Building an Engineering Team Around Ownership
Small, talented teams have an inherent challenge: the individuals that make them up are talented. In a small, talented engineering team, the engineers understand architecture, the architects understand engineering, and the product managers understand the technical side of things. While this cross-functional knowledge seems beneficial on the surface - enabling empathy and better questions - it comes with a significant downside: people tend to overstep their roles.
The Challenge of Talented Teams
When you have passionate, capable people, they will naturally encroach on neighboring roles, especially during high-stakes situations:
- Engineers make broad architectural decisions
- Architects dictate engineering implementation details
- Product managers prescribe architectural choices
This overstepping, while well-intentioned, is dangerous.
The Finite Capacity Problem
Every individual, regardless of talent, has limits:
- Product managers should have the deepest context about the product
- Architects should best understand technology capabilities and constraints
- Engineers should have the clearest view of implementation details
When these boundaries blur, the environment shifts from healthy collaboration to toxic micromanagement. This can quickly destroy team dynamics - talented professionals won’t stay where their domain is constantly invaded by others.
The Counterintuitive Solution
The solution isn’t more teamwork - it’s better boundaries. Success requires:
- Well-defined ownership boundaries
- Clear documentation of responsibilities
- Organizational support for defending these boundaries
- Confidence to push back - even against leadership
- Universal respect for others’ domains
Practical Implementation
To make this work:
- Document each role’s ownership clearly
- Ensure everyone understands these boundaries
- Create processes for cross-domain decisions
- Support people in defending their domain
- Hold people accountable for their areas of ownership
The Power of True Ownership
Only when team members truly understand and internalize the importance of their own ownership will they naturally respect others’ domains. This means:
- Engineers own their code
- Architects own the system design
- Product managers own the product decisions
- Everyone respects these boundaries
Conclusion
Building a high-performing engineering team isn’t about finding ways for talented people to do everything - it’s about creating clear boundaries that allow each person to excel in their domain while respecting others’ expertise. True ownership, properly bounded and respected, is the key to maintaining a healthy, productive team dynamic.