical slices of value Receive help as necessary from other teams Bottlenecks within and between teams are swiftly resolved Sluggish Silos Collaborative Teams of Teams Collaboration Collaboration

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Are teams provided with sufficient direction by their leaders so they can work towards a shared vision and goals with a common strategy? #4 Obstacle: Insufficient Alignment Insufficient Alignment Insufficient Alignment

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Symptoms: Teams have no clue what other teams are working on When teams need help, there is a big fight Teams are working on too many different things at once Lots of competing interests make collaboration difficult #4 Obstacle: Insufficient Alignment Insufficient Alignment Insufficient Alignment

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#4 Obstacle: Insufficient Alignment All the teams have competing priorities and work towards very different short-term and long- term results.

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Focus and Clarity Characteristics Teams know what other teams are working on When teams need help from each other, it’s quietly and quickly resolved Feels like teams are pulling in the same direction 3Cs: Chaos, Cannibalization and Conflict Focus and Clarity Alignment Alignment

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#5 Obstacle: Counter-Productive Organizational System Counter-Productive Organizational System AKA The Kraken Mindset Culture Organizational Structure Process Rules Bureaucracy Departments Leadership Policies

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A Wild Kraken Appears... Age of Organization Size of Organization Number of Departments Complexity Non-Profit Productive Organizational System Counter-productive Organizational System

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The Kraken is the Delta Monster The Kraken

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Feeding and Fighting the Kraken Team A Team B Team C Busy fighting and feeding the kraken Customer Users Business Not busy thinking about customers, users and the business The Kraken

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Feeding and Fighting the Kraken Counter-Productive Organizational System Counter-Productive Organizational System Like the bottom of the pyramid constrains the top of the pyramid, our organizational kraken constrains the context, autonomy, collaboration and alignment of your teams.

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Why Fighting the Kraken is Difficult The longer you are part of a system, the more blind you become to problems of the system. 1. “The beam of the lighthouse doesn’t shine underneath the ground of the lighthouse.”

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2. Over time, organizational systems have tendency to sprout bureaucratic branches that suffocate the ability of people to make decisions. This also applies to decisions for changing the system itself. “Nothing grows under a big tree.” Why Fighting the Kraken is Difficult

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Why Fighting the Kraken is Difficult 3. Organizations suffer from glaring blind spots because they organically evolved based on the conditions of the past. “Dinosaurs did not evolve to survive the impact of a meteor.””

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Why Fighting the Kraken is Difficult 4. The organizational system will fight back to preserve the status quo. “But if you set up a System, you are likely to find your time and effort now being consumed in the care and feeding of the System itself. New Problems are created by its very presence. Once set up, it won't Go Away; it Grows and Encroaches. It begins to do Strange and Wonderful Things and Breaks Down in Ways You Never Thought Possible. It Kicks Back, Gets In The Way and Opposes Its Own Proper Function. - John Gall, System Theorist

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Why Fighting the Kraken is Difficult 5. We suck at removing and hate losing what we have. Organizational bloat is inevitable (entropy tends to increase), unless we work against our natural tendencies.

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What Happens When You Introduce Wolves to Yellowstone? Wolves A - More Beavers B - Fewer Beavers

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What Happens When You Introduce Wolves to Yellowstone? Wolves B - Fewer Beavers A - More Beavers

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Organizations Are Complex... Like Ecosystems Introduction of More Wolves Keep Elk Moving During Winter More Young Willows Survive During Winter More Beavers Survive During Winter Because They Can Eat Young Willows

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Complex: Even Experts Can’t Predict What happens if we introduce wolves in Yosemite Park? Nobody can tell you what exactly is going to happen

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Stop Trying to Copy-Paste Wolves In Your Organization SAFe Product Operating Model Spotify Model Scrum Agile Etc.

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We Need Leaders With More Guts We need leaders who have the guts to chop off the tentacles of the Kraken. As the Kraken becomes bigger, it becomes even more scary and difficult to fight the Kraken. Counter-Productive Organizational System Counter-Productive Organizational System

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The Team-Level Is Easy and Inadequate Any progress not at the bottleneck is an illusion and your team usually stops being the bottleneck quickly. Unless you propagate the changes to the more systemic levels, the kraken will fight back to ultimately revert your pockets of goodness. Lack of Collaboration Lack of Collaboration Inadequate Autonomy Inadequate Autonomy Missing Context Missing Context Insufficient Alignment Insufficient Alignment Counter-Productive Organizational System Counter-Productive Organizational System

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Strategy for Slaying the Kraken Start at the top of the pyramid, and provide the missing context the teams need to make decisions. Lack of Collaboration Lack of Collaboration Inadequate Autonomy Inadequate Autonomy Insufficient Alignment Insufficient Alignment Counter-Productive Organizational System Counter-Productive Organizational System Missing Context Missing Context The goal is to create pockets of goodness. Meanwhile, make note of any tentacles of the kraken you encounter.

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Strategy for Slaying the Kraken As you move down, you will begin to notice systemic problems Lack of Collaboration Lack of Collaboration Inadequate Autonomy Inadequate Autonomy Insufficient Alignment Insufficient Alignment Counter-Productive Organizational System Counter-Productive Organizational System Missing Context Missing Context Fixing inadequate autonomy often means: Changing team structure Moving individuals around Fixing cultural issues (trust, psychological safety)

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Strategy for Slaying the Kraken Lack of Collaboration is one of the toughest nuts to crack. Lack of Collaboration Lack of Collaboration Inadequate Autonomy Inadequate Autonomy Insufficient Alignment Insufficient Alignment Counter-Productive Organizational System Counter-Productive Organizational System Missing Context Missing Context It’s right in the middle, and impacted by all the dysfunctions above and below.

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Strategy for Slaying the Kraken Lack of Alignment usually indicates organizational and leadership problems. Lack of Collaboration Lack of Collaboration Inadequate Autonomy Inadequate Autonomy Insufficient Alignment Insufficient Alignment Counter-Productive Organizational System Counter-Productive Organizational System Missing Context Missing Context OKRs don’t fix insufficient alignment, start with: Vision Strategy Removing Institutionalized Competing Interests Reducing WIP

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Strategy for Slaying the Kraken Lack of Collaboration Lack of Collaboration Inadequate Autonomy Inadequate Autonomy Insufficient Alignment Insufficient Alignment Counter-Productive Organizational System Counter-Productive Organizational System Missing Context Missing Context Fixing broken organizations is like fixing spaghetti code. When you touch one area, you might be touching ten other areas at the same time. This is why most organization settle for short-term surface-level success HURRAY! We’re doing the Spotify Model or we’ve rolled out OKRs.

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If You Remember Two Things... “A bad system will beat a good person every time.” - W.E. Deming #1. Changing complex systems is much harder than developing Product Management expertise. This is why Australia is still plagued by 200 million rabbits. Despite experts introducing cats, Myxomatosis, RHD and more than 3000 km of rabbit fences.

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#2. The 5 Obstacles to High-Performing Teams: Use CACAO to Visualize and Cook the Kraken Context Autonomy Collaboration Alignment Organizational System Feel free to send any questions you might have to [email protected]