Building Strong Team Relationships

99% of the best engineering teams I’ve seen share one simple rule: → The more you share, the faster you all grow. 🔁 Knowledge flows both ways: ∟ Seniors mentoring > Seniors managing Real growth happens when seniors teach, not just assign tickets. ∟ Juniors asking questions > Juniors guessing No one expects you to know it all. The ones who learn quickest are the ones who speak up. ∟ Sharing mistakes > Hiding them The team that admits bugs and failures up front fixes them before they spread. ∟ Pair programming > Solo struggle Two brains spot more edge cases. You pick up new habits, shortcuts, and ways of thinking. ∟ Writing docs as you go > Documenting at the end Knowledge that’s shared in real time helps everyone, not just future hires. The best engineering cultures are built on trust and curiosity— Seniors who lift others up. Juniors who bring new energy. Everyone growing, every day. That’s how you build teams that last. That’s how you make work worth showing up for.

Is your co-founder relationship as strong as your business plan? After coaching hundreds of founding teams in good times and in bad , I've learned  that the co-founder relationship can make or break even the most promising startups. Here's the blueprint for keeping this critical partnership healthy: ✅ Your co-founder is your most important business relationship You’ve got to keep the personal relationship strong. Make time for personal connection beyond the business agenda. Those coffee chats about life? They're not optional. ✅ Everyone has unique motivations and perspectives The magic happens when you invest time understanding what drives your co-founder, what energizes them, and what drains them. This insight is your roadmap to mutual success. ✅ Conflict isn't a red flag   Conflict is actually a sign of a healthy partnership when handled right. Master the art of productive disagreement. Learn to discuss differences calmly, know when to take a breather, and address small issues before they become major rifts. Just like a marriage, the strongest co-founder partnerships aren't the ones without conflict - they're the ones where both parties commit to working through challenges together. 💭 Thinking about your most important business co-founder relationship, what's one conversation you've been avoiding that you know you need to have? Sometimes, naming it is the first step to addressing it.

Would you believe that sharing a conversation in the lunch room could be more valuable to your data science career than spending countless hours behind a computer, perfecting your latest model? I wouldn't have either, until I stumbled across this strategy by pure chance - and reaped the resulting rewards. During the many years when I worked in an office, I would pack a cheese sandwich every day. And every day I would go to the lunch room and toast that sandwich. It takes 5 minutes for cheese to melt to the point where it's suitably gooey. With nothing better to do, I would talk to whomever was there - about anything from Marvel movies to sports. But more often than not, things eventually turned back to work. For months, I saw those 5 minute chats as simply idle time. It wasn't until I started to notice that projects with my "sandwich buddies" always seemed to run smoother than usual, that the pattern finally became clear. Those casual chats were actually building the foundations of successful collaboration. Through just 5 minutes per day, I was able to learn the business needs and wants of my stakeholders better than any formal meetings could achieve. And my stakeholders walked away better able to understand what my team did - destroying the "ivory tower" mystique. According to AI strategist Gregory Lewandowski, success in AI and data science is 90% people and only 10% technology. This example illustrates how you can put this principle to work and the benefit of your career. I recently recorded a (8 minute) Value Boost episode of "Value Driven Data Science" with Gregory where we discuss the 90-10 rule further. In this episode, you'll learn: 1. Why focusing purely on technology creates a dangerous blind spot 2. The critical success factor that most data science teams overlook 3. The "toasted sandwich strategy" for building crucial relationships Transform your data science impact in the time it takes to toast a sandwich. Listen now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or click the link below:    https://lnkd.in/g9p32RJa #datascience #business #career

In the world of work today, success depends on working with others to get things done. That's where social capital comes into play. For leaders, its important to remember that the level of social capital your employees have can significantly impact their ability to drive results for the organizations, get things done in team settings, and grow in their careers. As a manager and leader, how can you lend or support the social capital of your employees to help your employees build there own? Here are a few ideas: ✅ Relationships: Help your employees build connections with key stakeholders or leaders who are critical to their success. ✅ Opportunities: Advocate for their inclusion in meaningful projects where they can showcase their talents. ✅ Exposure: Be their “megaphone,” amplifying theirwork to improve visibility and open doors to new opportunities. ✅ Resources: Provide the tools, budget, or approvals they need to perform at their best. ✅ Credibility: Back them up, especially if they’re new or less experienced to help them earn trust and access new opportunities. These are just a few ways to leverage social capital to unlock opportunities and unleash the potential of your team. What other strategies have worked for you? #socialcapital #leadership #collaboration

I conduct 1:1 conversations with at least 2 of my teammates every month. When I first started Praper Media our team was tight. We weren’t just coworkers, we were friends. But we’re a team of 40+ now, and keeping our fun work culture intact has been the biggest challenge as we scaled. I felt like I was losing touch with the team. So inspired by one of Ankur Warikoo’s posts, I decided to start scheduling no-agenda sessions with them. It’s a 1:1 session over a meal, and the team member gets to select where we’re going. Then, we discuss: - Things we are struggling with - Stuff going on in our personal lives - Our short term and long term goals - What keeps us motivated and fulfilled - How can we maximise our mutual growth This helps us understand each other beyond the workplace and create a more personal relationship. I know it sounds simple, but this initiative has been of great value as we’ve scaled. Here’s what it’s taught me: 1/ Your team is your biggest asset - invest in their personal and professional growth and it will come back to you. 2/ Vulnerability is powerful - it helps you get rid of awkwardness and build strong relationships with your employees. 3/ Your employees have a life beyond 9 to 5 - as a founder, you should respect it and support them in any way you can. 4/ Raw conversations help you build trust - when your employees know you beyond your “founder persona,” they get more comfortable. 5/ Authenticity goes a long way - it helps you build genuine connections with your teammates and build a work environment that they truly enjoy. How do you build good relationships with people you work with? #teammanagement #entrepreneurship #founder

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲? 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹. 📈 You can’t lead big projects, influence decisions, or get promoted on skill alone. You need trust. You need relationships. You need to be known. Social capital is 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲. And the force that turns quiet contributors into 𝘰𝘳𝘨-𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. In my latest post, I break down: -> What social capital 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 means in engineering (Hint: it’s not favoritism) -> The 3 pillars: Trust, Credibility, and Relationships -> Why High Agency without Social Capital leads to burnout -> Practical habits to build social capital (especially for remote teams) -> And two original visuals: a 2x2 matrix and a compound growth chart 👉 https://lnkd.in/d8T6fuRP If you’ve ever wondered why some engineers move faster than others, even with the same skill level, this is the missing piece. Did you know about this concept? What’s one thing you do to build your social capital at work? 👇

The silent killer of engineering teams isn’t AI. It’s not burnout. It’s not poor code. It’s not a lack of funding. It’s psychological safety. In the tech space, we often miss the most important thing: Trust. We hire talent. We foster culture. We invest in upskilling. But without trust, none of it matters. I’ve seen teams fail—not from lack of effort—but because they didn’t feel safe. Safe to speak up. Safe to share ideas. Safe to fail and learn. When psychological safety is in place, everything changes: - Ideas flow. People innovate because they feel free to speak their minds. - Productivity soars. Engineers take risks, knowing mistakes are just part of the process. - Retention improves. Developers stay where they feel valued—not just hired. - Problems get solved faster. Teams collaborate because they trust each other’s perspectives. So how do we create that environment? Here’s how: ✅ Start meetings with a quick check-in → Build connection from the start. ✅ Ask about the small stuff → Wins, weekends, highlights—details build trust. ✅ Lead with vulnerability → Share your struggles—it shows humanity. ✅ Give people ownership → Let your team influence decisions that matter. ✅ Deal with issues head-on → Honor commitments, resolve conflicts openly. ✅ Celebrate mistakes → See failures as opportunities to grow. Great teams don’t just write great code—they build a culture where everyone feels safe to take risks. --- What’s one thing you could do today to bring your team closer together?

The strongest teams don’t hire great people. They build the kind of culture that attracts them. They might not always have perfectly polished values, but you can tell what they are by how people act, collaborate, and build. They’re places where people feel they can add to something, not just fit in. Values only matter when they’re tangible. The great thing is that it’s possible to create rituals that make them real as you scale. At Wealthsimple, one of the values is “Ship It.” We were great at shipping beautiful customer experiences, but like many startups, we didn’t always make space for the engineering investments that make scaling sustainable. Among other tactics, I created a Slack engineering-ship-it channel to celebrate technical wins—from major launches to quiet performance improvements. It made our engineering values visible and attracted people who cared about building things well. At Lever, inclusion wasn’t a value on a wall; it was a practice. We often kicked off team meetings with "check ins," to help the team connect personally and set the stage for everyone to contribute openly. When kicking off new projects, teams shared their user manuals with each other: short write-ups about how they worked best, what energized them, and how to communicate effectively. It made collaboration personal and built empathy into how we worked together. Next week, I’m leading an engineering leadership offsite at Inspiren, and we’re doing exactly this—starting with user manuals to help every leader understand and support one another better. We’ll do the same exercise with the executive team soon after. Culture is built one decision at a time: who you promote, who you celebrate, what behaviors you reward, and of course, who you hire. When you hold a high bar and stay open to difference, you create a place that draws in people who want to build something exceptional together. That’s what makes a culture magnetic. #Leadership #EngineeringCulture #Inclusion #TeamBuilding #Startups #ScalingTech #CultureAdd

Tip #2 for onboarding new associates: Bring back lunch! When I was a summer associate, there was a group of five attorneys in the IP prosecution group who went to lunch every day at 11:30. It was their ritual. When I was invited, I felt privileged. Not because of the food (though yes, it was expensed), but because I got a glimpse of what true colleagues looked like. I learned about banter, office politics, and whose car was the messiest because they had toddlers. More importantly, I learned how working relationships are built. The world has changed since then — daily lunches are unlikely. In fact, Korn Ferry recently reported that 62% of workers don't even leave their desks for lunch. But a weekly or monthly lunch with a few senior attorneys? That’s doable. At Keep Company, we make it a priority: every Monday from 12–1, the team has lunch together. No agenda. So here’s the suggestion: make time to take your new associates to lunch. It doesn’t have to be fancy or frequent — just consistent. For new associates, this small ritual pays off: They see how senior attorneys collaborate and disagree. They feel included in the fabric of the firm. They start to build the relationships that sustain them through their first year.

𝗡𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗢𝗢 or the Second-in-Command seat: Your relationship with the CEO changes…and it changes fast. Because your job isn’t just to execute anymore, It’s to think like an owner. Yes, they’re still your boss. But you’re not just a direct report anymore. You’re their strategic partner. What’s best for the company has to come first. Not what they want to do or what’s best for your team or division. And since you see the world differently (them big picture vs. you details), You have to navigate major changes in the way you communicate. And boy oh boy, did I get that wrong at the beginning. When my CEO came to me with new ideas, I’d immediately fire off a bunch of questions. Because I was still thinking like an employee, not a COO, I jumped into “figure out how to do it mode” too quickly. It made her feel like I was always shooting down her ideas before really exploring them. And sometimes I was. I’m not proud of that. Eventually I learned how to make sure it was the right time for a conversation, frame my questions, and ask them from a place of true curiosity. So we could use the power of our differences to do what had the biggest impact for the company. When we got into this zone, morale and productivity improved across the board. And we doubled the size of the company. Remember, it’s not just the job duties that change when you get promoted to COO (or another Second-in-Command position), It’s a relation-shift, too. #COO #secondincommand #leadership #CEO #businessgrowth