(In an onshore-offshore model)
Building a journey together is a great way to achieve success, and it all starts with crafting a strong and inclusive team.
Just as you pour different colours into the mix, the colours blend together. Dark or bright, colourful or monotone—that’s the art of colour selection, as well as the way we combine them. Creating a successful project team is more than selecting individuals based on their skills and experience. It’s also about fostering a culture of inclusivity and positivity where everyone feels valued and respected.
Working in an onshore-offshore model, and under the virtual hybrid working mode, have changed the traditional team dynamic. Communication, maintaining a shared sense of purpose and direction, establishing trust, and fostering a sense of camaraderie are all the trouble the team leader must have gone through. However, these challenges can be overcome with the right tools and strategies, and remote teams can be as successful as co-located teams.
The Power of Diversity
The power of diversity is undeniable when choosing the team’s ingredients. When people from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences come together, they bring unique perspectives and ideas to the table.
One of the common beliefs is that the higher seniority the team may be, the better the outcome that the team could deliver. To some extent, that would be true for a short period. A team with all Senior Developers, Technical Leads and Solution Architects could quickly handle the technical challenge in a few sprints, but will be hard to keep their motivation for long. As all are seniors, there would be potential conflict in choosing technical direction with different viewpoints; there would be reluctances to “get the hands dirty” to get work done to every detail, and the demand for progression to the next career path. A good mix of regular and senior teams would bring out the learning and development opportunities, energy and sustainability for the team.
Another traditional thinking is that the team would just need to be developers, and they will handle everything from getting requirements to ensuring final output quality. While that practice would work in some specific cases, the mindsets of the Developers, Business Analysts (BA), and Testers are totally different. The BA would have the user view, the Developer would have the builder view, and the Tester would contribute their quality control view to ensure the product’s “bulletproof” nature. Your team’s result would be far more distinct if your team had all the required skills to handle the challenging work.
Last but not least, the team needs to bond together. Creating a successful team requires assessing each member’s personality and identifying how it contributes to the overall team spirit. Do you have a team full of thinkers, or too many introverts? Does your team have someone who can take the lead for the team-building activities? Do we have the young spirit to drive the energy forward? Recognizing each member’s strengths and weaknesses can promote a more effective and cohesive team dynamic. That would be the foundation for our long-term success.
Foster a Positive Team Culture
With the great ingredients of each team members, the task is now to bring them together and create a team.
Sharing Common Goals
Like a great football team, the most important thing is to score goals. To do that, you need to know where the goal is, build the strategy, and nail it! The same truth applies to our team.
Sharing goals is essential for any team to achieve success and stay motivated. When all team members have a clear understanding of what they are working towards, they can collaborate more effectively and focus their efforts on the most important tasks. This can also prevent misunderstandings and conflicts that can arise when team members have different ideas about what they should be doing.
The goal would not just be a short-term vision. It’s best to share the long-term vision and then break it down into each release’s goals and iteration goals so that we build up value to reach the final target. The team, from that, can hold each other accountable for their actions and track progress towards achieving those goals. This helps to keep everyone motivated and focused on the end result. All members would feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves. This can be a powerful motivator and can help to build a strong team culture.
Learning Quickly
Space X’s early years were troubled by rocket explosions and failed launches. Regardless, Elon Musk kept faith in his team. Together, they reviewed the failure, fine-tuned the approach, and finally achieved groundbreaking success. What was different from the traditional approach is that Elon and his team accepted failure as part of the human way but also learned quickly and grew from it.
Accepting failure means acknowledging that we’re not perfect and would make mistakes from time to time. It means recognizing that failure is an opportunity to learn and grow rather than a reflection of our worth as a person. When we can accept failure with grace and humility, we can move forward with greater confidence and resilience, knowing that we have the strength and resilience to overcome any obstacle.
In software development practice, the team should be brave enough to set extended goals, try new methods to improve productivity, and bring new ideas to enhance efficiency and quality. That would only be with the understanding that they can try and fail but recover and be better.
Of course, accepting failure is easier said than done. It can be hard to face disappointment and failure head-on, particularly if we’ve invested a lot of time and effort into a particular goal or project. However, when we can embrace failure as an opportunity for growth and learning, we can unlock our full potential and achieve great things.
Bringing the team together
While virtual communication has become increasingly prevalent, it cannot fully replace the importance of face-to-face interactions. No matter how advanced technology is now, it cannot replace human touch and feeling. The warmth of a smile, the firmness of a handshake, or the comfort of a hug cannot be replaced by an emoji or a virtual hug.
Travelling would be expensive for the onshore-offshore team to meet each other. But the value it brings is enormous. It provides an opportunity to establish and strengthen relationships with clients, which can lead to increased loyalty, repeat business, and referrals. The joint sessions are always more productive, as in-person discussions can be more efficient and focused, and team members can quickly clarify questions or concerns and work towards a resolution. In addition, it can facilitate more nuanced and complex discussions and problem-solving.
Overall, maximizing human interaction can lead to stronger relationships, greater productivity, and a feeling of belonging, support, and connection. These are all critical to getting the team to perform and achieve great success.
Summary
By selecting team members with the right skills, experience, and ability to work collaboratively with others, you can create a solid foundation for your project. In addition, by fostering a positive and inclusive team culture where everyone feels valued and respected, you can increase the chances of success and create a fulfilling and rewarding experience for everyone involved. Together, we can achieve exceptional results while creating a fulfilling and rewarding experience for everyone.
Let’s work towards building a project team that inspires us all to reach our full potential.