Scott Tannenbaum co-wrote Teams That Work and leads The Group for Organizational Effectiveness. I asked him how teams improve and what a good debrief does.
Feedback and debriefs
Teams evolve through feedback. We compare tech industry retrospectives with military debriefing practices and look at what each gets right about team improvement.
Psychological safety
Psychological safety can decide whether a team succeeds. Power gaps between people make it harder. Scott explains how leaders can build a safe environment and set their teams up for success. NASA’s practices for role clarity come up as an example.
Teams that form fast
Many teams now form quickly and break up just as fast. Scott talks about behavioral markers and simulation for team development. Solutions built for intact teams may not fit these structures.
A debrief updates a team’s shared orientation. Scott shows how to make that happen on purpose.
When did your team last debrief something that went well?
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No Way Out on YouTube:
https://youtube.com/@nowayoutpodcast
Written by Ponch Rivera with AI assistance in production. The full conversation is in the player below.