Teams occasionally generate a certain amount of internal friction, and development staffs are no exception. Yet, when managed properly, team friction can actually be turned into a motivating force.
Developer team friction can become a positive driving force when it encourages diverse perspectives, promotes critical thinking, fosters innovation, and improves communication skills, observes JB McGinnis, a principal with Deloitte Consulting. “Constructive disagreements can lead to more robust solutions, continuous improvement, and stronger team cohesion,” he explains in an email interview. “By tapping into and exploring this friction positively, teams can enhance performance and drive innovation.”
Friction can be a fantastic driver for positive change, states Andy Miears, a director with technology research and advisory firm ISG. “When members of a development team are at odds with each other, it often indicates some degree of inefficiency, lack of work product quality, a poor working environment, or unclear roles and responsibilities,” he says via email. “Using friction as a compelling way to identify, prioritize, and address pain points is a healthy behavior for any high-performing team.”
Multiple Benefits
Developer team friction, while often seen as a negative trait, can actually become a positive force under certain conditions, McGinnis says. “Friction can enhance problem-solving abilities by highlighting weaknesses in current processes or solutions,” he explains. “It prompts the team to address these issues, thereby improving their overall problem-solving skills.”
Team friction often occurs when a developer passionately advocates a new approach or solution. That’s generally a good thing, notes Stew Beck, director of engineering at work product management solutions provider iManage. “When team members have conflicting ideas, you naturally end up with some friction — it’s something you want to have on every team,” he says via email. If team members aren’t advocating their own ideas, there’s a risk they’re not fully engaged in the problem. “Without friction, teams could be missing out on a way to make the product better.”
Allowing team friction in a controlled and safe way helps everyone. “Team members can challenge ideas, ways of accomplishing a task, encourage better results, and hold each other accountable to shared objectives, standards and processes,” Miears says.
Team seniority and status shouldn’t matter. “The best ideas don’t always come from the most senior person in the room,” Beck observes. Yet failing to encourage open discussions, regardless of rank, risks overlooking something important that could cost the team, and the entire enterprise, later.
Channeling Friction
To channel friction into positive results, the team leader should encourage balanced and constructive productive feedback. “Additionally, the leader should commit to creating an environment that’s open to a wide set of opinions, where teammates are encouraged to share their thoughts,” McGinnis advises.
The team leader should schedule regular meetings with their development team to identify what’s currently working and, more importantly, what may be failing. “In a mature Agile development framework, retrospectives should take part at the end of every sprint,” Miears recommends. Larger retrospectives, meanwhile, should be scheduled at the end of releases or program increments. “These sessions should be used to create new, better, or more efficient value for users, stakeholders and the overall team.”
Maintaining Control
Team leaders should set clear expectations and goals for all members. “These objectives should be defined for both the team as a whole and for individual members,” McGinnis says. Leading by example is also critical. “As a leader, you are a reflection of your team, so demonstrating the handling of conflicts with a professional demeanor, while showing empathy, goes a long way.”
Friction can easily spiral out of control when retrospectives and feedback focus on individuals instead of addressing issues and problems jointly as a team. “Staying solution-oriented and helping each other achieve collective success for the sake of the team, should always be the No. 1 priority,” Miears says. “Make it a safe space.”
As a leader it’s important to empower every team member to speak up, Beck advises. Each team member has a different and unique perspective. “For instance, you could have one brilliant engineer who rarely speaks up, but when they do it’s important that people listen,” he says. “At other times, you may have an outspoken member on your team who will speak on every issue and argue for their point, regardless of the situation.” Staying in tune with these differences and quirks helps to foster a healthy discussion environment.
Parting Thought
Team building is a great way to ensure a safe team when friction arises, Miears says. “Celebrate successes and individual accomplishments together,” he recommends. “Do the work to build a safe and inclusive culture in which the team can thrive.”