The First Thing We Look For

When we first start working with a team, one of the very first things we look at before the numbers, before the org charts, before the fancy systems is communication.

Now, people say they “communicate well.” They say “Oh, we talk all the time,” or they toss around terms like “We over-communicate here.”

But what does that even mean?

“Over-communicate” is one of those phrases I hear a lot, and to be honest, I think it’s useless. You don’t need to over-communicate. You need to communicate the right things, at the right time, in the right way. That’s not “over”, that’s just healthy.

So when we come in, we start looking closely. Not for how many Slack messages were sent, or whether status updates are being pushed to dashboards. We look for how people communicate. What does it feel like? How does the information travel? Is it shared openly or hoarded? Do people need to ask for it, or is it already waiting for them? Do they know what’s happening across teams or are they making assumptions in silence?

And here’s the biggest signal: do they trust each other enough to be open?

Because communication isn’t just about updates and check-ins. It’s about relationships. If someone doesn’t trust their teammate, they won’t proactively offer information. They’ll hold it. They’ll share just enough. They’ll protect themselves. And the team feels that. You can sense when there’s a breakdown not in the tools, but in the willingness to connect.

We’ve had situations where someone says, “I’ve worked with this person for over a year,” and when we ask, “What’s their work style? What do they care about? What’s important to them?” they don’t know. A whole year. Sitting in the same Slack channels. On the same calls. And they don’t know each other.

That’s a problem.

Especially in remote setups, this gets amplified. If there’s no foundation of personal connection, there’s no trust. And if there’s no trust, people default to protecting themselves over helping the team. You can build all the systems in the world, but if your people don’t trust each other enough to say, “Hey, I’m behind, can you jump in?” or “I noticed a risk, let’s talk about it,” none of it works.

So yes, one of the first things we look at is communication.

Not as a checkbox. Not as a dashboard metric.

But as a real, human signal: Are people being honest with each other? Are they connected enough to solve problems together? Or are they working alone, hoping nobody notices?

Because if we don’t get that part right, nothing else will matter.

Richard