What makes a good team?

This is a question I've been thinking about a lot lately. Over the course of my career, I've worked on a handful of different teams. None were perfect, but more often than not, they were pretty good.

What I haven't done before is take the time to reflect on why they were good. So, let's do exactly that.

Team 1 – Windows Networking Support Engineer #

This was an incredible team to be part of as a new engineer. I had no background in the technology I was working on, and it felt overwhelming at first.

But the team was filled with people who were committed to helping new members grow. They didn't have to do this—it wasn't in their job descriptions. They were experienced professionals who could have simply focused on their own work. But they didn't. They showed up for others.

What stood out most was that they genuinely cared about the team.

My manager struck a great balance: I was challenged regularly, but never beyond what I could handle. My wins were celebrated, and my missteps became opportunities for growth.

I felt supported and encouraged to do my best work.

Team 2 – Windows Networking Support Escalation Engineer #

This transition was intense. My manager switched teams, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and we suddenly faced a massive surge in workload as companies across the U.S. shifted to remote work. (That meant a lot of broken VPN connections.)

The human connection within the team faded, and we were so underwater that most of what I remember is working 12–14 hour days, constantly.

When teammates lost family members to COVID, we all tried to step in and take on extra work so they could grieve.

Our manager became a messenger of bad news. The only time she reached out was to ask if I could take on more work or to inform me that someone else needed time off to deal with personal loss.

Despite it all, I still believe the team cared about each other deeply; we just didn't have the capacity to act on it.

Team 3 – Windows Directory Services Escalation Engineer #

This role came with a welcome change of pace. As part of onboarding, I went through a three-month internship program along with two other interns. It was fully remote and focused on ramping up our debugging skills.

Our instructors were current team members who volunteered to lead the internship. They weren't just knowledgeable, they were genuinely invested in our growth. They welcomed questions, encouraged discussion, and fostered collaboration among us. They told us that these are your future co-workers, you should want them to succeed.

That same spirit carried over into the day-to-day role. The culture was one of mutual support. People wanted to help each other succeed. The team was largely self-managed, and everyone was highly motivated.

The mentality was: We take on the hardest problems and we find solutions.

It felt like we were all in it together. There were no dumb questions—but there was an unspoken expectation that you'd try to think things through before asking. Managers embraced and reinforced this culture, enabling us to do our best work.

Common Threads #

Looking back, a few themes stand out across these experiences:

• Community: You care about the person working next to you.
• Trust: You believe your teammates are doing their best.
• Commitment: Everyone puts in honest, hard work.
• Communication: You always know what to expect from those around you.