Building sustainable teams to handle uncertainty

A presentation at Velocity in in London, UK by Jenny Duckett

Building sustainable teams to handle uncertainty

Building sustainable teams to handle uncertainty

Think about your best experience of working with a team

Think about your best experience of working with a team

And mine?

And mine?

An empowered, open team who understand their context can adapt to change

An empowered, open team who understand their context can adapt to change

Structure of my talk

Structure of my talk

What can disrupt your team?

What can disrupt your team?

Change is often a good thing!

Change is often a good thing!

People leave and join

People leave and join

Senior leaders move

Senior leaders move

Wider priorities shift

Wider priorities shift

Teams are re-organised out of existence

Teams are re-organised out of existence

https://larahogan.me/blog/desk-moves/

https://larahogan.me/blog/desk-moves/

Emotions are critical

Emotions are critical

What can you do to prepare?

What can you do to prepare?

We can prepare for change

We can prepare for change

Work on yourself first

Work on yourself first

Don’t do it all yourself (you can’t)

Don’t do it all yourself (you can’t)

Give people your trust

Give people your trust

Build your support network

Build your support network

Set yourself up to lead sustainably

Set yourself up to lead sustainably

Make the team’s work ownable

Make the team’s work ownable

Define a single clear goal, because focus is invaluable

Define a single clear goal, because focus is invaluable

Cake!

Cake!

Communicate your goal over and over again

Communicate your goal over and over again

Give your team the background they need for each piece of work

Give your team the background they need for each piece of work

Add context to user stories, Use story kickoffs, Run workshops

Add context to user stories, Use story kickoffs, Run workshops

Empower your team to take ownership

Empower your team to take ownership

Embrace opportunities for positive change

Embrace opportunities for positive change

Become great at integrating new people

Become great at integrating new people

Biscuit matrix!

Biscuit matrix!

Recognise that everyone is always learning

Recognise that everyone is always learning

Share understanding of your work in the team

Share understanding of your work in the team

Write great commit messages, Comment on tickets, Keep your docs updated, Document your decisions

Write great commit messages, Comment on tickets, Keep your docs updated, Document your decisions

Mob programming

Mob programming

https://gdstechnology.blog.gov.uk/2016/09/08/our-top-12-mob-programming-tips-and-thoughts/

https://gdstechnology.blog.gov.uk/2016/09/08/our-top-12-mob-programming-tips-and-thoughts/

Taking ownership helps people handle change

Taking ownership helps people handle change

Support and grow individuals

Support and grow individuals

Use every piece of work to help someone grow

Use every piece of work to help someone grow

Start with individual needs

Start with individual needs

Delegate effectively

Delegate effectively

Teach people to do your job

Teach people to do your job

Grow the next generation of leaders

Grow the next generation of leaders

Make yourself dispensable

Make yourself dispensable

Grow people for a resilient team and organisation

Grow people for a resilient team and organisation

Show your team where they fit in

Show your team where they fit in

Look beyond your team

Look beyond your team

Encourage your team to show off their work

Encourage your team to show off their work

Show the team how their work fits into the bigger picture

Show the team how their work fits into the bigger picture

Don’t over-insulate your team

Don’t over-insulate your team

A wider view helps people adapt when things change

A wider view helps people adapt when things change

Managing up

Managing up

Communicate your team’s capacity for change

Communicate your team’s capacity for change

Ask for support to build a sustainable team

Ask for support to build a sustainable team

You need their trust

You need their trust

Show them why all your team’s work matters

Show them why all your team’s work matters

Good communication about change is vital

Good communication about change is vital

What does this look like?

What does this look like?

Grow sustainable teams for a sustainable organisation

Grow sustainable teams for a sustainable organisation

It’s even more important to empower people during tough times

It’s even more important to empower people during tough times

My old team!

My old team!

Thanks!

Thanks!

It takes time and trust for a team to learn to work together well, and if you’ve achieved that it’s not surprising that you want to keep it that way. But unexpected events can disrupt your team’s equilibrium: people leave to take up other opportunities, wider priorities and strategies shift, and organisations restructure themselves. Change is guaranteed, so how do you handle its impact on your team?

You can equip your team with an understanding of their context and empower them to work productively in times of uncertainty. Jenny Duckett shares practical steps you can take as a leader to build an open, outward-facing team whose members take ownership of their work, help each other learn, and embrace new challenges.

Resources

The following resources were mentioned during the presentation or are useful additional information.