Is Your Team Healthy?

May 22, 2023

Happy Monday everyone! There is a lot going on in the Cleveland Product scene, so let’s get to it!

Article of the Week

The best way to create awesome products is to have healthy and highly productive software engineering teams. But how do you ensure that teams are healthy, are collaborating in a productive manner, and working well with each other? I've worked with many teams in my Product career, and here are three attributes of healthy and productive software engineering teams:

  • They Collaborate - Teams that work well together and are the happiest work well together. They brainstorm and build solutions collectively, and build upon each other's ideas and approaches. They don't judge each other hastily, exhibit micro aggressions, or engage in passive aggressive behavior. They know each other, consider how each one of them works best, and they respect each other's perspective.

  • They Give Feedback - High-performing teams give each other feedback so that they can collectively improve. The feedback is professional, constructive, regular, and timely. The feedback is rooted in positive intent so that feedback is received well and necessary adjustments are voluntarily made. This allows each team member improve, benefiting the entire team.

  • They Look Ahead - Underperforming teams often remind others about the good work they did in the past, or rehash past decisions or challenges. High-performing teams acknowledge the past - and learn from it - but are constantly looking ahead. This allows the team to be innovative, respond to changes within the market, and unearth new opportunities.

If your teams are doing these three things, congratulations! If not, no worries, no team is perfect. Either way, be sure to routinely assess the health of your team so that you can produce awesome products.

The below article from Revelo has some great resources to improving the health of your teams.

Recent Events

Last week we held an event on Quiet Quitting. Kindra Helm from Centric Consulting led us in a discussion about ways an organization can support a good culture, keep their employees engaged and productive, and exhibit the right behaviors that leaders want from their employees.

Didn't make it? Watch it here, use passcode 2Z.Bpgw

Product Jobs of the Week

The Product roles at Cleveland companies keep rolling in!

Upcoming Events

  • June 1st - Product Lean Coffee (in-person)

About the Author

My name is Shawn Leitner. I started the Cleveland Product networking group in 2017, which helps to connect Product professionals around Cleveland, providing them with a forum to network, learn, and share stories. For my day job, I'm a Product Consultant & Coach for Pathfinder Product and help clients implement strong Product practices so they can create products that their teams love building and their customers love using. Connect with me on LinkedIn or feel free to attend one of my events either virtually or in-person. Always up for meeting for a cup of coffee also!