A collection of the most downloaded culture design canvas and teamwork tools for creating better workplaces.

In a Field Notes post from 2014, LeadingAgile consultant Andrew Fuqua considers Brooks' Law in the context of the Theory of Constraints. Brooks' Law is

What exactly is psychological safety? It’s a term that’s used a lot but is often misunderstood. In this piece, the author answers the following questions with input from Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, who coined the phrase “team psychological safety”: 1) What is psychological safety? 2) Why is psychological safety important? 3) How has the idea evolved? 4) How do you know if your team has it? 5) How do you create psychological safety? 6) What are common misconceptions?

Instead of seeking equal participation, aim for fair participation

Homogenous groups aren’t as effective as they seem.

New research suggests that the highest-performing teams have found subtle ways of leveraging social connections during the pandemic to fuel their success. The findings offer important clues on ways any organization can foster greater connectedness — even within a remote or hybrid work setting — to engineer higher-performing teams. Doing so takes more than simply hiring the right people and arming them with the right tools to do their work. It requires creating opportunities for genuine, authentic relationships to develop. The authors present five key characteristics of high-performing teams, all of which highlight the vital role of close connection among colleagues as a driver of team performance.

It’s okay to not be okay.

11 Promises from a Manager: a 🧵1. We’ll have a weekly 1:1. I’ll never cancel this meeting, but you can cancel it whenever you like. It’s your time.— Matthew Rechs (@MrEchs) April 18, 2022

I am sure we all agree, times are a bit challenging right now. Many of us are being faced with dilemmas and situations that we never imagined nor rehearsed. How will some companies or teams survive, who will fold, and who will thrive? Survive: you will “make it through”. Your product or team will take some hits but you will keep moving forward, not overly inspired, maybe a bit bruised but still functioning at a mediocre level. Fold: Didn't make the cut. The tension, change, anger, and resentment

Team health checks are a quick and high level way to assess how a team is feeling and doing. If you have never participated in one, imagine it as a quick survey along one or more set criteria, repe…

Rita McGrath

Joe Hart at Dale Carnegie

I often struggle to explain what it means to be part of a high-functioning software team. Sure, there are mountains of literature, and an entire genre of LinkedIn thought leadership that professes all kinds of guidelines and heuristics about what makes teams work, but in my experience, it’s hard to internalize these ideas and follow someone else’s model if you’ve never seen what good looks like.

Leadership teams can fall into thinking traps like any other team. Here are three common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Here are the skills you really need.

Joan Williams

Start by hiring curious people.

Understand how distance affects team dynamics.

David Marquet

The key question is not “How can I push harder?” but “Where can I let go?”

Chip Conley and Jill Schlesinger

You need both diversity and safety.

Several weeks ago, I shared the above Venn diagram in a status update. With 20k+ likes and comments on LinkedIn and over 2.

The Team Canvas is Business Model Canvas for teamwork. It is a free tool for leaders, facilitators and consultants to organize team alignment meetings and bring members on the same page

Without healthy conflict, your team is probably underperforming.