How we helped a global team of engineers, analysts, and product manager at a Fortune 500 company improve collaboration and communication and meet their timelines

⛰️ Challenges:

• Engineering team had a culture of always saying yes and overpromising but under-delivering and missing deadlines
• Product asked for many last-minute changes with a seemingly never-ending list of new feature requests
• Engineering team was very introverted whereas Product team was very extroverted. This led to strained communication and misunderstandings where expectations were not always clearly understood

⬆️ How we turned this around:

• We organized group training sessions with Product, Engineering, and Analysts all in the same (virtual) room
• We took the team through exercises to better understand themselves and their teammates, identify their work and communication styles, and understand how these could positively or negatively impact their work relationships, especially when interacting with someone who had a different communication style
• We facilitated engaging conversations where each person discussed better ways to approach one another, taking into account their work styles and the personal traits each person shared about themselves
• We steered the conversation to team expectations and what changes would signal success for the team
• • The biggest topic was around missing deadlines. The Product Manager explained they were okay with getting pushback as long as they were provided options for when the work could be delivered. They explained this would enable them to plan and set expectations with the business, rather than find out last minute that they were not going to meet a deadline and then have to scramble and soothe frustrations throughout the organization.
  • Some of the engineers admitted that they had felt nervous about the idea of saying they couldn’t meet a deadline, but now felt more comfortable being transparent in their communication thanks to the agreements they made as a team with the Product Manager.
  • The engineering team collectively agreed to ask more questions upfront to capture details (is this urgent? Is this a higher priority than X?) and making sure they had all the details before offering an estimate to the Product Manager.
  • The engineers shared with the Product Manager that they needed to be able to ask more questions and get more context in order to better perform their job. The team mutually agreed to set check-in meetings each week to ensure they had space blocked out for Q&A as needed.
• Finally we helped the team lay the groundwork for a stronger team culture moving forward
• • The team discussed how they could better support one another on team projects if they were falling behind or saw someone else falling behind
  • The engineers decided they would like to understand more about the business needs behind their projects so that they could design better solutions to meet those needs.
• By the end of the training, the atmosphere and relationships between the teams was noticeably better as all the members believed there was a good path forward.

👀 Checking back in after 3 months:

• The product manager and engineering manager both agreed that their team was working together much more cohesively after implementing the new behaviors discussed in the training.
• They were no longer missing deadlines and dealing with the fallout from that; thanks to proactive communication the product manager was able to manage expectations with their stakeholders
• All members of the team agreed that communication was much more open and transparent and that this helped their workflow and ability to meet deadlines, with fewer misunderstandings and less re-work needed
• Many of the engineers also mentioned they felt more connected to the work and enjoyed knowing more about the business context
• The team said they felt closer and more understanding of each other than a typical work team would be, and that this was something they liked that happened through the training and changes they made

How we helped a startup engineering team resolve interpersonal conflicts, increase their delivery speed, and inject positivity into the team culture

⛰️ Challenges:

• Working in a high-stress environment with tight deadlines created frustration and strain on team relationships
• Constant “need to move fast” led to lots of easily-preventable mistakes that ultimately delayed product delivery and led to customer complaints
• Some members of the team felt underappreciated/undervalued
• Team struggled with competing with one another more than cooperating which affected their workflow

⬆️ How we helped them change:

• We took the team through a Communication Blueprint session with a goal of opening up communication lines and setting clearer expectations so the team could understand the metrics of success and how to move ahead together
• We helped them approach the “difficult” discussions to clear up conflict and find resolution on how to move forward together as a team
• • One of the engineers opened up about how they didn’t feel appreciated because the Engineer Manager often teased them about their timeliness (and how it meant they weren’t committed to the company or their work).
  • The Manager was unaware they made their employee feel that way, and this opened a discussion on the kind of culture they wanted to build (fun, casual, conversational) that was also respectful and supportive.
  • The engineering team collectively agreed to ask more questions upfront to capture details (is this urgent? Is this a higher priority than X?) and making sure they had all the details before offering an estimate to the Product Manager.
  • They agreed on a new set of behaviors they wanted to adopt as a team, including celebrating milestones along the way to a big product delivery as a way to balance out the high-stress environment with moments of levity and fun + asking each other for help when they were getting overwhelmed.
• We helped them identify the places where communication was breaking down and leading to preventable work mistakes. There were two big outcomes from this line of work
• • The team discovered better ways to communicate amongst themselves, cutting down on errors and misunderstandings in the work.
  • The team decided that their culture was one of “fast AND thoughtful” and they decided to spend more time upfront with planning and asking questions. This ensured they knew the work requirements before rushing forward to complete them.
• By the end of the training, the atmosphere and relationships between the teams was noticeably better as all the members believed there was a good path forward.

👀 Checking back in after 3 months:

• The teamwork had dramatically improved thanks to better communication and better understanding of one another. This reduced costly mistakes and made their release cycles smoother and less error-prone.
• The engineer who felt undervalued/underappreciated made adjustments to his communication style, worked on meeting the expectations communicated by his manager and was promoted to team lead.
• The team said they felt closer and more understanding of each other than a typical work team would be thanks to the Communication Blueprint training.
• The VP of engineering’s feedback was that the training had helped his team bond and she saw more situations in the office where they stepped up to support one another and work as one team.
• Overall reports on happiness/satisfaction within the workplace improved.

How we helped an all-remote global team go from “paralyzed until they could check in with their leadership” to “empowered to work independently and drive impact”

⛰️ Challenges:

• A new team assembled entirely during the pandemic never had a chance to meet each other and build the normal working relationships you find in an office
• The team was hired at a senior level and expected to drive a large impact across the organization with minimal oversight while working independently
• Their manager had limited time to spend with each person and there was a breakdown in expectations VS reality where the team members didn’t feel confident to move forward without more guidelines from their manager

🤝 What we helped them with:

• We took the team through a standard Communication Blueprint training, starting with building team connectedness through sharing personal traits/characteristics and then learning more about one another’s Communication Personas.
• When we got to Communication Personas, we helped highlight the diverse communication styles across the team as well as the common traits that were shared by many members of the team.
• We practiced different exercises to help the team see how they could better communicate with their manager and their peers.
• We guided discussion towards expectations and what it meant to be successful in their role, involving the team’s manager to help clarify their expectations for each person on the team.
• Team members were able to discuss with their manager how to best let him know they needed input to move forward, clarify what their manager’s expectations were, and walk away comfortable knowing the guidelines so could operate more independently

💪 What happened as a result:

• By the end of the training, the team was more confident they understood their manager’s expectations and how to adjust moving forward to work more independently within the company
• They individually told us that they also felt more comfortable communicating with their manager and asking for their help when necessary.
• Clearing up the expectations enabled everyone on the team to focus on what they needed to do.

👀 Checking back in after 3 months:

• Individuals on the team have established a strong reputation within their company as subject matter experts who drive projects to completion with minimal oversight.
• We’ve continued to work with this particular team as they expanded and brought on new team members, helping them quickly integrate into the team culture and hit the ground running.