team_member_a: Hey, I got a chance to use Github codespaces and it's so awesome!
team_member_b: I think that idea about how to set up your database makes sense.
team_member_c: Want to touch base about career paths and goals soon?
That is some of the recent chatter from my team.
We talk about work, discuss new tech, mentor each other, and brainstorm on projects and technical roadblocks. But we are not co-workers.
Everyone on "my team" was someone I once worked with. Perhaps we sat side by side in an office, day in and day out collaborating on code, or someone who I once reported to as my manager, or maybe I managed them. But for whatever reason, life took us down paths where we no longer work at the same organization but they are still my teammates. Some of us text every day while others might only connect once a year.
In an ever global and remote workforce, there's no reason why your team must only consist of people you work with directly. In fact, there is good reason to widen that net.
Technical Expertise
This is a big one for me personally and for those of us who may work in smaller organizations. Perhaps you are the only person at your company who works in your area of expertise. Having a technical teammate ( outside of your organization) who you may be able to kick around ideas with can be a huge benefit. Sometimes, even just the feedback that your line of thinking is on the right track.
Recently, I was in a quandary about a project I have been tackling which includes building out a new data pipeline with built-in quality analysis. I had a pretty solid plan but found myself at a juncture where I could either go down my original path but there would be some previously unknown needs related to database upkeep. I could tweak my plan and significantly lower my strain on the database in exchange for some of the quality checks running at a variety of intervals instead of real-time. I wanted to make the shift but struggled as to whether I was making the right choice. A quick call to my data teammate where I was able to briefly describe the issue and my thoughts without going into any company specifics and she was able to help talk me through it and support my decision. I felt so much relief in having someone to just reassure me and get me past the decision post.
Outside Perspectives
Sometimes something might be going on at work whether technical or organizationally that having an outside perspective on can really flip your mindset. For example, if you are struggling with the time it's taking for something to go through your organization, and you discuss it with someone who may be able to view it from their point of view can give you insights you hadn't considered.
Someone working in another sector or just another company may also have ideas about technology, problem solutions, or software from their experience that you wouldn't otherwise come across.
Longterm Networks
Having outside teammates helps grow and shore up your long-term network. As they move on to new and different projects or places, it helps expand your reach as well in terms of networking or hearing about other technical areas. Also, having people in your life who are growing and can watch you grow allows for easier discussion about goals and self-reflection.
Current Coworkers are future teammates
Thinking of my work team as including people outside your organization also affects how I think of people at my current place of employment. I'm not just interacting with them for the now, but for what might develop in the future. For me, I find it gives me even more impetus to reach out across my organization and better understand my current colleagues that I might not work with every day. I also feel like it allows me to put in more effort to communicating and working with my current colleagues as it has the potential to have a longer-term unseen value yet to be determined.
Final Thoughts
For me, the vast majority of my team are people I have worked with previously but that doesn't have to be the case. Perhaps you meet someone at a conference or at a technical event and you realize you have a lot of similar careers or technical interests. Try setting up a time to have a 30-minute video chat for coffee and just discuss your favorite text editors, data visualization tools, coding languages... you get the idea :)
Putting some extra time in these relationships when you can will bring rewards later on. And if not, perhaps you just write a blog post about it.
P.S. Of course I sent this blog in preview to my team for feedback and that gave me the extra push to hit publish.