Managing Virtual Team Dynamics

Should you try Google’s famous “20% time” experiment to encourage innovation? We tried this at Duolingo years ago. It didn’t work. It wasn’t enough time for people to start meaningful projects, and very few people took advantage of it because the framework was pretty vague. I knew there had to be other ways to drive innovation at the company. So, here are 3 other initiatives we’ve tried, what we’ve learned from each, and what we're going to try next. 💡 Innovation Awards: Annual recognition for those who move the needle with boundary-pushing projects. The upside: These awards make our commitment to innovation clear, and offer a well-deserved incentive to those who have done remarkable work. The downside: It’s given to individuals, but we want to incentivize team work. What’s more, it’s not necessarily a framework for coming up with the next big thing. 💻 Hackathon: This is a good framework, and lots of companies do it. Everyone (not just engineers) can take two days to collaborate on and present anything that excites them, as long as it advances our mission or addresses a key business need. The upside: Some of our biggest features grew out of hackathon projects, from the Duolingo English Test (born at our first hackathon in 2013) to our avatar builder. The downside: Other than the time/resource constraint, projects rarely align with our current priorities. The ones that take off hit the elusive combo of right time + a problem that no other team could tackle. 💥 Special Projects: Knowing that ideal equation, we started a new program for fostering innovation, playfully dubbed DARPA (Duolingo Advanced Research Project Agency). The idea: anyone can pitch an idea at any time. If they get consensus on it and if it’s not in the purview of another team, a cross-functional group is formed to bring the project to fruition. The most creative work tends to happen when a problem is not in the clear purview of a particular team; this program creates a path for bringing these kinds of interdisciplinary ideas to life. Our Duo and Lily mascot suits (featured often on our social accounts) came from this, as did our Duo plushie and the merch store. (And if this photo doesn't show why we needed to innovate for new suits, I don't know what will!) The biggest challenge: figuring out how to transition ownership of a successful project after the strike team’s work is done. 👀 What’s next? We’re working on a program that proactively identifies big picture, unassigned problems that we haven’t figured out yet and then incentivizes people to create proposals for solving them. How that will work is still to be determined, but we know there is a lot of fertile ground for it to take root. How does your company create an environment of creativity that encourages true innovation? I'm interested to hear what's worked for you, so please feel free to share in the comments! #duolingo #innovation #hackathon #creativity #bigideas

In 2011, the Amazon Appstore failed on launch and Jeff Bezos was furious. It was my fault, and I handled one aspect of recovery so poorly that one of my engineers quit. I still regret it 14 years later. Please learn from my mistake. The main lesson is that when you are leading through a crisis, it can feel like it is all about you. It isn’t. It is about: 1) Solving the problem 2) Guiding your team through it The product issue was that there were some pretty simple bugs, and we solved those problem well enough that I was eventually promoted. Where I failed was in guiding my team through the crisis. My leadership miss was that I neglected to encourage and support the engineer who had written the bad code. He did a great job stepping up and supporting the effort to fix the problem, but shortly afterward, he resigned. During the crisis, I failed to make clear to him that we did not blame him for the launch failure despite the bugs. I imagine that left room for him to think we blamed him or that he didn’t belong. It is also possible that others did blame him directly and that I was too caught up in the crisis to realize it. Both instances were my responsibility as the leader of the team. His resignation taught me a valuable lesson about leading through a crisis: No matter how bad the situation is, your team must be your first priority. If you make them feel safe, they will move heaven and earth to fix the problem. If you don’t, they may still fix the problem, but the team itself will never be the same. As a leader, here is how you can give them what they need: 1) Take the blame and do not allow others to be blamed. In some bug cases after this we did not release the name of the engineer outside the team in order to protect them from judgment or blame. 2) Separate fixing the problem from figuring out why it happened. Once the problem is fixed, you can focus on root-causing. This lowers the risk of searching for answers getting confused with searching for someone to blame. 3) Realize that anyone involved in the problem already feels bad. High performers know when they have fallen short and let their team down. As a leader you have to show them the path to growth and success after the crisis. They do not need to be beaten up on- they have taken care of that themselves. 4) See crises and problems as growth opportunities, not personal flaws. Your team comes with you in a crisis whether you like it or not, so you might as well come out stronger on the other side. As a leader, the responsibility for a crisis is yours in two ways: The problem itself and the effect it has on the future of the team. Don’t get too caught up in the first to think about the second. Readers- Has your team survived a crisis? How did you handle it?

In 2021, I proposed an initiative I thought was brilliant—it would help my team make faster progress and better leverage each member's unique skills. Brilliant, right? Yet, it didn’t take off. Many ideas or initiatives fail because we struggle to gain buy-in. The reasons for resistance are many, but Rick Maurer simplifies them into three core categories: (1) "I don’t get it" Resistance here is about lack of understanding or information. People may not fully grasp the reasons behind the change, its benefits, or the implementation plan. This often leaves them feeling confused or unsure about the impact. (2) "I don’t like it" This is rooted in a dislike for the change itself. People might feel it disrupts their comfort zones, poses a negative impact, or clashes with personal values or interests. (3) "I don’t like YOU." This is about the messenger, not the message. Distrust or lack of respect for the person initiating the change can create a barrier. It might stem from past experiences, perceived incompetence, or lack of credibility. When I work with leaders to identify which category resistance falls into, the clarity that follows helps us take targeted, practical steps to overcome it. - To address the "I don't get it" challenge, focus on clear, accessible communication. Share the vision, benefits, and roadmap in a way that resonates. Use stories, real-life examples, or data to make the case relatable and tangible. Give people space to ask questions and clarify concerns—often, understanding alone can build alignment. - To address the "I don't like it" challenge, emphasize empathy. Acknowledge potential impacts on routines, comfort zones, or values, and seek input on adjustments that could reduce disruption. If possible, give people a sense of control over aspects of the change; this builds buy-in by involving them directly in shaping the solution. - And to address the "I don't like you" challenge, solving for the other two challenges will help. You can also openly address past issues, if relevant, and demonstrate genuine commitment to transparency and collaboration Effective change isn’t just about the idea—it’s about knowing how to bring people along with you. #change #ideas #initiatives #collaboration #innovation #movingForward #progress #humanBehavior

Meetings aren’t for updates - they’re where your culture is being built… or broken. In distributed, remote, & hybrid teams, meetings are key moments where team members experience culture together. That makes every meeting a high-stakes opportunity. Yet most teams stay in default mode - using meetings for project updates instead of connection, ideation, debate, and culture-building. Fixing meeting overload isn’t just about having fewer Zooms. It’s about rewiring your communication norms: ✔️ Do we know when to communicate synchronously vs. asynchronously? ✔️ Are we using async tools that give transparency without constant live check-ins? ✔️ Have we aligned on our team values and expected behaviors? 💡 3 ways to reduce meetings and make the remaining ones count: 1️⃣ Co-create a Team Working Agreement. Before you can reinforce values, your team needs to define them. We’ve spent hundreds of hours helping teams do this - and have seen measurable gains in team effectiveness. Key components: ✔️ Shared team goals ✔️ Defining team member roles ✔️ Agreed-upon behaviors ✔️ Communication norms (sync vs. async) 2️⃣ Begin meetings with a connection moment. Relationships fuel trust and collaboration. Kick things off with a check-in like: “What gave you energy this week?” Or tailor it to the topic. In a recent meeting on decision-making norms, we asked: “Speed or certainty - which do you value more when making decisions, and why?” 3️⃣ Make team values part of the agenda. Create a ritual to recognize teammates for living into the team behaviors. Ask the question: “Where did we see our values or team agreements show up this week?” And check in on where could the team have done better. Culture doesn’t happen by accident - especially when your teams are spread across time zones, WFH setups, and multiple office sites. Your meetings can become a powerful tool to build culture with intention. Excerpt from the Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick

I’ve had to protect my team in the past, particularly when their time or focus was at risk. I’ve seen this happen at companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, where mandates and initiatives would stack during the same timeframe. While each initiative alone might have been reasonable, together they overburdened the teams. Those compiled costs may be invisible to the folks driving the individual mandates. You may have seen teams get overwhelmed by a major release, a review cycle, and bi-annual business planning all at once. This type of time management stress is usually manageable, but there are times when teams can be stretched too thin and compromise morale and quality. When you witness this, I believe it’s crucial to step in. You will hear from your team and you need to be close enough to the issues to decide how to respond. This can be tricky for a leader: on one hand, you want to ensure your team can succeed; on the other, you’re part of the broader leadership and need to support the decisions being made. Sometimes, you have very little room to maneuver. In those cases, I find it most effective to have a private conversation with key decision-makers. Meeting behind closed doors allows you to present the reality of your team’s capacity without putting anyone on the spot. Armed with clear data or project plans, you can often negotiate more realistic timelines or priorities. Another common pressure is when stakeholders create frequent direction changes. Repeated shifts in goals or features will thrash your team and waste energy. This often reflects deeper issues with strategy, alignment, and communication. However, you may not have time for a complete overhaul of your planning processes, and you still need a way to prevent thrash. A short-term fix is to set firm near-term milestones or “freeze” dates, after which any changes must go through a formal triage process. This ensures that if changes are necessary, they follow a transparent, deliberate sequence rather than blindsiding. After the freeze, broader project changes can be considered. Ultimately, I see my responsibility as a leader as fostering an environment where my team can perform at a high level, stay motivated, and avoid burnout. Part of a leader's role is to protect their team’s capability and long-term health. There will always be sprints and times when you need to push, but you also need to consider the long view and put on the brakes when required. People who feel supported are more productive, more creative, and likely to stay engaged.

A common partnership snafu is that companies want partnership success, but don’t provide the resources to get there. I heard of a case where a whole marketing team quit, the partnerships team was given no marketing support, and they didn't yet have an integration with product -- and yet, the CEO expected the partnership strategy to deliver instant revenue. Wild. But not uncommon. Partnerships can't thrive in a vacuum. They need cross-functional support—marketing, product integration, sales enablement—all aligned to succeed. Before you set revenue targets for your partnerships, ask yourself: Do we have the resources to support them? If the answer is no, you have to help your leadership teams to reconsider their expectations. To help create the cross-functional support needed for partnerships to thrive, here are four strategies: 1. Involve Cross-Functional Leaders from the Very Beginning Bring key leaders from marketing, sales, and product into the partnership planning phase. Early involvement gives them a sense of ownership and ensures they understand how partnerships align with their own goals. Strategy: Schedule a kick-off meeting with stakeholders from each relevant department. Create a shared roadmap that outlines how partnerships will impact each team and their specific contributions. 2. Tie Partnership Success to Department KPIs To gain buy-in, tie partnership goals directly to the KPIs of each department. Aligning partnership outcomes with what each team is measured on ensures they have skin in the game. Strategy: During planning sessions, ask each department head how partnerships can contribute to their targets. Build specific KPIs for each function into the overall partnership strategy. 3. Create a Resource Exchange Agreement Formalize the support needed from each department with a resource exchange agreement. This sets clear expectations on what each function will contribute—whether it's a dedicated product team member for integrations or marketing resources for co-branded campaigns. It turns vague promises into commitments. Strategy: Draft a simple document that outlines the roles, responsibilities, and deliverables each team will provide, then get sign-off from department heads and the executive team. 4. Demonstrate Early Wins for Buy-In Quick wins go a long way toward securing ongoing resources. Identify a small pilot project with an internal team that shows immediate impact. Whether it's a small co-marketing campaign or a limited integration, these early successes build momentum and demonstrate the value of supporting partnerships. Strategy: Select one or two partners to run a pilot with, focused on delivering measurable outcomes like leads generated or product adoption. Use this success story to demonstrate value to other departments and secure further commitment. Partnership success requires cross-functional alignment. Because partnerships don’t happen in a silo.

Reality check: if your employees are not able to perform well, it’s not their mistake. It’s yours. Nearly 50% of employees say that they don’t know what their managers expect from them. As a result, they become disengaged and aren’t able to give results. This is why managers need to take responsibility and set the right expectations using the ICE framework: ▶ I: Idea Convince your team that they are not just completing a task, but are contributing to a greater vision. ↳ Ensure that they know your “why.” ↳ Get them aligned with your vision. ↳ Tell them how their contribution can help the organization. ▶ C: Concerns Address any challenges your team faces and let them know that you are invested in their well-being. ↳ Conduct 1:1 meetings to understand their issues. ↳ Encourage open communication and make them feel valued. ↳ Provide access to tools, training and resources they might need. ▶ E: Expectations Don’t leave them confused and frustrated. Communicate everything clearly. ↳ Set clear goals and timelines for each task. ↳ Document performance standards and key deliverables. ↳ Review progress and provide feedback to ensure clarity. Remember, your team can get things done only when they are fully engaged. And it’s up to you to take care of this. What strategies do you implement to set the right expectations with your employees? #employees #team #leader

As a leader, creating and keeping positive morale among your team members is essential to a positive and productive workplace. We all spend enough time at work to know it's inevitable to encounter periods of low morale. What we do in response when it happens makes the difference. Here are some actions that work: Always keep your people talking to you and each other. Create an environment where team members are expected to express their concerns and opinions. By actively listening, you demonstrate that their voices are valued and that you are committed to helping them get through those low periods. Uncertainty is another nemesis that can lead to anxiety and low morale. Ensure that your team understands their roles and responsibilities by setting clear expectations. Talk to them personally and clearly communicate goals, timelines, and performance expectations. Job #1 of every leader is to provide a clear understanding of expectations so people always have purpose and direction. Offer opportunities for skill development and career advancement to boost morale. Investing in your people through training programs, workshops, or certification programs improves the organization and your people. When professional growth is supported, it contributes to a more positive and motivating mindset. Encourage a healthy integration of work and life by promoting flexible work schedules, ensuring people take their PTO and vacations, and enforcing regular breaks during the workday. Good health habits also apply outside of work and provide benefits, as a refreshed team, mentally and physically, is more likely to stay engaged and motivated. Lead with a positive and resilient attitude, especially in times of challenge and low morale. Your demeanor sets the tone for your team. By showing determination, optimism, and a commitment to overcoming obstacles, you inspire confidence and motivate your people to do the same. Organize a consistent schedule of team-building activities to develop and maintain camaraderie and unity. Team lunches, family events, or a collaborative community outreach project can help build strong interpersonal relationships that support and improve morale. Nothing makes people feel more positive than helping others. Regularly acknowledge the hard work and achievements of your team. Recognition boosts morale and makes people feel valued and proud of their performance. Creating a culture of appreciation through public praise, awards, or even simple gestures like a handwritten note of thanks. Overcoming low morale requires an empathetic approach and intentional effort from leaders. Remember that a motivated team is productive, and investing in your people's well-being pays dividends beyond those low points that will happen. How do you offset low morale in your workplace? #ceos #leadership #lowmorale #execution For more leadership tips and wisdom, check out https://lnkd.in/gXpc_pyu

JPMorganChase just announced they're ending remote work completely - requiring all 300,000+ employees back in office full time. As someone who has built global teams and managed operations across multiple time zones, here are the realities I've observed: // Productivity isn't about location. // What matters more are clear systems, accountability, and intentional communication. My most successful projects happened with team members I've never met in person. The real challenge? Creating a culture of trust and empowerment. When leaders focus on outcomes rather than hours logged in an office chair, teams consistently deliver exceptional results. Look at Spotify - they're actively promoting remote work through major advertising campaigns, demonstrating confidence in their employees' ability to perform anywhere. What I think actually matters for team success: 1. Clear expectations and deliverables 2. Regular meaningful check-ins 3. Strong documentation practices 4. Intentional relationship building 5. Results-focused metrics My personal take: the future of work requires adaptability. The companies that will thrive are those that prioritize outcome over attendance. As leaders and managers, we're all navigating this shift together. What are your thoughts on the matter? I'd love to hear in the comments :) #futureofwork #leadership #management #remotework

“Work from Where You Work Best” Works for Us at Tough Day. This isn’t just a policy. It’s how we actually work, every day. We’ve got teammates in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, and several cities across the US. Different time zones, different cultures, different work styles. Here’s what makes it work: 1. Clear Alignment We use the V2MOM invented by Salesforce's Marc Benioff – which stands for Vision, Values, Methods, Obstacles, and Measures – to help us all stay on the same page about where we’re going, how we’ll get there, and what success looks like when we do. 2. Team Agreements We facilitate dialogue about how we all work best as individuals up front. We negotiate and make these expectations clear from the start on any project team. That includes sharing a whole host of holidays that we can all celebrate! Happy Independence Day, Argentina! 3. Daily Stand-Ups No matter where we are, we make time for short daily check-ins. Each day has a designated theme and leader (Macro-Monday, Tech Tuesday, Waxing Wednesday...). The structure helps us stay in sync, talk through any issues, and help each other. 4. Intentional In-Person Time We don’t have a central office. Instead, we meet up for the kind of collaborative activities that are more productive in person. We time these in-person working sessions around other live events like client meetings or conferences. For us, it’s a much better investment than paying for office space. 5. AI-Native Collaboration AI is a valuable part of our team, and to state the obvious – AI doesn’t physically sit in the office (at least not yet for most of us). AI is our virtual co-worker. If you work with AI, you're already working remotely. But maybe the best part? This way of working requires us to be deeply thoughtful in our interactions. We are curious. We listen better. We learn from and leverage each other — across languages, locations, and backgrounds. And all of these behaviors make us stronger in everything that we do.