Aligning the Sense of Urgency Among Diverse Tech Teams

Sid Mustafa
March 1, 2024

In a fast-growing technology company, the engineering, product and platform teams exhibit significantly different senses of urgency regarding project delivery and innovation. This misalignment leads to:

  • Delays
  • Frustration
  • Communication breakdown
  • Inefficient workflows
  • Concerns over losing a competitive edge due to missed innovation opportunities

“On innovation – I find teams struggle to innovate if they don’t feel ownership”.

Keith P.

Previous Attempts to Solve the Situation

  • Cross-functional meetings to improve communication. 
  • Unified project management tool for increased visibility. 
  • Company-wide OKRs to align team goals.

New Objective

Explore strategies to align the sense of urgency among teams, enhancing collaboration, efficiency and innovation.

The goal is a cohesive approach that balances quality, speed and stability.

Discussion Points

  1. Strategies for addressing root causes of misalignment among tech teams.
  2. Effective communication practices for a shared sense of urgency.
  3. Balancing diverse priorities without compromising on quality, speed, or stability.
  4. Successful case examples or experiences.

Let’s Discuss!

Share your insights, strategies and experiences to help navigate this challenge and achieve team alignment for success in a competitive landscape.

Peer Advice (from our CTO Community)

Keith P, Head of Product Engineering

I would question the current shape of the teams. With separate engineering, product and platform, there is (in my opinion) going to be an additional overhead in maintaining/aligning vision and purpose.

If possible, I’d look to transform the teams into cross-functional pods, consisting of product, engineering and platform, and ensure they have a true sense of ownership – a one-team approach. 

If this is not possible, I’d look to have advocates – bring a product person into engineering ceremonies (refinement, stand-ups, retros etc.) and vice versa.

Also, as a team or team of teams, agree on what getting done requires and achieves. 

On innovation – I find teams struggle to innovate if they don’t feel ownership.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Download Our Free eBook!

90 Things You Need To Know To Become an Effective CTO

CTO Academy Ebook - CTO Academy

Latest posts

Top 7 Concerns of Technology Leaders That Implemented Agentic AI - article featured image

Top 7 Concerns of Technology Leaders That Implemented Agentic AI

Artificial Intelligence is evolving beyond narrow, task-specific applications into agentic AI—systems capable of making autonomous decisions, adapting to dynamic environments and taking independent actions to […]
The Impact of Tech MBA Programs on Career Advancement - article featured image

The Impact of Tech MBA Programs on Career Advancement

Technology professionals aspiring to senior leadership roles often contemplate the necessity of a master’s in technology leadership. It can be time-consuming and quite expensive so […]
Maintaining Data Integrity in Challenging Environments - article featured image

Maintaining Data Integrity in Challenging Environments

Start-ups and scale-ups often prioritise quick decisions to maintain their competitive edge, which can lead to shortcuts in data analysis or overreliance on intuition. The […]

Transform Your Career & Income

Our mission is simple.
To arm you with the leadership skills required to achieve the career and lifestyle you want.
Save Your Cart
Share Your Cart