This post originally appeared on LinkedIn in December 2021.
Should we require that teams be colocated? I’m still not sure.
In my poll last week, the majority voted a colocated team to mean the “team is in the same place.”
There’s value in keeping teams in real-time flow with the ability to work in sync and receive immediate feedback. It reduces delays and dependencies when you’re not waiting to hear from different time zones. As the Agile Principles say, “face-to-face conversation” – whatever that means today – is the most efficient and effective form of communication.
And yet.
I think we’re missing something intangible when we keep the borders of our teams closed.
We forego the diverse perspectives and experiences of others who don’t share a time zone or even live in the same part of the world as we do. There are trade-offs to be sure, but we are gaining value in other ways.
I’m still forming my thoughts on this so I’d love to hear your experiences. How do you feel about colocated teams?