In 30 seconds
- Shared goals beat local optimization.
- Direct team-to-team contact beats routing through managers.
- Shared practices and tools make collaboration easier.
What helps
- Shared goals, such as one Product Goal
- Joint reviews and demos
- Communities of practice
- Rotating people between teams occasionally
What gets in the way
- Teams measured only on their own output
- Different tools, definitions of done and cadences
- Requests routed through managers instead of directly
Practical habits
- Agree interfaces and working agreements between teams
- Make dependencies visible on a shared board
- Hold joint retrospectives occasionally
Myth vs reality
Myth · Collaboration means everyone in every meeting.
Reality · Targeted, direct contact works better.
Myth · Good teams don't need others.
Reality · Most valuable outcomes span teams.
Myth · Tools solve collaboration.
Reality · Shared goals and habits do.
FAQ
How do we resolve cross-team conflicts?
Escalate to shared goals, not to hierarchy.
Should teams share a Definition of Done?
Yes, when they ship one product.
What's a community of practice?
A group of people across teams sharing a skill or interest.