High-performing teams are designed, iterated, and improved just like great software.
At Nebraska.Code(), Teresa Rush explores The ANNIE Model and practical approaches for building healthier, more resilient teams.
🔗 https://nebraskacode.amegala.com/
#NebraskaCode #Leadership #TeamCulture #EngineeringManagement #TechTeam #TheANNIEModel #WomenInTech
For distributed teams, the lesson is even sharper. Collaboration happens through structured communication rhythms, shared documentation, and trust built over consistent delivery. None of that requires a specific floor plan.
If your team is spread across borders, your office layout is a vanity project. The people who matter most will never sit in it.
#OpenOffice #WorkplaceDesign #RemoteWork #DistributedTeams #Collaboration #AsyncWork #TeamCulture #Productivity #HybridWork #Consulting (6/6)
Tech trends change every six months. The fundamentals of human collaboration don't.
Published in 2018, Richard Kasperowski's #InfoQ mini-book on High-Performance Teams remains a valuable guide to building strong engineering cultures.
Based on The Core Protocols, it moves past the typical corporate buzzwords to focus on what actually matters: transparency, emotional intelligence, and psychological safety.
If you haven't read this classic yet, it's still entirely free!
📚 Download it here: https://bit.ly/443vHyM
Renaming your teams 'Squads' didn't help, did it?
The Spotify Model's famous org chart was never the point. It was a snapshot of one company's culture: autonomy, psychological safety, continuous improvement. Spotify themselves moved on years ago.
Most adoptions skip straight to the labels. Easier than building trust and alignment.
Structure without culture is just a reorg with fancier names.
Start by scheduling a one-hour video call with your entire team. Ask each person to share why they joined the company and what they hope the product will achieve. Write a one-sentence shared purpose statement that you display at the top of your team's project board.
#DistributedTeams #DSDM #AgileCollaboration #SocialPurpose #TeamCulture #RemoteWork #B2CTech #Leadership #MutualCare #SharedPurpose (27/27)
Start by setting the expectation that every team member will identify at least one improvement opportunity this iteration. Create a board where those opportunities are visible to the entire team.
#ContinuousImprovement #Lean #B2B2C #RetailTech #Agile #TeamCulture #Leadership #ProcessImprovement #Retrospectives #OperationalExcellence (26/26)
Start by changing the format of your next retrospective. Move it to a different space. Use an anonymous written format. Ask one question that nobody usually asks: what is one thing we are not talking about that we should be.
#Agile #DSDM #ContinuousImprovement #EducationSaaS #PsychologicalSafety #Retrospectives #TeamCulture #LeanAgile #EdTech #Leadership (22/22)
Our knowledge is limited by life
yet we shrink it further by denying people space to breath and to think.
Instead of addressing the root cause, we keep polishing broken processes, reinventing the same problems, and proudly attaching square wheels to a cart that was meant to move forward. Progress does not come from pushing harder, it begins when we stop pretending the wheel was designed correctly.
#SoftwareEngineering #EngineeringLeadership #TechLeadership #Innovation #DeveloperExperience #PsychologicalSafety #FailureCulture #CriticalThinking #AI #Architecture #Leadership #TeamCulture #PragmaticEngineering
🧠⚡ Sustainable growth starts with clarity, not pressure.
Christine DiDonato’s Keynote at Nebraska.Code() explores how teams can align around meaningful outcomes, reduce burnout, and build energizing cultures that thrive through constant change.
Come for the collaboration. Stay for the fruit plate.
We always treasure the opportunities to get together in person. We thrive online, but a high-five just hits harder in real life.
Our directors carved out time to get together in Toronto and think together, eat together, and build together. We're grateful for this team that continually steers us toward the work that serves people.
#TeamWorkMakesTheDreamWork #TeamCulture #Leadership
w/ @mallis
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