This video for this talk from Business of Software Conference Europe 2018 will be published here soon: http://businessofsoftware.org/2016/07/all-talks-from-business-of-software-conferences-in-one-place-saas-software-talks/ It’s not just enough to hire talented people and hope for the best. Innovation and complex problem-solving requires teamwork, so we need to pay attention to how people work together. Building great products means creating the best environment for teams to thrive. Finding the right balance between individual expertise and collective effort, while tricky, is possible. In this talk, Alison will share her insights on effective collaboration, the habits of successful teams, and principles for designing an outstanding team culture.

1. @alisoncoward
bracketcreative.co.uk
#BoS2018
DESIGNING
HIGH-PERFORMING
TEAMS

2. How do you achieve “team flow”?

3. CREATIVITY
&
PRODUCTIVITY

4. TEAMWORK IS CHANGING

5. of our work is now
done in teams
The Power of Many, EY, 2013
90%

6. TEAMWORK
TODAY

7. PRINCIPLES FOR THE
TEAMWORK OF TODAY

8. FACILITATION

9. DESIGN
APPROACH

10. BUILDING TEAM
HABITS

11. ASANA
“CULTURE AS A
PRODUCT”

12. What makes a successful team?

13. START WITH THE INDIVIDUAL

15. “Affirming the individual
and the team”
THE PARADOX
OF CREATIVE
TEAMS
Linda Hill “Collective Genius”

16. IT STARTS WITH
THE INDIVIDUAL
Self-awareness:
1. How they like to work

17. The proportion of
time that workers
spend responding
to emails, in
meetings and on the
phone
80%
Collaborative Overload, Harvard Business Review, 2016

18. Deep work
Cal Newport

19. IT STARTS WITH
THE INDIVIDUAL
Self-awareness:
1. How they like to work
2. How they work with others

20. PURPOSE
“The deep motivation and
engagement that people have
when they feel they are
working towards something
much bigger than themselves”
Daniel Pink, Drive
TEAM MEMBERS
CAN SEE THE
BIGGER PICTURE

21. THEY HAVE GOOD
COMMUNICATION
MIT Human Dynamics Lab
The most effective teams:
1. Communicate frequently
2. Talk and listen in equal measure
3. Engage in frequent informal communication
4. Conversation is dynamic
Harvard Business Review, April 2012
“The New Science of Building Great Teams”

22. What is the most important lever for
motivating individuals?
Recognition
Progress
Tangible incentives
Clear work goals
QUIZ

23. Teresa Amabile & Steve Kramer
“The Progress Principle”
What is the most important lever for
motivating individuals?
Recognition
Progress
Tangible incentives
Clear work goals
QUIZ

24. MAKE REGULAR
PROGRESS
TOWARDS
GOALS
● 238 knowledge workers
● 12000 daily diary entries
“In settings where people must work together to
solve challenging problems, high performance
has four dimensions:
creativity, productivity, commitment & collegiality”
Teresa Amabile & Steve Kramer
“The Progress Principle”

25. Impact of work
Meaning of work
Structure & clarity
Dependability
Psychological safety
GOOGLE’S
PROJECT
ARISTOTLE

26. WHAT MAKES A
SUCCESSFUL
TEAM?
High performing teams discuss
HOW they will work together

27. What would you do if a non-team
player has > 10x results compared to
the rest of the team combined?

28. MAKE YOUR MEETINGS
COUNT

29. $37 billion
Collaborative Overload, HBR
wasted on unproductive meetings in US every year

30. AMAZON’S
“SILENT STARTS”

31. AMAZON’S BIG
WHEEL

32. TAKE
INSPIRATION
FROM
WORKSHOPS

33. FACILITATION

34. FACILITATION
“Ideational Facilitation Leadership”
Abraham Carmeli, Paul Paulus
● 500 organisations
“leadership behaviour that cultivates openness,
exchange of ideas and effective discussion for
creative thinking”
CEO Ideational Facilitation Leadership and Team Creativity: The Mediating
Role of Knowledge Sharing, 2014

35. FACILITATION

36. “How do I set the stage for innovation
to happen?”
FACILITATION
Linda Hill “Collective Genius”

37. MEETINGS VS
WORKSHOPS
“A Pocket Guide to Effective Workshops”
Typical meeting Great workshop
Aim to present content Develop content together
Persuade of one right answer Exploring different options and
possibilities
Passive attendees Engaged participants
Power dynamics Equal contributions
Static Dynamic

38. A WORKSHOP
PARTICIPANT’S
EXPERIENCE
Engagement and connection
Autonomy
Purpose
Progress
Teamwork

39. WORKSHOP
CULTURE

40. one-off event
multiple workshops
workshop culture

41. CHOOSE THE
RIGHT FORMAT
FOR THE
PURPOSE

42. How will you ensure equal
contributions?

43. CHECK-IN
ROUNDS
“The more honest we are with each other, the better we work together.
And that’s why check-in rounds are one of the best ways to get higher
output from your team.”
Braden Kowitz, Co-Founder, Range Labs

44. THE POWER OF
A POST-IT NOTE

45. PRODUCTIVE
CONFLICT
(and avoiding groupthink)

46. divergent thinking convergent thinking

47. Asking good
questions
Listening
Synthesising
information
Dealing with
uncertainty

48. Look back
Look outside
Look forward
THINK BIG
PICTURE

49. BIG PICTURE
THINKING
WORKSHOP
Review: How did we perform? Insights: What did we learn?
Trends: What is happening
outside our business?
Wishlist: What would we do if
we had no restrictions?
Ideas generation: What could
we do?
Action: What will we do?

50. FOLLOW-UP AND
NEXT STEPS

51. TEAM HABITS,
ROUTINES & RITUALS

52. DESIGN
APPROACH

54. TEAM HABITS,
ROUTINES &
RITUALS
Meetings
Sharing information

55. INTERCOM’S
CULTURE OF
REFLECTION

56. ETSY’S SHARING
MISTAKES

57. TEAM HABITS,
ROUTINES &
RITUALS
Meetings
Sharing information
Informal conversations

58. FIKA

59. TEAM HABITS,
ROUTINES &
RITUALS
Meetings
Sharing information
Informal conversations
Individual working

60. ASANA’S
“NO MEETING
WEDNESDAYS”

61. DROPBOX’S
“ARMEETINGEDDON”

62. TEAM HABITS,
ROUTINES &
RITUALS
Meetings
Sharing information
Informal conversations
Individual working
Physical space

63. Don’t copy these models!

64. ASANA
“CULTURE AS A
PRODUCT”

65. TEAM HABITS,
ROUTINES &
RITUALS
Creativity
Problem-solving
User experience
Experimentation

66. How do you change behaviour?

67. START SMALL
(one step at a time)

68. TEAM HABITS
Design
Test
Repeat
Iterate

69. What habits do you need to
make or break to build
your high-performing team?

70. 1. Teamwork is changing
2. Design mindset, facilitative approach &
behaviour change
3. Make your meetings count
4. Build a “workshop culture”
5. Create better team habits
DESIGNING
HIGH-
PERFORMING
TEAMS

71. High-performing teams talk about
HOW they work together
It starts with a conversation

72. You can find me at:
@alisoncoward
bracketcreative.co.uk
THANK YOU