Coaching Team Topology

Christian sits down with Marty Cagan to decode team topology: one of the most consequential yet misunderstood levers in product organizations. Learn how great leaders design product teams for maximum autonomy, clarity, and customer impact. – Today’s discussion unpacks: How team topology is different from org structure Red flags that indicate a broken team structure The brutal trade-offs in optimizing for outcomes vs. velocity How cognitive load, chemistry, and trust affect team performance How to approach team design in growing or transforming orgs – References: Amazon’s Two Pizza Team: https://aws.amazon.com/executive-• insights/content/amazon-two-pizza-team/ Factors in Structuring a Product Organization by Marty Cagan: https://www.svpg.com/factors-in-structuring-a-product-organization/ High Integrity Commitments by Marty Cagan: https://www.svpg.com/managing-commitments-in-an-agile-team/ Pierre Omidyar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierre-omidyar-bb10687b/ Team Topologies by Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais: https://www.amazon.com/Team-Topologies-Organizing-Business-Technology/dp/1942788819 – Where to find SVPG: SVPG’s newest book, TRANSFORMED: https://www.svpg.com/books/transformed-moving-to-the-product-operating-model/ Other books: https://www.svpg.com/books/ Articles: https://www.svpg.com/articles/ Workshops: https://www.svpg.com/ Videos: https://www.svpg.com/videos/ – Where to find Christian Idiodi: LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/cidiodi/⁠ – Where to find Marty Cagan: LinkedIn: ⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/cagan/ – Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (0:46) What is team topology? (1:56) Top-down vs. bottom-up approaches (3:01) Team topology ≠ org structure (5:26) Optimizing for outcomes vs. throughput (10:20) 3 signs you have a topology problem (15:24) Who should own team topology? (17:17) The surprising value of platform teams (18:14) How do you define a product? (20:36) The first step in a topology project (22:23) The cost of scaling teams (24:52) What high-performing topology requires (25:13) Balancing resources and ratios (32:36) Rolling out team topology changes (33:34) Dismantling bureaucratic team bloat (40:42) Addressing legacy teams and bureaucracy – Disclaimer: While this podcast is named “Product Therapy”, it is not hosted by licensed therapists or mental health professionals, and it is in no way a substitute for professional mental health services. We recognize the importance of mental well-being and encourage anyone facing personal difficulties to seek support from qualified professionals. See https://findahelpline.com/ – Production: Production by ⁠supermix.io