Building Teams That Excel: Lessons in Leadership

Build a team that supports one another...a team of leaders.

Over the years, I’ve learned that leadership isn’t about having all the answers or being the loudest voice in the room. It’s about facilitation: creating an environment where others can thrive, innovate, and feel confident bringing their best selves to work every day. It’s a journey of trial, error, and reflection. What I’ve come to realize is that leading well is less about managing tasks and more about building relationships, fostering alignment, and empowering people to grow and do their best work.

Here are some of the tenets of my current approach to leadership and some suggestions on how you might take inspiration from this to refine your own style.

Clarity is Everything

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that people work best when they know what’s expected of them and why it matters. Ambiguity can derail even the most talented teams.

Whenever I’m working on a project or defining a sprint, I focus on making expectations crystal clear:

• What are we trying to achieve?

• Why does this work matter to the team, the business, or our users?

• How will we know when we’ve succeeded?

Beyond that, I check in regularly: not to micromanage, but to make sure the context hasn’t shifted. Goals evolve, priorities change, and it’s my job to keep everyone moving in the same direction.

Collaboration Isn’t Optional

I’ve had the privilege of working with technically diverse and cross-functional teams and one thing is clear: the best solutions happen when these diverse perspectives come together.

However, collaboration doesn’t just “happen.” It requires forethought and intention. I make a point of encouraging teams to break down silos and prioritize open communication. Engineers, designers, product managers, they all bring something unique to the table; when they work together in harmony, the results are stellar.

Within this approach, it is also important to foster a culture where people feel safe asking questions and sharing ideas. Some of the best innovations I’ve seen started as half-formed thoughts from someone who felt comfortable speaking up. You cannot expect to innovate and take risks as an organization if you do not empower each individual to do so of their own accord.

Empathy and Accountability Go Hand in Hand

If there is a single imperative that drives all effective leadership, it is this: you must genuinely care about your people and your results. One element without the other is simply a listing ship, drifting out into the doldrums of productivity.

Empathy means understanding where your team is coming from: their challenges, their motivations, and what they need to succeed. But it also means holding them accountable. A strong team isn’t afraid of high expectations because they trust that their leader has their back. I try to model this balance in my own behavior. If I’m asking my team to deliver their best work, I’m holding myself to the same standard. That accountability—paired with genuine care—builds trust.

Invest in Your Team

One of the most rewarding parts of leadership is seeing people grow. This sort of growth doesn’t happen by accident—it requires genuine investment.

I make it a priority to mentor my team, whether that’s through regular feedback, sharing lessons from my own experiences, or encouraging them to tackle challenges that stretch their abilities. I’ve also found that autonomy is one of the greatest gifts you can give someone. When you trust people to make decisions, you provide them the opportunity rise to the occasion. In the end, your team cannot get better at hard things by not doing them: they must enter into the crucible themselves.

Just as importantly, we must not forget to celebrate growth, no matter how small. Recognizing progress, even incremental steps, reinforces a culture of continuous improvement.

Adapt and Innovate Constantly

Technology, business requirements, product landscape...these things can change quickly: leadership must keep pace. Over the years, I’ve learned that flexibility is as important as structure. You need to create processes that support your team without stifling innovation. When something isn’t working, don’t double down, adapt. Whether it’s trying a new tool, experimenting with a different workflow, or rethinking how your team communicates, staying open to change keeps your team agile and competitive.

Let’s be honest: not every experiment works. That’s okay. When you view failure as a learning opportunity, it builds resilience.

Strong Teams Need Strong Relationships

Engineering teams don’t work in isolation. Their success is tied to how well they collaborate with stakeholders: product managers, designers, business leaders, and beyond.

Building those relationships takes effort. I’ve found that engaging stakeholders early and often is key. Whether it’s defining priorities, setting timelines, or simply keeping them informed, transparency goes a long way in fostering trust. When such challenges arise (because they always do), I make it my mission to protect my team’s focus and morale while working with and empowering the team to fashion a solution.

Keep Evolving

Leadership isn’t something you figure out once and then carry forward forever; it's not a static body of knowledge. Rather, being a leader is a continuous process of reflection and growth. I regularly ask for feedback—not just from peers, but from my team. I want to know how I can support them better or where I might be falling short. I also make time to reflect after every project: What worked? What didn’t? How can I do better next time?

Leadership is a skill both practicable and perishable: if you are not endeavoring to improve, you are in the process of losing your edge. The more you learn, the more your team benefits.

Final Thoughts

At its core, leadership is about people. It’s about creating an environment where your team feels supported, inspired, and equipped to succeed. If you can do that—while staying adaptable and continually striving to improve—you’ll not only build great teams but also achieve remarkable outcomes.

Lead with clarity. Collaborate with intention. Balance empathy with accountability. Above all, never stop learning. The rest will fall into place.