It's 12:03 am, do you know where your team is?
Artwork by St. Jude patient Anthony
So a disclaimer, this story involves a technical production release and I'll raise my hand and say during such an event I am about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
However, the team I work for interrupted their evening with family, friends, or just to recharge in order to coordinate a deployment for an important change to our product and the experience it allows. The least I could do is join them in solidarity for the bridge call (aka, a fancy name for the Zoom meeting to collaborate as the release occurs).
While much of the call was spent validating the x's and o's of a release across data centers it allowed me a tangible glimpse of what an early morning or late night release means for my teammates.
I intentionally mentioned in the title of this article "do you know where your team is" because no matter your role you have an obligation to, at the very least, understand the burden other team members carry.
As a product owner, and for any leadership role, I feel that the responsibility is slightly higher to truly empathize and understand the impact of what we are negotiating with our delivery team. It's easy to ask for an accelerated development schedule or late-night release if you have no skin in the game.
You understand the real effects when you join the call and see the bumps and imperfection that results in husbands, mothers, dog owners, and everyone in between being up till midnight. A foundation of empathy is built and can change how you interact with these unsung champions on your team who still put in a 9-5 the following morning.
I am incredibly grateful to serve a team with dedicated partners like Phil, Roopa, Suzi, Mounish, Lisa, Sri, Manish, Amit, and so many others that look not to a timecard but rather to a sense of shared ownership.
What is the last big success for your team, division, or company?
Stop a moment and think about the numerous actions that were not highlighted in the press releases, the shiny marketing campaigns, or the internal announcements yet are crucial to your team's success.
Whom are the unsung heroes carrying that burden?
Have you walked alongside them?
Do you express the value of their efforts?
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team” -- Phil Jackson
This is such a powerful quote from the legendary coach because it recognizes the co-dependency that the team has with the individuals that comprise it.
While individuals can deliver a shared outcome they lack the same strength of a team where the correlation is bi-directional. A team can redistribute a victory to empower its members or absorb the impact of a misstep to lighten the burden.
How can we ever hope to truly leverage the power of that strength if we only understand one direction (the team goal) without understanding the inverse (individual impact, successes, and struggles of each member)?
It's 12:03 am, do you know where your team is?
-Chase
p.s. - if you want a sneak peek at the incredible work our team just completed please consider making a small donation at stjude.org/donate and enjoying the post-donation experience. My inbox is always open for your feedback and suggestions.
The views, opinions and content expressed on ChaseSnider.com are solely mine and may not represent those of any employer, organization, or group in which I am a member.