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Your Team Doesn’t Need Eleven Goalies
Recently I went on a spate of interviewing. And as always, it was interesting to see certain common trends across companies that otherwise seem very different. Most are not particularly noteworthy: a trend towards FAANG-style algorithmic interviewing, self-serve availability scheduling, conscious approach to remote work.
One new question popped up in my interviews this time through. Interviewers seemed to like my answer, but it took a long time to explain. I’m writing it down here to hopefully cut down on that explanation time (and so I’ll remember when it comes time to interview again). The question is a fairly simple one:
What’s your ideal team composition?
My answer is effectively the consequence of two beliefs about leading people:
- The autonomy/mastery/purpose model of engagement is a good one.
- People need practice to get better at most tasks.
In particular, my focus is on mastery. Autonomy will come in the day to day as I lead the team: delegating things effectively, generally treating everyone like adults, and cutting down on dumb process. Purpose will come from the company’s goals and my ability to set each person’s context within those goals. How the team is structured effects mastery far more, since the shape of the team influences how the work…
