How Team Collaboration Drives Engineering Results

After years of managing rocky relationships between product and engineering leaders, these are the top 5 things I've learned you can do to make these partnerships great: 1. Foster Strategic Action: Maintain a well-thought-out backlog of problems that acknowledges potential risks and strategies for overcoming them. This approach keeps engineers engaged, solving real customer issues, and builds trust across teams. 2. Simplify Processes: Introduce only necessary processes and keep them straightforward. Maintain a regular schedule of essential meetings and minimize ad-hoc interruptions to give engineers more time to focus. 3. Collaborate on Solutions: Instead of dictating solutions, work closely with engineers to understand problems and explore solutions together. This partnership leverages their technical expertise and aligns efforts with customer needs, enhancing innovation and ownership. 4. Respect Technical Debt: Recognize and prioritize technical debt within the product roadmap. Trust engineers to identify critical technical issues that need addressing to keep the product competitive and maintain high-quality standards. 5. Build Relationships: Spend time with your engineering team outside of regular work tasks through meals, activities, or shared hobbies. Building personal connections fosters trust and improves collaboration, making it easier to tackle challenges together effectively. I’ve seen amazing product and engineering partnerships and some not-so-great ones. Teams that take the time to improve their relationship really see the benefits. While natural tensions exist, the best teams put in the effort to work well together, resulting in more successful products. #techleads #product #engineering

In my experience as a Product Leader the most crucial part to delivering meaningful outcomes 🙌 is ALIGNING your roadmap with the other teams 🙌 Without alignment, priorities and timelines can clash, leading to missed opportunities and inefficiencies. When goals and key milestones are aligned, every team understands how their efforts contribute to the bigger picture. This creates clarity, reduces friction, and ensures that everyone is moving toward the same outcomes. Here’s how to make it happen: 1️⃣ Define the “non-negotiables” up front Every roadmap should have a few key outcomes that are non-negotiable. Share these with other teams early to align focus. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: If reducing churn is a priority, customer success can align their training, while marketing focuses on re-engagement campaigns. 2️⃣ Understanding the WHY Roadmaps should always highlight strategic priorities, OKR’s and user pain points you are addressing. This helps other teams connect with the “why” behind priorities. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: Show how a new feature improves a specific customer pain point and how it connects to revenue growth. 3️⃣ Opportunity cost When aligning priorities, consider what’s at stake if a roadmap item isn’t completed. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: delaying a key feature might mean losing competitive advantage or missing out on critical user adoption. Highlight these trade-offs to create urgency and focus. 4️⃣ Run “pre-mortems” together. Before committing to a major initiative, bring cross-functional teams together to anticipate risks and potential roadblocks. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: you might uncover that engineering needs additional resources or marketing has dependencies on sales enablement. 5️⃣ Celebrate cross-team wins. Alignment shouldn’t feel like a chore. Highlight and celebrate when collaboration leads to success, such as a well-executed feature launch or a process improvement that benefits multiple teams. It builds goodwill and reinforces the value of staying aligned. How do you ensure your product roadmap aligns with other teams? Share your thoughts—I’d love to hear them!

I’ve been leading SWE teams for over a decade now. As a Principal EM, I have one cardinal rule: The failures of my team are my failures. A strong engineering team doesn’t just happen, it’s built deliberately over time. To evaluate progress and level up, I focus on three core pillars that define a high-performing engineering team. Let’s break them down: 1. Delivering Value: The “Why” Behind the Work Your team exists to solve problems, ship features, and provide value. - Are we consistently delivering measurable results? - Are stakeholders confident in our output? - Does every sprint feel aligned with business goals? Value doesn’t mean just “shipping.” It means shipping the right things that move the needle for the business. 2. People Growth: Build for Today, Invest for Tomorrow Your team isn’t just delivering code, it’s a living system of people with potential. Ask yourself: - Are individuals engaged and growing? - Are we creating opportunities for junior engineers to step up? - Do team members feel empowered to share ideas and take ownership? High retention, strong morale, and skill growth are signs you’re on the right track. 3. Sustainable Quality: Long-Term Wins Over Short-Term Gains Shortcuts may feel tempting, but tech debt always comes knocking. - Are we balancing speed with quality? - Is technical debt under control? - Are we investing in processes and tools to sustain long-term success? The best teams create systems that grow with them, not against them. My role an Engineering Manager isn’t just to manage tasks. It’s to elevate the entire system—people, processes, and outcomes. When your team excels in all three pillars, you’re creating a high-performance team that can adapt, grow, and thrive. If you’re a developer, remember: Your work is more than just the lines of code you push. When you focus on delivering value, growing as a person, and maintaining quality, you’re not just leveling yourself up, you’re helping your entire team succeed. Keep asking questions. Keep learning. And most importantly, keep building.

In product development, the collaboration between product operations and engineering operations is essential for bridging gaps and ensuring seamless execution. This partnership is pivotal in streamlining workflows, enhancing communication, and driving innovation, ultimately leading to the successful delivery of high-quality products. Product operations play a crucial role in gathering and analyzing data, setting strategic priorities, and ensuring that product development aligns with business goals. By working closely with engineering operations, they can translate these strategic priorities into actionable plans. This collaboration ensures that engineering teams are well-informed about the product vision, customer needs, and market trends, enabling them to focus on building features that deliver the most value. Effective communication is the cornerstone of this collaboration. Regular sync-ups, joint planning sessions, and transparent reporting mechanisms help both teams stay aligned. Product operations can provide engineering with insights into customer feedback and market demands, while engineering can offer valuable input on technical feasibility and resource requirements. This two-way communication fosters a culture of mutual respect and shared objectives. Best practices for fostering this synergy include establishing clear roles and responsibilities, setting joint goals, and leveraging collaborative tools and platforms. Encouraging cross-functional training and team-building activities can also strengthen the bond between product and engineering teams. In conclusion, bridging the gap between product operations and engineering operations is vital for delivering successful products. By working together, these teams can overcome challenges, drive efficiency, and create products that resonate with customers and achieve business objectives. #productoperations #productmanagement #engineeringoperations #productdevelopment

Why XFN Teams Are the Secret Sauce In my years at Google, Instagram, and now Roblox, I've seen firsthand how cross-functional (XFN) teams consistently produce the most innovative and impactful solutions. Here's why I think its important for engineering leaders to help build XFN teams (in some cases Eng needs to help fund the HC): 🧠 Diverse Perspectives Drive Innovation  By bringing together experts from different disciplines, we tap into a wealth of knowledge and experiences. This diversity of thought is the catalyst for breakthrough ideas. 🏃♂️ Breaking Down Silos Accelerates Progress  Cross-functional teams naturally break down organizational silos, fostering communication and collaboration that might not happen otherwise. 🧩 Holistic Problem-Solving  Complex problems require multifaceted solutions. Cross-functional teams approach challenges from all angles, leading to more comprehensive and effective outcomes. 🔄 Rapid Iteration and Learning  With diverse expertise in one team, we can iterate quickly, learn fast, and pivot when needed – crucial in our ever-evolving industry. 🤝 Shared Ownership Drives Results  When team members from different backgrounds work towards a common goal, there's a sense of shared ownership that drives everyone to excel. What's your experience with XFN teams? Have you seen similar results in your organization? Have you ever been dropped into a team with little XFN engagement? If so what did you do at the Eng leader? #Innovation #TechLeadership #CrossFunctionalTeams #TechIndustry #CollaborationWins

Building a successful team isn’t about finding the best players; it’s about creating the best chemistry. Think about it—what’s a band without harmony? You could have the greatest musicians in the world, but if they’re not in sync, it’s just noise. I learned this lesson early on in my career, working alongside some of the brightest minds. It wasn’t their individual brilliance that led to our success but our ability to collaborate, to synchronize our efforts like an orchestra, each note playing in perfect harmony. I remember one project that seemed impossible—a tight deadline, limited resources, and high stakes. The task was daunting, and on paper, it seemed like failure was inevitable. Picture it: a room full of tense faces, the clock ticking ominously, and everyone wondering if we’d crash and burn. Yet, it was the synergy within the team, the unspoken understanding and mutual respect, that allowed us to pull through and deliver something extraordinary. This experience taught me that true success is a collective effort, where every member contributes their unique strengths. At its heart, teamwork is about finding harmony amidst diversity. It’s like a potluck dinner where everyone brings their best dish. Sure, you might have a world-class chef, but the magic happens when everyone’s contributions blend into a feast. It’s about recognizing that each person brings something invaluable to the table and fostering an environment where these differences can shine. When we embrace this mindset, we unlock the true potential of collaboration, driving innovation and achieving remarkable outcomes. This belief in the power of teamwork has shaped my approach to leadership and collaboration. Whether it’s brainstorming new ideas, tackling complex problems, or simply supporting one another, the essence of teamwork lies in our ability to connect, communicate, and co-create. Imagine a brainstorming session where ideas bounce around like popcorn, or a problem-solving meeting where every suggestion is a stepping stone to the solution. That’s the magic of teamwork. Seeing the impact of this collaborative spirit in action, I’m convinced that the greatest achievements are born from a collective effort. As we continue to navigate the ever-changing landscape of business and technology, let’s remember the art of teamwork and the incredible possibilities it holds. So next time you face a daunting challenge, don’t just look for the best players—create the best team. Because together, we can turn the impossible into the extraordinary.

Engineering Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast: Lessons from the Trenches Early in my career, I led engineering teams facing seemingly impossible deadlines on mission-critical projects. I also lead a sports team from underdog status to multiple championships. What I learned in both worlds is that success hinges on building a strong team culture. When we create a culture of trust, collaboration, and psychological safety, incredible things happen. Team members feel empowered to share ideas, challenge assumptions, and even make mistakes – all essential ingredients for innovation. This was the secret sauce that helped my teams overcome challenges and consistently exceed expectations. Here are the key takeaways: 💡Open Communication is Key: Create a space where everyone feels heard and respected. 💡Celebrate Effort, Not Just Outcomes: Acknowledged hard work and the lessons learned from both successes and failures. 💡Invest in Growth: Prioritize professional development and empower your team. 💡Lead with Empathy & Trust: Empower your team members to take ownership and make decisions. Remember, a thriving team isn't just about having the smartest people in the room. It's about creating an environment where everyone feels valued, supported, and inspired to do their best work. What are your experiences with building high-performing teams? Share your insights, and let's learn from each other! #engineeringculture #leadership #innovation #collaboration #psychologicalsafety #teamwork

Learning never stops — especially for engineering teams solving real-world problems. Technology stacks change, edge cases grow more complex, and expectations evolve faster than ever. But the real differentiator is not tools it’s how teams think, adapt, and keep improving. In rooms like this, learning is not formal. It happens through discussion, peer review, shared debugging, and challenging decisions that don’t feel right. Whether it’s rethinking a DB schema, reworking an endpoint, or questioning a tradeoff these moments are where engineering excellence is shaped. Upskilling is not a training module. It’s baked into the culture. It happens in stand-ups, in whiteboard sessions, in quiet nods of agreement when someone explains something better than documentation ever could. The best teams grow by staying curious — together. #learningneverstops #engineeringexcellence #teamgrowth #techleadership

2x a year, our engineering team steps away from their screens and comes together for a week-long hackathon in the office. And let me tell you - it's not your typical hackathon. What makes it different? We keep things pretty loose: → No one's watching the clock → No pressure to ship specific features → No rigid schedule that kills creativity Here's what I've learned running these: While some teams swear by high-pressure hackathons (and hey, we run them too!), we've found that this approach help us build solid relationships and come up with innovative ideas. When engineers finally get together in person, great things happen. You just can't beat: → That spark when someone scribbles an idea on a whiteboard and three people jump up to add to it → The energy in a room full of engineers geeking out over code (way different than dropping messages in Slack) → Random coffee chats that turn into breakthroughs And when everyone heads back to their home offices? They're not just taking new code with them. They're carrying those deep connections, inside jokes, and that shared fire that makes remote collaboration just... click. That's how we plan to keep scaling ClickFunnels 🚀

Ben Fogarty shares a compelling example where a remote team achieved better results by collaboratively shaping a product from the outset, rather than relying on polished presentations. This approach not only enhanced the product but also energized the team, reducing the need for rework and accelerating decision-making. In an era of rapid change and complexity, Fogarty underscores that co-design isn’t merely a method—it’s a mindset. By embracing openness and shared control, organizations can build stronger, more resilient solutions together.