Building A High-Performing Engineering Team

I’ve been leading SWE teams for over a decade now. As a Principal EM, I have one cardinal rule: The failures of my team are my failures. A strong engineering team doesn’t just happen, it’s built deliberately over time. To evaluate progress and level up, I focus on three core pillars that define a high-performing engineering team. Let’s break them down: 1. Delivering Value: The “Why” Behind the Work Your team exists to solve problems, ship features, and provide value. - Are we consistently delivering measurable results? - Are stakeholders confident in our output? - Does every sprint feel aligned with business goals? Value doesn’t mean just “shipping.” It means shipping the right things that move the needle for the business. 2. People Growth: Build for Today, Invest for Tomorrow Your team isn’t just delivering code, it’s a living system of people with potential. Ask yourself: - Are individuals engaged and growing? - Are we creating opportunities for junior engineers to step up? - Do team members feel empowered to share ideas and take ownership? High retention, strong morale, and skill growth are signs you’re on the right track. 3. Sustainable Quality: Long-Term Wins Over Short-Term Gains Shortcuts may feel tempting, but tech debt always comes knocking. - Are we balancing speed with quality? - Is technical debt under control? - Are we investing in processes and tools to sustain long-term success? The best teams create systems that grow with them, not against them. My role an Engineering Manager isn’t just to manage tasks. It’s to elevate the entire system—people, processes, and outcomes. When your team excels in all three pillars, you’re creating a high-performance team that can adapt, grow, and thrive. If you’re a developer, remember: Your work is more than just the lines of code you push. When you focus on delivering value, growing as a person, and maintaining quality, you’re not just leveling yourself up, you’re helping your entire team succeed. Keep asking questions. Keep learning. And most importantly, keep building.

How to Build a Rockstar Project Team (The kind that owns the mission and delivers with pride.) You don’t build elite teams with tools and timelines. You build them by meeting the human needs behind the job titles. Project success isn’t just about managing scope or hitting deadlines. It’s about creating a culture where people are 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝, 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, and 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞. If your team is just going through the motions, this is your playbook to reset and rebuild: 1/ Build Trust First, Not Last: ↳ People won’t take risks—or responsibility—without trust. ↳ Trust creates safety, and safety fuels performance. 👣 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩: Invite feedback regularly—and act on it visibly. 2/ Lead Like a Coach, Not a Boss: ↳ Great PMs don’t just manage—they develop people. ↳ Growth leads to ownership, and ownership drives results. 👣 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩: Turn 1:1s into coaching sessions, not check-ins. 3/ Make Everyone Feel Like They Belong: ↳ People give more when they feel they matter. ↳ Inclusion isn’t a trend—it’s a performance multiplier. 👣 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩: Acknowledge wins from every corner of the team. 4/ Connect Every Task to Purpose: ↳ Purpose fuels grit, creativity, and resilience. ↳ When people understand the “why,” they commit more fully to the “how.” 👣 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩: Start every sprint or kickoff with a mission reminder. 5/ Celebrate Progress, Not Just Perfection: ↳ Momentum builds when progress is seen and shared. ↳ A team that celebrates together stays motivated longer. 👣 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩: End each week or milestone with one clear team win. 6/ Give Ownership, Not Just Tasks: ↳ You don’t get commitment by handing out to-do lists. ↳ You get it by handing over outcomes and trusting your team to deliver. 👣 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩: Assign the “what” and let your team shape the “how.” 7/ Communicate with Clarity in Uncertainty: ↳ Your team doesn’t need perfect answers—just clear direction. ↳ Unclear leadership breeds hesitation; clarity creates motion. 👣 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩: When things shift (and they will), re-anchor the team in priorities. 8/ Create Space for Reflection: ↳ High-performing teams don’t just execute—they learn. ↳ Without time to reflect, they repeat mistakes instead of growing from them. 👣 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩: Add a 15-minute “learning loop” to your project retros or weekly meetings. 9/ Listen Deeply and Lead with Empathy: ↳ People stay where they feel heard. ↳ Empathy unlocks trust faster than any policy or process. 👣 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩: Pause before responding—listen to understand, not just to reply. When you meet these needs, you unlock: ✅ Deep engagement ✅ Self-managed teams ✅ Faster problem-solving ✅ Lower turnover ✅ Better decisions ✅ Consistent delivery You don’t need a bigger budget or a flashier title. You need the courage to lead through connection, not control. Follow the 2 Disgruntled PMs Podcast LinkedIn page for launch day updates.

The uncomfortable truths about high-performing teams that nobody talks about (and what to do about it). After two decades of coaching executive teams, I've discovered five counterintuitive truths about exceptional performance: 👉 High-performing teams have more conflict, not less. Teams engaging in intellectual conflict outperform peers by 40% in complex decisions. → Action: Schedule structured debate sessions where challenging ideas is explicitly encouraged. 👉 Top teams strategically exclude people. McKinsey & Company found that each member above nine decreased productivity by 7%. → Action: Create a core decision team while establishing transparent processes for broader input. 👉 The best teams often break company rules. MIT Sloan School of Management research shows 65% of top teams regularly deviate from standard procedures. → Action: Identify which processes truly add value versus those that add bureaucracy. 👉 Emotional intelligence can be overrated (but not overlooked). Teams with moderate EQ but high practical intelligence outperform by 23%. → Action: Balance empathy with pragmatic problem-solving in your team assessments. 👉 Effective teams experience productive dysfunction. 82% of top teams go through significant tension phases before breakthroughs. → Action: Recognize periods of dysfunction as potential catalysts rather than failures. In today's complex work environments, understanding these hidden truths is critical. Embracing these contradictions rather than fighting them positions you as a leader to build exceptional teams—even when the process looks messier than expected. Embrace the mess. Coaching can help; let's chat. Joshua Miller #executivecoaching #leadership #teamdevelopment

Any manager can have a high-performing team. Pick one and take action today (tips below): 1. Set a Clear Mission Average teams execute tasks. High-performing teams drive outcomes. Your team needs to know exactly: • Why their work matters • How it impacts the company • What winning looks like The mission isn't a statement. It's their North Star for daily decisions. 2. Hire Aligned Talent High performers want to work with high performers. Stop compromising on: • Work ethic • Learning appetite • Team-first mentality One mediocre hire can destroy your culture. One fantastic hire can elevate everyone. 3. Care for Your Team High performance requires high trust. Get serious about: • Understanding their personal goals • Supporting their life challenges • Being there when it matters The best performers choose teams that care. Show them that's you. 4. Give Real Support High performers need rocket fuel, not red tape. Invest in: • Spaces that raise their energy • Tools that multiply their impact • Resources that accelerate results Remove one major obstacle weekly. Watch their productivity soar. 5. Respect Autonomy High performers need freedom to excel. Start trusting them to: • Design their approach • Make key decisions • Own their outcomes Micromanagement suffocates excellence. Give them space to innovate. 6. Reward Generously High performers know their worth. Get aggressive with: • Above-market compensation • Accelerated growth tracks • Meaningful recognition Don't wait for annual reviews. Reward excellence in real-time. 7. Develop Constantly High performers crave mastery. Create opportunities for: • Skill growth • Stretch assignments • Leadership development Treat learning like a priority. Not an after-party. 8. Eliminate Problems High performers hate waste. Ruthlessly target: • Broken processes • Unnecessary meetings • System inefficiencies Every barrier you remove Multiplies their impact. The difference between good and great teams? Great teams get better every day. Pick one area. Take action today. Watch your team transform. Helpful?  ♻️ Repost to help others.  💡 Follow Dave Kline for more.

Great teams don't happen by accident. They’re built with trust, care, and intentional leadership. Last year, I picked up Trillion Dollar Coach—Bill Campbell’s leadership playbook. It sat on my shelf for months. Unopened. Until my good friend Ali Mamujee nudged me to finally read it. What I found changed how I see leadership entirely. Bill wasn’t just any coach. He was the invisible force behind Google, Apple, and Intuit— the trusted advisor who shaped today’s most legendary leaders. Here are Bill Campbell’s 7 leadership secrets for building high-performing teams: 1/ Build Trust Through Psychological Safety ↳ Own mistakes publicly to normalize learning over blame ↳ The best teams perform when they can speak up without fear 2/ Work the Team, Not Just the Problem ↳ Address small tensions before they become major conflicts ↳ High-performing teams solve problems faster than individual rockstars 3/ Lead with Empathy and Care ↳ Celebrate personal wins, not just professional milestones ↳ People give their best when they feel seen, heard, and valued 4/ Encourage Candor and Open Communication ↳ Honest feedback removes bottlenecks and speeds up decisions ↳ Accountability is a team effort - use peer-to-peer feedback. 5/ Make Wins a Habit ↳ Create team traditions that celebrate effort, not just outcomes ↳ Recognition reinforces winning behaviors 6/ Be a Coach, Not Just a Manager ↳ Instead of giving answers, ask the right questions ↳ Assign one ‘stretch challenge’ per quarter to push growth 7/ Create a Culture of Relentless Learning ↳ Reward calculated risks and experiments, even when they fail ↳ The best teams don’t just execute - they reflect, adapt, and improve continuously Which of these principles resonates most with you? ♻ Share this to help leaders build extraordinary teams And follow Mariya Valeva for more

Most leaders think high-performing teams are built on talent. That’s only half true. Amy Edmondson’s research shows the best teams aren’t the smartest. They’re the safest. Psychological safety is what makes people speak up, share ideas, and learn faster together. Without it, even the most talented team stays quiet. Here are 5 ways to build psychological safety (and a stronger team): 1/ Invite Voices → Ask for ideas and questions. → Show that every voice matters. 2/ Respond with Respect → Thank people for speaking up. → Even if you don’t agree, you acknowledge the input. 3/ Normalize Mistakes → Shift from blame to learning. → Mistakes are lessons, not failures. 4/ Model Curiosity → Leaders go first: ask, explore, admit what you don’t know. → Curiosity makes team learning the norm. 5/ Celebrate Candor → Call out and appreciate honest feedback. → Courage grows when candor is rewarded. High performance isn’t about fear or pressure. It’s about safety, trust, and the freedom to learn together. Which one will you practice with your team this week? ------ ♻️ Repost to help more teams grow together. 👋 I’m Will - here to help you lead better, grow people, and build real trust at work. Follow for more.