HBR's 10 Must Reads 2019

MORTENSEN AND GARDNER

Who’s feeling the pain?

At one professional services fi rm, the employees most squeezed by multiteaming
were mid-tenure associates—they helped with more and more projects as they
gained experience. But the more senior people became, the more likely they were
to lead many projects at the same time.

16

12

8

4

0

1 5 10 15+

Projects per week

Team member Member average

Team leader Leader average

Tenure (Years)

managed less closely, if at all— and why they so often undermine the
benefi ts without leaders’ realizing it.

Managing the Challenges

Through our research and consulting, we have identifi ed several
ways that both team and organizational leaders can reduce the costs
of multiteaming and better capitalize on its benefi ts. We’ll outline
them below.

Priorities for team leaders
Coordinating members’ eff orts (both within and across teams) and
promoting engagement and adaptability are the key challenges for