Hello! In reviewing some of my old IT culture documents at a former employer, I thought it would be a good opportunity to share some of my personal thoughts on cultural tenets we tried to practice (and that I still think are solid).
First up, I wanted to tackle "Community is Greater Than Structure." So, what do we mean by that?
When we formed our org after separating from a larger company, we knew we wanted a lighter, flatter structure in IT that would have more flexibility. We already had a few teams using agile practices (Scrum) and expected more. The idea is that IT team members do not exclusively work with their manager and immediate org chart peers. Like most people in a company, IT team members work in many virtual teams: cross-functional product teams, skill based communities of practice, ad hoc brainstorming or problem solving groups, etc.
Those virtual teams can change, and the people we work with change. The structure supports it because it doesn't care. That's what we mean by "Community is Greater Than Structure." The org hierarchy doesn't limit you in who you work with and what you do. Knowing the community, being a part of it, and working collectively on our goals is more important than boxes and lines on an org chart.
Being part of a community gives you more resources to utilize when you need help or answers. It gives you more opportunities to help the company with its goals. It gives you insight into things that are working well or not to incorporate into your team.
That doesn't mean structure is not valuable. Your org chart supervisor is there to help remove obstacles. To help provide role specific feedback and guidance. To help with prioritization concerns that reach across virtual teams (because, in reality, that can happen even with agile teams in a scaled agile environment).
But structure alone leads to silos, one of the most dreaded hurdles in company wide culture. It is great to be part of a team, but it is important to remember that the team that matters most is all of us, operating as one company.
So structure is important, but "Community is Greater Than Structure."
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