The Power of Proximity: connecting the US Engineering Leadership of our Brazilian Engineering Team
In the early hours of a rainy Tuesday morning (a normal October in Joinville), our Engineering team in Brazil experienced a unique 'first.' Two familiar faces from our US headquarters, whom we'd mostly seen through the pixelated windows of Google Meet, walked into our office in Joinville. For the first time, many of us were able to hug Sue (CTO) and Srini (Director of Engineering, Marketplace Platforms).
It has been almost two years since the majority of us left the comfort of a consultancy firm (Magrathea Labs) to be part of this exciting startup journey. Yet, in these months, despite the countless hours of collaborative work, our engineers had never met our teammates from the North in person.
The significance of this visit was palpable. In Brazil, like many other cultures, face-to-face interactions aren't mere formalities. They're avenues to build trust, understand nuances, and experience the human side of the colleague who sits thousands of miles away.
Organic Moments & True Connection
Virtual 1:1s and team meetings serve their purpose, granting us structured slots to offer feedback, share emotions, and collate learnings. However, it's impossible to deny the power of in-person interactions that happen more organically. Think of the casual banters in the office kitchen while pouring coffee or those unscripted conversations over lunch. Without a strict agenda, these moments often harbor some of the most honest, heartfelt discussions.
These unstructured moments mirror what countless studies on remote work have been evangelizing for a while. The revelations from such studies have made several companies worldwide advocate for more frequent face-to-face meetings. Why? Because these organic interactions lead to spontaneous innovation, deeper understanding, and often, resolutions to lingering issues.
The Surprise of the Familiar
While our virtual collaborations were efficient, they lacked the richness of direct interactions. Conversations over coffee, lunches, and in-between meeting chatter allowed for a free flow of ideas. We were reminded of Kent Beck's insight that "software development is a series of learning experiences". Learning isn’t always formal. It's sometimes in the moments of shared laughter, a spontaneous suggestion, or an empathetic nod.
The Return on Investment
The benefits of this visit were immediately evident. It was more than just the rejuvenation of team morale. There was an acceleration in decision-making, clarity in communication, and, most importantly, a strengthening of mutual trust.
For companies with distributed teams, there might be a hesitation to invest in frequent visits, primarily because of the perceived costs and the logistical challenges. But here's an essential lesson from our experience: not all returns can be measured in numbers. There are immeasurable benefits in camaraderie, trust, and alignment that only in-person interactions can bring.
Looking Ahead
In the spirit of continuous improvement, it’s pivotal for our leadership to recognize this experience's profound impact and consider more frequent investments in such trips. It's not just a call for allocating a budget. It's a call for nurturing the soul of our teams. A quarterly in-person interaction, synchronized with our planning, can prove to be the catalyst for exponential growth in innovation.
In conclusion, as we stand on the precipice of yet another challenging year, let’s remember the timeless wisdom of Basecamp's approach: "Optimize for happiness". The joy, clarity, and trust derived from face-to-face interactions are vital currencies in the world of engineering. It's time to invest wholeheartedly in them.
