Running tables or launching products, leaders set the course for team excellence

Before my career in tech, I worked in food service. I loved being on the floor with a good crew during a rush — the energy high, everyone working together, adrenaline and dopamine propelling us through the stress. When we all performed our jobs exceptionally well, it felt like playing on a world class soccer club.

Restaurants showed me the ropes of what it takes for cross-functional teams to succeed, and I still draw on the same strategies as a product manager in tech. No matter what type of team you’re running, the group’s success depends upon each individual excelling at their own tasks, and it’s the responsibility of the group leader to establish the environment that makes that possible.

If the notion of managing distributed, cross-functional teams dumps cortisol into your bloodstream, I assure you it’s merely a matter of translating the leadership skills you already have to a new environment. Here are some of the tips I’ve learned to do just that.

Get Out of the Way

Slack has several teams working on what is, at the end of the day, one single product. Massive projects like the 2020 redesign involve several, if not all, of those teams to collaborate in conjunction. For those types of projects, we see ourselves as a team of teams, and it is abundantly clear that bureaucracy only stalls us out. We shy away from strict hierarchical chains of command, and we empower our coworkers to make decisions and communicate cross-functionally.

This isn’t just true at Slack: too much process stymies highly functional teams. Consider initiating Slack’s strategy of minimum viable bureaucracy (MVB) to dispose of unnecessary steps and touch points that delay progress. To do this, you’ll need to invest considerably in establishing a foundation of interteam trust as well as a high level of communication (all of which, we’re about to jump into). Tactically, I rely on Slack to keep my distributed teams habitually interacting and performing at their peak.

Co-Create Your Team Culture and Expectations

We always start a new Slack channel for a project and co-create it as a shared space where we make commitments and hold one another accountable. When we’re at our best, Slack’s cultural norm is that everyone agrees upon the problems we’re solving at the outset and the outcomes we’re seeking, that way everyone is empowered to make decisions on the fly.

To prevent under-communication (a potential consequence if MVB goes astray), set the expectation that everyone will share their work frequently and contextualize why they’re doing things and how it’s contributing to the team’s objectives.

You’re probably familiar with developing a set of principles and tenets unique to each team and each project. In an office setting, you would brainstorm these and display the final agreements on a whiteboard or giant paper in your conference room. This exercise is just as crucial for distributed teams. Slack’s remote analogue for this, which you’re welcome to steal, is to pin them to the top of everything — from design briefs to each project-related channel. Team success can only happen when everyone is aligned.

Be Strategic When You Bring People Together

Would you like me more if we nerded out over homemade bento boxes and a mutual intimacy of the Tolkien Universe? Or if you taught me a few Russian phrases to charm my mother-in-law? I would certainly like you more (gratuitously accepting Russian phrases to charm my Теща in the comments!).

It’s easy to naturally build rapport like that when you’re in an office setting, whether in the elevator or over a regular lunch date. For distributed teams, you need to be more intentional about planning everyday and extraordinary bonding moments.

My hybrid team at Etsy had a standing weekly lunch where we booked a conference room to meet in person and via video. Those hours of natural conversation nurtured our trust in one another so that when a challenge came up, we more easily navigated stressful conversations with empathy and patience. Schedule a routine team-meal sans agendas and distractions to get to know one another.

As people feel comfortable gathering and traveling again, bring your distributed team together for in-person events, too. The very beginning of a project or right before the last push are excellent times to strategically tie everyone together, and to have fun! Incorporate skill-sharing, games, and ice-breakers. Remember, when you know your coworker moonlights as a magician at the local nursing home, you give him a little grace when he gives you tough feedback on a code review three minutes before launch.

Launch as a Team

Speaking of launches, there is no more stressful time than the days before a big release. As everyone goes heads down, keep communication levels high — especially when you’re working cross-functionally. Everyone needs to be explicitly aware of how their timelines and deliverables (and any flukes) may impact another team’s workflow. Open lines of communication help avoid any last minute crisis. On launch day, invite everyone to hang out in a shared room like a channel in Slack or a Zoom call so you can problem solve anything that might come up and blow off steam.

In the days immediately after launch, don’t let the project go quiet. Schedule a debrief while the project is fresh on everyone’s minds. This is both for your team to improve as well as for you. Gather as much constructive feedback as you can and ask clarifying questions so that you can create better collaborative environments in the future.

Celebrate

You know what they say about all work and no play; and dull minds certainly aren’t famous for innovating on the bleeding edge of any industry. Great leaders celebrate their teams’ achievements whether that’s a successful launch or handling a tiresome, unglamorous tech glitch with poise. Those are the leaders people show up for.

One of the necessary innovations of 2020 was a major upscaling of virtual party options. Live DJ sets, custom gift boxes, virtual wine-tastings — it’s all possible nowadays and the bar is higher than ever. Savor your collective accomplishments by inviting leadership to the party, sending catering packages for people to bite into together, and hosting break-out rooms for games or, perhaps, karaoke.

You don’t have to wait for a feature delivery to have a little fun, either. Celebrate birthdays, career advancements, and Nost-na-Lothion. Just like you would in real life, invite everyone to Happy Hour on Zoom and share some laughs and libations (mocktails included) with your work fam.

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If you’re stepping into a new type of leadership role, kudos! The leadership skills you already have are applicable no matter what environment you’re thrown into. Although it didn’t happen overnight, I was pleasantly surprised that the prowess I earned as a restaurant floor manager translated into my eventual promotion to product manager at Etsy.

By bringing in a higher level of intention and giving yourself some grace, you’ll lead your distributed, cross-functional team as well as you ever managed face-to-face. Empower your team by helping individuals excel at their work, keeping communication and trust high, and consciously cultivating connection. You’re going to accomplish a lot together.