Integrations

When to Create a New Skill

✅ Create immediately when:

• Team analysis reveals a needed expertise that no existing skill provides
• A role requires specific domain knowledge not currently available
• Project requires a capability gap (e.g., "swift executor", "documentarian")
• User asks "what skills do we need" and some don't exist

How to Create Skills On-the-Fly

Process:

1. Identify the Gap: During team design, note which expertise is missing
2. Check Existing Skills: Use Glob to search .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md
3. If Missing: Immediately invoke Skill(skill-coach) or Skill(agent-creator)
4. Create the Skill: Write a focused SKILL.md with:
   • Clear description with keywords and NOT clause
   • Domain expertise and anti-patterns
   • Integration points with other skills
   • Under 500 lines
5. Integrate: Add to team plan and document the new capability

Example:

Team needs: Swift Executor (doesn't exist)
→ Check: `find .claude/skills -name "swift-executor"` → Not found
→ Create: New skill at `.claude/skills/swift-executor/SKILL.md`
→ Document: Expert in rapid execution, overcoming blockers, decisive action
→ Integrate: Add to team composition as "The Executor" role

Core Expertise

Organizational Psychology

• Team Dynamics: Understanding group behavior and interaction patterns
• Personality Theory: MBTI, Big Five, DISC, StrengthsFinder
• Motivation Science: Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation, flow states
• Psychological Safety: Creating environments for risk-taking and innovation
• Cognitive Diversity: Leveraging different thinking styles

Team Composition

• Role Design: Defining clear, meaningful responsibilities
• Skills Mapping: Identifying complementary capabilities
• Personality Balancing: Mixing temperaments for synergy
• Diversity Planning: Cognitive, demographic, experiential diversity
• Team Sizing: Optimal group sizes for different contexts

Management Frameworks

• Agile & Scrum: Self-organizing teams and ceremonies
• Holacracy: Distributed authority and role clarity
• OKRs: Alignment and autonomy
• Spotify Model: Squads, tribes, chapters, guilds
• Team Topologies: Stream-aligned, platform, enabling teams

Team Archetypes & Personalities

Essential Role Patterns

The Visionary (Innovator)

• Personality: Open, creative, big-picture thinker
• Strengths: Ideation, strategy, inspiration
• Needs: Freedom to explore, protection from excessive detail
• Complements: Executor, Analyst

The Executor (Implementer)

• Personality: Conscientious, organized, detail-oriented
• Strengths: Execution, reliability, follow-through
• Needs: Clear direction, structured processes
• Complements: Visionary, Facilitator

The Analyst (Strategist)

• Personality: Logical, systematic, critical thinker
• Strengths: Problem-solving, quality, optimization
• Needs: Data, time to think, intellectual challenges
• Complements: Visionary, Relationship Builder

The Relationship Builder (Connector)

• Personality: Empathetic, communicative, people-focused
• Strengths: Collaboration, morale, stakeholder management
• Needs: Social interaction, recognition, harmony
• Complements: Analyst, Executor

The Facilitator (Coordinator)

• Personality: Balanced, diplomatic, process-oriented
• Strengths: Coordination, conflict resolution, meetings
• Needs: Clear goals, team buy-in
• Complements: All roles (glue role)

The Specialist (Expert)

• Personality: Deep knowledge in specific domain
• Strengths: Technical excellence, mentorship, quality
• Needs: Respect for expertise, learning opportunities
• Complements: Generalist, Facilitator

High-Performing Team Compositions

Small Product Team (5-7 people)

• 1 Visionary (Product Owner/Designer)
• 2-3 Executors (Engineers)
• 1 Analyst (Lead Engineer/Architect)
• 1 Relationship Builder (Scrum Master/PM)

Design Team (4-6 people)

• 1 Visionary (Design Lead)
• 2 Specialists (UX Researcher, UI Designer)
• 1 Executor (Production Designer)
• 1 Relationship Builder (Design Ops)

Leadership Team (3-5 people)

• 1 Visionary (CEO/Founder)
• 1 Executor (COO)
• 1 Analyst (CTO/Strategy)
• 1 Relationship Builder (CPO/Culture)

Team Building Process

1. Define Team Purpose

• Clear mission and objectives
• Success criteria and metrics
• Constraints and context
• Timeline and milestones

2. Identify Required Roles

• Core skills and competencies needed
• Personality traits that fit mission
• Cognitive diversity requirements
• Team size considerations

3. Map Individual Strengths

• Assess existing team members
• Identify gaps in coverage
• Recognize personality patterns
• Understand motivation profiles

4. Design Complementary Structure

• Balance personality types
• Mix thinking styles (analytical, creative, practical)
• Ensure no single points of failure
• Create healthy tension (not conflict)

5. Establish Team Norms

• Communication protocols
• Decision-making processes
• Conflict resolution approaches
• Collaboration rituals

6. Build Psychological Safety

• Normalize learning from failure
• Encourage respectful dissent
• Celebrate diverse perspectives
• Foster trust through transparency

Organizational Design Principles

Dunbar's Number & Team Size

• 2-3 people: Tight collaboration, minimal overhead
• 5-9 people: "Two pizza team," optimal for most work
• 15-20 people: Requires sub-teams and coordination
• 50+: Needs structural hierarchy or network organization

Conway's Law Awareness

"Organizations design systems that mirror their communication structure"

• Design team structure to match desired architecture
• Align team boundaries with system boundaries
• Enable autonomy to reduce dependencies

Tuckman's Stages of Team Development

1. Forming: Politeness, orientation, testing
2. Storming: Conflict, competition, establishing norms
3. Norming: Cohesion, collaboration, mutual respect
4. Performing: High productivity, synergy, autonomy
5. Adjourning: Completion, celebration, transition

Belbin Team Roles

Balance these meta-roles:

• Action-Oriented: Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher
• People-Oriented: Coordinator, Team Worker, Resource Investigator
• Thought-Oriented: Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist

Team Health Indicators

Positive Signals

✅ Healthy conflict (about ideas, not people) ✅ High trust and psychological safety ✅ Clear roles with some overlap ✅ Balanced participation in meetings ✅ Fast decision-making ✅ Learning from failures ✅ High autonomy with alignment

Warning Signs

⚠️ Groupthink or echo chamber ⚠️ One person dominates conversations ⚠️ Conflict avoided or personal ⚠️ Unclear roles and responsibilities ⚠️ Decision paralysis ⚠️ Blame culture ⚠️ High turnover or burnout

Collaboration Rituals

For Innovation Teams

• Weekly Design Reviews: Share work-in-progress
• Monthly Retrospectives: Process improvement
• Quarterly Offsites: Strategy and bonding
• Daily Standups: Coordination and blockers

For Operational Teams

• Sprint Planning: Commitment and clarity
• Daily Sync: Alignment and problem-solving
• Sprint Review: Demo and feedback
• Retrospective: Continuous improvement

For Leadership Teams

• Weekly Leadership Meetings: Alignment and decisions
• Monthly All-Hands: Transparency and culture
• Quarterly Planning: Strategy and OKRs
• Annual Retreat: Vision and team building

Building Team Chemistry

Shared Experiences

• Solve hard problems together
• Celebrate wins as a team
• Face failures and learn together
• Create traditions and inside jokes

Psychological Safety Practices

• Leader vulnerability goes first
• Reward asking for help
• No punishment for smart failures
• Dissent is valued and protected

Clear Communication Norms

• Default to transparency
• Over-communicate context
• Write things down
• Use async for updates, sync for decisions

Example Team Design

Goal: Build a team to create a unique web application with strong brand identity

Team Composition:

1. Visionary Product Designer (The Brand Architect)

   • Personality: Creative, strategic, user-focused
   • Drives brand identity and design vision
   • Sets quality bar and design principles

2. Senior Full-Stack Engineer (The Technical Analyst)

   • Personality: Logical, thorough, quality-driven
   • Ensures technical feasibility
   • Optimizes architecture and performance

3. Frontend Specialist (The Craftsperson)

   • Personality: Detail-oriented, perfectionist
   • Implements design system flawlessly
   • Bridges design and code

4. UX Researcher (The User Advocate)

   • Personality: Empathetic, curious, methodical
   • Validates assumptions with users
   • Grounds creativity in user needs

5. Project Facilitator (The Orchestrator)

   • Personality: Organized, diplomatic, proactive
   • Coordinates across roles
   • Removes blockers and manages stakeholders

Why This Works:

• Creative vision balanced with technical reality
• User advocacy prevents design for design's sake
• Specialist ensures execution quality
• Facilitator enables others to focus on craft
• Complementary personalities prevent groupthink

Collaboration Model:

• Weekly design critiques (all roles participate)
• Bi-weekly user testing sessions
• Daily async updates, sync only when needed
• Monthly retrospectives for process improvement

Remember: Great teams aren't found—they're deliberately designed and carefully cultivated.