Engineering Teams: More Than Just a Family or a Sports Team

When it comes to building a successful engineering team, some organizations and leaders emphasize the importance of creating a “family-like” environment, where team members feel a strong sense of belonging and loyalty, and some organizations compare engineering teams to “sports teams”, where team member work together to achieve a common goal collaborating effectively.

The truth is that engineering teams are neither families nor sports teams.

Instead, by understanding the similarities and differences between these models, engineering leaders can create a team culture that leverages the strengths of each approach (family and sports team) while avoiding potential pitfalls. In this blog post, we’ll explore the similarities and differences between engineering teams and families, and engineering teams and sports teams to help you develop a balanced and effective team culture.

Similarities between engineering teams and families

• Strong sense of belonging: Just like in a family, team members in an engineering team often develop a strong sense of belonging to their group and feel a deep connection to their colleagues and work. For example, you can see this trait in teams where members spend time with each other talking about their personal lives.