Communication & Collaboration: The Twin Pillars of High-Performing Delivery Teams
Originally published on LinkedIn September 13, 2023
Effective collaboration & communication is essential for achieving daily work by a Product Delivery Team, which can consist of many individuals, including a product manager, designer, researcher, data analyst, tech lead, architect, tester, and multiple developers (front end, back end, etc.). Sometimes, an individual can hold multiple roles, and who carries a role can vary depending on each person’s capabilities. Collaboration should look as follows:
Clear roles, responsibilities, and reporting lines: each team member has a clear role(s), and the responsibilities are written down (in a team wiki, for example). RACI model can be consulted for clarity. In most cases, a RACI is too heavy for broad adoption, and I recommend consulting the framework and judiciously adopting it where it makes sense. Reporting lines should be clear, with no “dual/dotted” reporting lines that create ambiguity.
Open communication between delivery team members and extended stakeholders: use a tool like Slack or MS Teams for daily communication within the team (eg, status updates, what was achieved by each individual that day), with clearly separated channels to minimize noise between teams/zones. Less frequent summary updates should be shared with extended stakeholders in their appropriate channels.
Regular syncs: whether a delivery team meets daily for a stand-up, a functional team (eg, product managers or engineers) meets weekly, or a department meets monthly, there needs to be an avenue to share progress, discuss issues, and make decisions on a regular basis. I recommend establishing a cadence (like a heartbeat) with clear attendance and topic requirements for each meeting.
Collaboration and Tools: leverage existing tools such as JIRA, Google Docs, Confluence, Miro, and Figma. These tools help teams collaborate in real time and keep everyone on the same page.
Cross-functional collaboration: people from extended teams (eg, marketing, sales, customer success, services, support) should be included in specific projects. Inclusive meetings will promote diverse perspectives and can lead to more innovative solutions.
Feedback and learning: a culture of continuous feedback and learning should be established by regularly reviewing what’s working and what’s not to improve collaboration. This can be done through retrospectives and feedback sessions.
Documentation of everything: to ensure everyone has access to the same information and can work asynchronously, establish a practice to document everything from meeting notes and decisions to design specs and project plans. I’ve had the most success when these artifacts were open to the whole company, which promoted cross-department collaboration.
Trust and respect: a culture of trust and respect is the cornerstone of successful collaboration. Encourage positive interactions, empathy, and understanding among team members to create an enduring culture.
Conflict resolution: conflicts are inevitable in a team setting, so make sure there is a process to ensure disputes are resolved healthily and constructively.
Celebration of success: celebrating success as a team, department, or company not only boosts morale but also strengthens the team bond.