Tips to Boost Interdisciplinary Team Productivity

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

Getting a team to come together is no small task. One of the biggest multipliers I have found is clear and transparent communication within the team. What does that mean practically? 1. Share documents openly with as few secrets as possible. Some things can’t be shared, but most things can. Common vacation schedules, specifications, design validation methods, almost anything you can think of - the whole team needs to be able to get to those things. Easy to do with tools like Office365, or whatever tool set you use. 2. Communicate clearly in multiple channels. Email, slack, teams - send the message multiple ways, multiple times. People will miss things. Someone will learn something and require a slight tweak on some downstream or in-flight piece of work. As the leader, keep constantly communicating. 3. Operate asynchronously. This is probably the most important for team productivity. Don’t wait for a meeting if it can be helped. Get the information out and share it widely. IM team channels are great for this - because 2 or 3 people can have a chat and the whole team can read it later. I also think this is so important because people are coming and going in all directions at all times, sick, family, remote work, etc. This is why an “open book” of documents is so important - the free flow of information is vital to getting the team humming. Do you have some other tips for running a team? Comment / share below.

The importance of organizational design in nurturing social connections cannot be overstated. Well thoughtout organizational strategy, structure and systems doesn’t just facilitate efficiency; it fosters (and sustains!) a culture of collaboration that can dramatically enhance innovation and performance. To achieve this, we can start by integrating cross-functional teams, which bring together diverse perspectives and expertise - a melting pot of ideas that drive innovation. By structuring our organizations around the flow of knowledge and not the hierarchy of command—we can enable a seamless exchange of insights across different levels of the company. Next, decentralized decision-making. This can empower individuals at all levels, giving them ownership of their work and a voice in the organization’s direction. This leads to a more engaged workforce, where employees are not just executors of tasks but active participants in the organization’s journey. Don’t let talent development be a department of course and content production! Refocus on connection. Implement structured mentorship programs where more experienced employees pair up with newer ones to facilitate knowledge transfer, build strong inter-personal connections, and encourage mutual growth. These are just a few, and note that I haven’t mentioned investing in collaborative technologies. Honestly, by now, these should be omnipresent and serve to support all that’s been suggested here. By rethinking our organizational design with a focus on social interactions, we create an environment where employees are more connected, engaged, and motivated. This shift not only enhances productivity but also builds a resilient organization ready to face the ever growing challenges of business. #OrganizationalDesign #Collaboration #Innovation #SocialByDesign