1. Why can’t we just get along?
Emily Webber / hellotacit.com
emilywebber.co.uk
ewebber on socials
Lean Agile Scotland / September 2023

2. Emily Webber
Photo
by
Jordan
Elliott
Imagine the best team…

3. Emily Webber
I’m Emily
@ewebber
emilywebber.co.uk
hellotacit.com
Photo
by
Artem
Bryzgalov
Emily Webber

4. Emily Webber
Why can’t we all
just get along?

5. Emily Webber
Three
Anti-patterns

6. Emily Webber
Anti-patterns one:
One role across
many teams

7. Emily Webber
Anti-pattern one: One role across many teams

8. Emily Webber
Anti-pattern one: One role across many teams

9. Emily Webber
Anti-pattern one: One role across many teams

10. Emily Webber
Time spent context switching between projects
0
5
10
15
20
25
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x x
x x
x
x
1 1.25 1.5 1.75 2 2.25 2.5 2.75
Hours
spent
on
context
switching
Average number of projects per week
Impact of task switching and work interruptions on software development processes. Tregubov, Alexey & Boehm, Barry & Rodchenko, Natalia & Lane, Jo. (2017)

11. Emily Webber
Time spent context switching between projects
0
5
10
15
20
25
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x x
x x
x
x
1 1.25 1.5 1.75 2 2.25 2.5 2.75
Hours
spent
on
context
switching
Average number of projects per week
Impact of task switching and work interruptions on software development processes. Tregubov, Alexey & Boehm, Barry & Rodchenko, Natalia & Lane, Jo. (2017)

12. Emily Webber
Anti-patterns two:
Product vs
engineering wars

13. Emily Webber
Product Engineering
Vs
Anti-pattern two: Product vs engineering wars

14. Emily Webber
Make decisions
about the
product
Build the
product
Throw
Anti-pattern two: Product vs engineering wars

15. Emily Webber
martinfowler.com/articles/bottlenecks-of-scaleups/03-product-v-engineering.html
- Rick Kick and Kennedy Collins

16. Emily Webber
“Team members align themselves with their
management structure or functional leadership as
their primary identity, instead of their business or
customer value stream, making it easier for teams to
assume an “us” versus “them” posture.”
From martinfowler.com/articles/bottlenecks-of-scaleups/03-product-v-engineering.html –
Rick Kick and Kennedy Collins

17. Emily Webber
Anti-patterns three:
X-led organisations

18. Emily Webber
Anti-pattern three: X-led organisations
Data led
Product led
Engineering
led
Policy led
User led
HiPPO led
Design led
Delivery led

19. Emily Webber
medium.com/levelshealth/why-engineers-should-seek-out-engineering-led-companies-and-how-to-
fi
nd-them-6086d4780a5b
“At places where engineers aren’t in
charge, it feels like they just blindly apply
the bog-standard operating procedures
of the industry: working agile, doing
sprints, etc.”
Engineering
led

20. Emily Webber
“The objectivity of a data-driven
approach means that it can lead
insights that drive success without any
restricting factors or pre-conceptions…
a robust, replicable process rather than
personal opinion or convenience.”
Data led
whitehatanalytics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Whitehat-Analytics_Five-steps-to-becoming-a-data-driven-organisation.pdf

21. Emily Webber
pendo.io/product-led/the-product-led-organization
“Product-led organizations make their
products the vehicle for acquiring and
retaining customers, driving growth, and
in
fl
uencing organizational priorities. They
represent the future of business in a
digital-
fi
rst world.”
Product led

22. Emily Webber
If you only have
a hammer,
everything
looks like a nail

23. Emily Webber
One role
across many
teams
X-led
organisations
Product vs
engineering
wars
Three collaboration Anti-Patterns

24. Emily Webber
Three symptoms of
these anti-patterns

25. Emily Webber
One group
holds the power
Photo
by
Max
LaRochelle
Emily Webber

26. Emily Webber
Photo
by
Jirath
Ninchaikovit
They reinforce
professional
protectionism
Emily Webber

27. Emily Webber
https://www.aomrc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/
Developing_professional_identity_in_multi-professional_teams_0520.pdf
"If an individual has an overly
rigid professional identity, this
may lead to poor teamworking
and resistance to change…and
even bullying behaviours towards
those they consider different.”
Professional protectionism

28. Emily Webber
Backed by
existing power
structures
Photo
by
JWassim
Chouak
Emily Webber

29. Emily Webber
Photo
by
Andre
Mouton
on
Unsplash
Magnified if it ties in with
our sense of identity

30. Emily Webber
“Isolation tested our sense of identity
because it limited our access to
in-person social feedback. “
4 Ways That the Pandemic Changed How We See Ourselves: Nayantara
Dutta https://time.com/6165501/pandemic-changed-identity-research

31. Emily Webber
Incentives and
rewards encourage
behaviour

32. Emily Webber
Photo
by
Stephen
Pedersen
They cause
in-team silos Emily Webber

33. Emily Webber
In team silos

34. Emily Webber
"In a wicked world, relying
upon experience from a
single domain is not only
limiting, it can be
disastrous.”
David Epstein
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
Emily Webber
Photo
from
ted.com

35. Emily Webber
Different domains,
experiences and views of
the world bring diversity
to solutions, making
them more rounded.

36. Emily Webber
1 2
3 4
drawtoast.com

37. Emily Webber
"When people work together
under the right
circumstances, group
models are much better
than individual models.”
Tom Wujec
Got a wicked problem? First, tell me how you make toast
Emily Webber
Photo
from
ted.com

38. Emily Webber
One group
holding the
power
In-team silos
Reinforced
professional
protectionism
Three symptoms of these anti-patterns

39. Emily Webber
Three different
approaches

40. Emily Webber
Photo
by
Sérgio
Rola
Create enabling
organisational
structures
Emily Webber

41. Emily Webber
Create “one team” at all levels
martinfowler.com/articles/bottlenecks-of-scaleups/03-product-v-engineering.html
- Rick Kick and Kennedy Collins

42. Emily Webber
First team principle
“leaders prioritize supporting their
fellow leaders over their direct reports
—that they are responsible to their
peers more than they are to their
individual or “Second” teams.”
Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lecioni

43. Emily Webber
Photo
by
Hannah
Busing
Build
interdisciplinary
teams
Emily Webber

44. Emily Webber
Disciplines =! Roles

45. Emily Webber
Definitions of conceptual models of team-working
Multidisciplinary teams
Members may have separate
but interrelated roles and
maintain their own
disciplinary boundaries.
—
Additive, not integrative.
Interdisciplinary teams
Members may blur some
disciplinary boundaries but
still maintain a discipline-
speci
fi
c base.
—
Teams integrate closer to
complete a shared goal.
Transdisciplinary teams
Team members share roles
and goals. They share skills,
allowing others to learn as
well as acquire new skills.
—
A more blended team that
shares objectives and many
core skill sets as required to
achieve their overall goal.
Taken from: Graham Ellis and Nick Sevdalis (2019) Understanding and improving multidisciplinary team working in geriatric
medicine. Age and Ageing; vol. 48: 498–505 doi: 10.1093/ageing/afz021.

46. Emily Webber
Photo
by
Pawel
Czerwinski
Embrace in-team
collaboration
Emily Webber

47. Emily Webber
Forget the Pecking Order at Work | Margaret Heffernan Emily Webber
“Companies don't have
ideas; only people do. And
what motivates people are
the bonds and loyalty and
trust they develop
between each other. What
matters is the mortar, not
just the bricks.”

48. Emily Webber
Photo
by
Jason
Bruges
Studio
People are not
interchangeable
Emily Webber

49. Emily Webber
Why squiggly careers are better for everyone | Helen Tupper & Sarah Ellis

50. Emily Webber
I, T,
𝛑
shaped…
and broken combs

51. Emily Webber
Capability comb
Recognise what people bring
to a team, while building
empathy, trust and
opportunities to collaborate
emilywebber.co.uk/team-exercise-building-empathy-and-understanding-with-the-capability-comb/

52. Emily Webber
What do you want to
bring to the team?
1. What are my superpowers
2. What am I good at
3. What can I do (with support)
4. What am I starting out with

53. Emily Webber
Capability comb:
Use these combs to recognise what people bring to a team
emilywebber.co.uk/team-exercise-building-empathy-and-understanding-with-the-capability-comb/

54. Emily Webber
Create
enabling
organisational
structures
Embrace
in-team
collaboration
Build
interdisciplinary
teams
Three ways to counteract the anti-patterns

55. Emily Webber
Only by true collaboration, empathy
and shared responsibility will we be
able to work as teams and create
things that make everyone happy.

56. Emily Webber
The Team Onion is a model
to keep teams small, break
down silos and create
shared responsibility across
team boundaries.
teamonion.works

57. Thank you
Emily Webber
emilywebber.co.uk
ewebber on socials
hellotacit.com