Unless you are a lone wolf building something amazing with AI, you will need support from others to achieve your goal, whether it’s a feature, new product, or even a re-org. I’ve had many opportunities to collaborate with different teams and people over the years, and I realized that one approach has benefited me and the other teams the most.
I approach working with other teams by being overly transparent about my goal, the approach I am currently taking, and how the person or team I am talking with can help. When I need something from another team or department, I always try to be vulnerable and show my cards (how many people are working on it, our approach, assumptions, etc.). We all work for the same company, and if the company succeeds, we all succeed. If working together isn’t possible or practical, it’s important to identify that early to minimize dependencies or have alternate plans.
Sometimes, this has resulted in my team doing a 180 when the team I am collaborating with suggests a better way to do something that I didn’t know about. Other times, my team and the other decided that the dependency didn’t make sense, and we found an out-of-the-box solution. Most often, the outcome has been clear deliveries set and common deadlines we’ve met.
I’ve seen firsthand how clear communication and transparency can transform a team’s performance. I’m a huge fan of making sure everyone understands what we’re working on and why. The best leaders I’ve worked with don’t come in with rigid demands like, “We need to build X in 2 months.” Instead, they say, “Hey team, we have this challenge and need a fix in X months. Here’s our current approach, but we want your input to get the best outcome.”
Contrast this with leaders who simply state, “We have to hit X goal by Y,” and have a pre-set plan. Working under those conditions made me feel like a drone—there to complete a task without using any critical thinking skills.
One time at Yahoo, I approached a platform team manager not with a request, but to collaborate on a solution. He told me, “Usually everybody comes at us with requests, but you came to work with us for a solution. Our team really appreciated that.” That feedback stuck with me.
TL;DR: “I’ve found success working together with other teams by being transparent, open communication, and involving them in the problem solving process. Dependencies are tricky however this approach has worked solidly in the software world.”