In the lead-up to today’s Dutch parliamentary elections, we continually witness how political parties defend their own positions, often at the expense of constructive collaboration. This dynamic is surprisingly familiar to anyone who has worked in a large organization. The parallels between election campaigns and organizational silos are striking, and both can be damaging to the broader mission.

Just as political parties prioritize their own agendas over national unity, departments within organizations often pursue isolated goals, leading to fragmentation, inefficiency, and missed opportunities. In both cases, the absence of a shared vision undermines progress. The way forward lies in working together toward a shared goal, aligning diverse perspectives around a common purpose to create meaningful impact.

After 25 years in software engineering, I’ve witnessed many projects, from great success stories to those that never quite lived up to their promise. In our profession, success is not just about technology. Sure, we love our frameworks, CI/CD pipelines, and microservices. But the real power of a high-performing team lies in something much deeper: team dynamics.

In this blog I want to dive into the why, how and what of team dynamics and why it’s such a crucial element in the success of your project or organization.