Michele Sollecito teaches us how to create high-performing teams
Listen now (60 mins) | "In software, the fundamental question is definitely a billion-dollar question, probably way more: is
https://peppesilletti.io/content/invisible-algorithms-episode-5/
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7Lwb1Ri9iHKoqk48EkTg71?si=6BMrO8R7QBOhp9U1PV98pw
Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/cwmcNXMe6yY?si=pWNr7BujR_sCWU0X
“In software, the fundamental question is definitely a billion-dollar question, probably way more: is software a linear activity that you can decompose or is it something complex that you will perform very poorly if you try to attack it with a group of people as opposed to a team?
Well, I think that by definition is a very complex activity. And the reason why is that not only are people involved, but you’re trying to create another system, which is a software system” - Michele Sollecito
You can’t build better software products without system thinking.
Teams are systems, as well as software products. Everything can be seen as a system if you look hard enough.
In this new episode of the Invisible Algorithms Podcast, Michele Sollecito brings his unique perspective on how system thinking can help organizations create high-performing teams that can deliver better outcomes in their day-to-day work. In this episode, Michele will share with us some great insights on: - The Limitations of Traditional Team Structures - The Importance of Collaboration in Complex Problems - The Flaws of the tech lead role and the actual role of management - The Benefits of Ensemble Programming - An anticipation of the book he’s writing
I hope you’ll get the best out of this episode as much as I did.
Before getting into it, if you like this episode, please remember to share the episode with your network, like it on YT, and review it on Spotify.
Enjoy!
00:00 Introduction and background
06:11 Can software development be standardized?
09:00 What is a team?
09:41 The current hiring system is broken
11:40 The team is a system
12:24 The strengths and limitations of different team models
16:32 The emergent properties of systems
19:52 Remote working
21:36 Why are teams not working as teams?
25:21 A story of transformation
30:23 The benefits of ensemble programming
33:24 Why can having a tech lead be a bad idea?
37:02 Management is about how the work works, not the work itself
40:43 Is ensemble programming waste?
46:13 Why is difficult to sell change to management (belief system)
55:11 Michele’s book
References:
- Elastic Leadership, Growing self-organizing teams: https://www.manning.com/books/elastic-leadership
Michele’s Bio:
A versatile background spanning startups to industry giants across banking, fintech, gaming, and more. Michele excels in building efficient teams and departments through system thinking, Theory-Y management, and agile practices. With experience managing over 250 people and expertise in software architecture, cloud-native services, and continuous delivery, Michele’s approach fosters semi-autonomous, cross-functional teams that thrive on fast feedback and continuous improvement. Beyond work, Michele is passionate about self-improvement, enjoying gym sessions, gastronomy, and dedicating time daily to reading, particularly product discovery and strategy.
Follow Michele: