How I Build Powerful Product Teams Without Boundaries and Governance

Get my simple, 3-step guide.

Imagine you are in a box, hands tied. Now, craft an innovative product.

Absurd? Yes. Common for product teams? Unfortunately, yes.

Our expectations of product teams are sky-high.

• We expect the ability to pivot on a dime.
• We expect more, better, faster, and cheaper.
• We expect innovation to deliver stellar outcomes.

Yet, we put boundaries around what teams can do and what they can’t. We also form elaborate standards and procedures and govern all teams to follow them. This is the way we attempt to gain some sense of control over the results we seek.

But control slips through our fingers the more we try to grasp it.

We don’t get the results we desire when we tie the hands of our teams with rigidity. Creativity can’t emerge when adaptation requires permission. The boxes become a prison.

Process eats innovation.

What exactly do you mean by boxes and tied hands?

Our quest for order, while flawed, is well-intended.

Managers try to, well, manage with boxes and restraints.

Boxes represent how we limit teams to one part of the end-to-end value stream. It’s our attempt at controlling how output gets made and limiting our risk. Here are some examples:

• Leads discover needs. Teams get requirements.
• Management and leads decide. Teams execute decisions.
• Architects and designers design. Teams build to specification.
• Teams crank out code. Testers test. Teams correct all the defects.

Looking around, all teams see is four walls of brown—the box they are in. They execute orders, ask permission, fix problems.

As if the boxes are not enough, we also tie their hands.

• We create elaborate processes each team must follow.
• Teams have to get an external party to bless their work.
• Teams must record all activity so we can measure compliance.
• Managers assess how well team members follow the standards.

Seems a lot like Orwell’s 1984 to me. Orders. Oversight. Restriction.

We are optimizing for outputs, not outcomes.

Why can’t we control product work?

I once believed my team was at the top of its game.

We had our small part to play in the process, and we executed it with perfection.

• Our work arrived by the deadline.
• Our delivery was pristine and free of defects.
• Our output matched our order with precision.
• Our team worked at a steady pace, always within budget.

Can you guess what was not perfect? Our results. They sucked.

Wait. What? You might be thinking we had great results from my list of accomplishments above. But flawless delivery and rule-following don’t equate to the results we desire in product work. What we want is value from meaningful user outcomes and business impact.

But no amount of perfect execution can influence the value of what you deliver.

In product, you don’t know what will work for your customers until it does.

• Betting big on the unknown is a big gamble.
• Precision aiming doesn’t work for moving, distant targets.
• Orderly, factory-line execution doesn’t matter to your customer.

Product teams shouldn’t be a station on a factory line.

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3 Simple Steps to Build Adaptable Product Teams (Without Boundaries and Restraints)

Think SEAL teams. Not widget builders.

We need teams who move end-to-end to deliver solutions to customer needs in a way that works for our business. This requires no boxes and free hands. And our teams must have the capability and agency to act when context changes on the ground.

We need decision-making on the terrain, not in a boardroom.

If you think about it, no team should work the same way.

They don’t have the same customers, needs, solutions, or team members. As such, they should not be bound to act according to a set recipe. As my dad used to urge me to do, they have to, “Put on their thinking caps,” and adapt to their situation.

No standard method can hope to fit an ever-shifting environment.

There’s a time for everything based on context. 

A time to act. A time to plan.
A time to diverge. A time to converge.
A time to stay the course. A time to pivot.
A time to be predictive. A time to be experimental.
A time to take ownership. A time to depend on others.

And who is the best to judge the thing required and its timing? The team.

So, you may be wondering, how do we make this happen in our control-ridden corporate world? I don’t have all the answers, but I do have a step-by-step guide I’ve used to be successful in building team autonomy. You can steal it, and use it today. The way you apply it will, of course, depend on your unique situation.

Ready? Let’s walk through my 3-step guide.

Step 1: Admit you can’t centralize control.

A bit of humility goes a long way (to be honest, it’s like a breath of fresh air).

When faced with complex and uncertain product work, admit you don’t know exactly what to do. This is especially true from a centralized perch. You should instead equip your teams on the ground to orient, try, learn, and adjust. Then, they repeat until they reach the desired outcome.

The crooked path is the way.

But this isn’t easy. In the corporate world, humility is often considered a sign of weakness, of ineptitude. For some reason, we think being in control is a learnable, valuable skill.

Yet, in product, control is not a skill in your favor.

I remember an executive long ago telling me that a detailed plan inspired his confidence. My gorgeous plan told him I was in control of my teams and their outcome. Wow. Looking back now, I can see how far off that remark is from reality.

A detailed plan is only an illusion of control.

Trying to predict the right path and the way you get there is a detriment to your success. It’s not a badge of honor. You aren’t in control when it comes to product work.

Yet, we put our product teams in a factory mode, a step in the end-to-end flow. This is us putting blind faith in our ability to control. We try to be fortune-tellers. Our actions scream that we are confident we can figure out ahead what the teams need to do.

Then, we aim the teams, give them a step-by-step map to follow, and roll the dice.

Instead, we need to let go of control, so teams can take ownership end-to-end.

No hand-offs. No recipes.

Rather, teams must take a customer’s need, figure out solutions, and try them out. All the while, they walk step-by-step with their customer. They learn along the way and have the power to adjust based on direct insights.

Here’s some irony. When I began my career in the 90s, team end-to-end autonomy was the default. But we have lost our way. As complexity and uncertainty escalated, so did management’s desire to gain back control.

But, turns out, when a team owns the entire flow, they reach outcomes sooner.

This is especially true when the ground shifts underfoot, as it does in modern product work. It’s best for teams to own decisions. They own the path. This translates to speed—learning speeds their route to valuable results.

Yet, many product teams have become comfortable owning only a small step in the flow. Moving to end-to-end ownership is a scary, unfamiliar move.

So, safety is a prerequisite, which takes us to step 2.

Step 2: Create safety for teams to take ownership.

For teams to take ownership, safety is non-negotiable.

Imagine you think you know the right move, but you aren’t certain it will work. Do you dare to take the leap?

When I face a challenge like this, I am ruled by my sense of safety. The risk posed to my reputation if I fail dictates my willingness to make a move. If I fear criticism or a dent in my performance review, I will not take action.

Most teams will behave exactly like me when faced with an uncertain decision.

So, as a manager, you must make it safe for teams to take action.

What does this mean? If the action fails, you celebrate the learning rather than seek blame. I call this celebrating the “red.”

This is harder than you think. Most managers see failure as a lack of planning. So, managers need a major shift in perspective. They must instead celebrate that explosion in the team “lab” as the sound of learning.

Here’s a sad but true story. I once had a manager lock me and my team in a room for six hours until we came up with a way to save face on a failed experiment. This is not the “leadership” we need.

Managers must shift from managing and controlling to leading and embracing experimentation.

A leader supports; a manager controls. We want leaders.

But to achieve this, managers must believe teams are capable of end-to-end ownership. And this brings us to our final step.

Step 3: Build the craft of end-to-end ownership and adaptability.

Many folks throw around the term craft.

Many times this refers to developing a specialized skill. Yet, in product development the skill is broad. We want teams to develop a craft for owning end-to-end delivery of solutions. Their craft is solving user problems in a way that works for the business.

The product team craft landscape is vast.

So, you may be wondering: what happens to the people (managers and leads) feeding recipes to teams today?

They don’t go anywhere. But they have a new charter. They now coach teams, cultivating the team craft of end-to-end ownership.

• Pairing with team members.
• Performing collaborative problem-solving.
• Guiding the team down paths, avoiding obstacles.

But there’s one thing they don’t do: fall back into bad patterns of control and governance of the team. This must go away.

I’ll never forget a manager who coached me to learn how to navigate a tough client situation. He guided me on having empathy, understanding the problem before jumping to solutions. He was by my side but let me figure it out. The growth I experienced: unmatched.

Teams must take ownership. And they take it with ease under the wing of a supportive leader.

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That’s it.

Boxes. Tied hands. This is no way to treat product teams unless you aren’t concerned about outcomes.

But if you care about achieving results (I know you do), you need empowered, end-to-end product teams.

You do this by:

• Admitting control is futile.
• Enveloping the team in safety.
• Building the team craft of end-to-end ownership.

Giving the reins to the team may seem scary on the surface. But it’s safer and easier than the boundaries and restraints we put on teams today. The hard part is taking the first step.

Yet, consider the benefits—smiling customers, purpose-driven teams, and a thriving business. That first step doesn’t seem so hard after all.

What are you waiting for? Let’s start building powerful, end-to-end product teams today.

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