The Thin Line between Chaos and Nirvana
Autonomy vs. Alignment
A few weeks ago, we were honored to have another local product team come visit our company. They are currently in the process of redefining their product team’s direction and structure and asked if they could come discover more about how our teams are organized and what factors have led to our success. One of their questions sparked an insightful introspection of our team’s inner workings:
“What was the most important contributor to your company and team’s product success?”
I realized how lucky we are to have the team and success we do, but also realized it was more than just luck that helped get us there. I thought I would share my answer to their question and dig a little deeper into a few keys principles that have made Weave the best company I have ever worked for.
The 3 Key Principles
1) We follow the Spotify model for development and product team organization — individual squads organized and empowered to own, release and iterate on their assigned features. This model requires teams to have a high level of autonomy, which our teams definitely have.
2) We are more concerned about outcomes than outputs. What I mean by this, is that there are no self-imposed arbitrary deadlines for the delivery of products. We don’t care how much or how fast teams deliver, we only care that they deliver a product that actually achieves the desired outcome or job-to-be-done, that it was designed to do.
3) We have a culture of high trust and phycological safety. Our executive team doesn’t just tolerate this model, they advocate for it. This quote is proudly on display on a 15' x 30' wall in our training room:
“Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.” — George S. Patton.
This idea is obviously not new, but it is extremely hard to actually do, especially at a company-wide level.
“So, with that kind of autonomy, and without deadlines or detailed project plans, how do the teams stay organized and productive?” I could have predicted that this would be the next question they would ask, and it was.
Their surprise and fear were obvious. Yes, this kind of autonomy can be a double-edged sword, but it is not the autonomy alone that makes our teams successful. We are a product-driven company. Our executive team has worked tightly together to deliver a vision and strategy that all departments (sales, customer support, business development, etc.) understand, stand behind and transparently communicate with their teams.
This principle is the keystone, the lynchpin of our success: Autonomy leads to creativity, flexibility, and speed, but only if a strong vision and strategy are tirelessly communicated to create tight alignment across all teams.
To help visualize and explain this principle, I offer up the following metaphor.
Birds fly in the classic v-formation for several simple but powerful reasons. Science has shown us that birds flying in large formations and in the optimal position — gaining lift from the bird in front by remaining close to its wingtip — can increase their range by nearly 71%. That is an absolutely incredible increase in efficiency.
The birds are individually free to do what they want, but instinctually, understand the benefit they get by working as a team. They are free to adapt to the small eddies and wind currents and absorb the fluctuations and strains they feel, but by playing their roll in the larger strategy they allow the whole flock to continue moving forward.
Our teams work in a very similar manner to birds flying in a “V.” They have the autonomy to act as individual teams, and as long as they hold tight to the communicated strategy, aligned to the company vision, they are able to not only get things done quicker, but they often surprise us with their results.
Our success comes from these principles:
“Alignment occurs when leaders and teams share the same values and work towards a common goal. Autonomy allows teams to work independently of leaders and each other. The stronger the alignment we have, the more autonomy we can afford to grant. The leader’s job is to communicate what problem needs to be solved, and why. The team’s job is to collaborate with each other to find the best solution.” — Mark Richman
Autonomy and alignment are key to the Spotify model. Henrik Kniberg from Spotify put this amazing quadrant chart together, and it does an excellent job of showing the relationship and inherent struggles that many companies face.
The top right quadrant is that nirvana that many of us are searching for. The first step to reaching it is to recognize where your company currently is. Let’s take a look at each quadrant and analyze the costs and benefits of each, as we journey toward that place where both the company and the employees are happy.
Low Alignment and Low Autonomy — Dysfunctional Micromanagement
This is the kind of company good employees can’t leave fast enough. Those that don’t leave will be happy to just sit around and get paid, simply keeping their heads down to not attract any attention. They show up and follow orders, but those orders will have no higher level goal. Management has lost its vision and there is no coordination or strategy across the company. Micromanagement is required because there is no alignment. Company culture will suffer and without autonomy, creativity will be stifled. If your company resembles anything similar to this, run away as quickly as you can. Life is too short and there are too many other amazing companies out there to waste another day.
High Alignment and Low Autonomy — Well Intentioned Micromanagement
Here is a company that has a vision and a solid strategy, but has no faith in its employees to execute it. Telling employees what to build, and how to build it, will get you to the end goal, but there will be a cost to driving low autonomy. Great ideas will never get recognized. Progress will be slow. Good employees will leave.
Ultimately, if you treat your team like children that need their hands held, they will act like it, they will never take flight. Your micromanaged journey, though well-intentioned and under control, will take too long to finish and likely never achieve the intended target because the target has moved or changed before you get there. Culture will suffer and individual learning and growth will be significantly hampered. Remember, hire good people and let them surprise you with what they can do.
Low Alignment and High Autonomy — Chaos
There are many companies today that have amazing employees that are highly skilled and hard-working. This includes individual contributors as well as managers. They put in overtime creating amazing products and teams, but the lack of vision means the company as a whole is not going anywhere. Leaders will feel helpless and employee contributions will fall flat. If the teams have no long term roadmap, all the twist and turns of undirected autonomy will mean that any long term goals will never be reached. They are all running, just in different directions. This is effectively chaos. Your products will lack focus and fail to reach the intended outcomes.
I genuinely feel that there are a lot of companies in this boat. Bringing a company into alignment under a strong vision is a very difficult thing to do. It requires all executives to be onboard and communication has to be a priority. Making sure all teams have a guiding north star is the only way to achieve larger company strategies.
High Alignment and High Autonomy — Nirvana!
This final quadrant represents companies that have hired great employees and provided them a highly focused north star with the means to get there. The executive team has worked tightly together to deliver a vision and strategy that all departments and teams completely understand and stand behind. This alignment enables each leader and employee the autonomy to self-manage, to be creative and flexible.
Like birds flying in formation, communication and alignment are the keys. Information flow makes innovation, problem-solving, collaboration, autonomy, and alignment possible. This will require transparency, strategy, leaders (not just managers), weekly one-on-ones, cross-team collaboration, retrospectives and a strong culture of emotional safety. This is a beautiful place to be; productive employees, amazing products and incredible culture.
It’s Worth it
Now that you know where you are, It is time to put a plan in place to get where you want to be.
The leader’s job is to communicate what problem needs to be solved, and why. The team’s job is to collaborate with each other to find the best solution.”
This kind of alignment and autonomy will never just happen. It has to be part of your DNA. Hire and train around it. Talk about it. Incentivize it. Nirvana is possible, and it does not require perfection, just an environment that allows smart people to do their best work. Make your company the best company you have ever worked for, and watch teams do more than you ever could have imagined.
