Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches

The Challenge of Breaking Silos, And Building Collaborative Teams Remotely | Antti Horelli

Jan 28, 2025

Antti Horelli, an Agile Coach from Finland, discusses the critical challenge of breaking down silos in remote teams. He shares a compelling story about a tech team that, despite being skilled, faced disintegration due to poor communication and conflicting views on what constitutes effective work. Antti emphasizes the importance of team cohesion and establishing clear communication strategies. He also highlights insights on flow efficiency versus resource efficiency from the book 'This is Lean,' underlining the value of optimizing processes for better collaboration.

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ADVICE

One-Piece Flow

Aim to complete one value-delivering item at a time.
This improves flow efficiency, even if it seems counterintuitive.

ANECDOTE

Team Dysfunction

A development team struggled with communication issues and differing views on "good tech work."
Despite individual efforts, the team failed to deliver value and eventually disbanded.

ADVICE

Early Intervention

Build a strong team foundation by addressing communication problems and differing viewpoints early on.
Facilitate a shared understanding of the team's purpose and working style.

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Antti Horelli: The Challenge of Breaking Silos, And Building Collaborative Agile Teams Remotely

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

Antti shares a story about a team of solo workers who struggled to collaborate effectively. Despite having technical expertise, the team faced challenges in delivering value due to conflicting views on "good tech work" and communication issues. The remote working environment further complicated their interactions, ultimately leading to the team's dissolution. This experience emphasizes the importance of focusing on team cohesion and establishing clear ways of working, especially in distributed teams.

Featured Book of the Week: "Lean, Resolving the efficiency paradox"

Antti recommends "This is Lean: Resolving the Efficiency Paradox” by Modig et al., an approachable book for its clear explanation of flow efficiency versus resource efficiency in Scrum and Kanban. The book helped him understand the counterintuitive benefits of optimizing for one-piece flow and completing single value-delivering items, offering valuable insights for process improvement.

Self-reflection Question: How can you help your team transition from individual work patterns to effective collaboration?

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About Antti Horelli

Antti is an experienced Agile Coach from Finland, dedicated to empowering teams. With a systems-oriented, empathetic approach, he fosters collaboration and effective communication. With decades in IT, Antti transitioned from technical roles to methodology, where he passionately helps people and teams reach their full potential.

You can link with Antti Horelli on LinkedIn.