Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile Storytelling from the Trenches
Episode Summary: "CTO Series: Navigating Growth, A Playbook for Scaling Engineering Teams With Toni Ala-Piirto"
Release Date: January 14, 2025
Host: Vasco Duarte

Introduction

In this episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast, host Vasco Duarte welcomes Toni Ala-Piirto, an experienced CTO with over 15 years in leading architecture and design projects. The conversation delves into Toni's insights on scaling engineering teams, maintaining team culture during rapid growth, and aligning technology strategies with business objectives.

Pivotal Moments in Leadership and Technology

Key Insights:

• Holistic Problem-Solving: Toni emphasizes the importance of stepping back to view the entire system rather than focusing narrowly on specific issues. A significant moment in his career involved resolving a large-scale performance issue for a major client by adopting a holistic approach.

  “Even if you think there's problems logically and steps to go through those, people tend to focus on a part of the system and don’t step back and view the whole issue.”
  — Toni Ala-Piirto [03:44]

• Leadership Style: Describing his approach as "boring leadership," Toni focuses on preparation and preventive measures to avoid crises, fostering a sustainable environment for progress.

  “My style is boring... thinking ahead, preparing for the things, making sure that you don’t end up in crisis mode.”
  — Toni Ala-Piirto [07:32]

Maintaining Focus Beyond Daily Tasks

Challenges:

• Encouraging Broader Responsibility: Team members often excel in their specific roles but may lack incentives to consider the wider picture. Toni suggests fostering an environment where employees feel responsible for the overall success, not just their individual contributions.

  “They want to excel in their job... they might not have enough encouragement to think about the wider picture.”
  — Toni Ala-Piirto [06:03]

Balancing Security and Performance

Insights:

• Risk Management: Toni discusses finding the right balance between security and performance, especially in non-security-focused companies that may overemphasize security measures, potentially hindering performance.

  “Knowing that when we take a risk, we know the risk that we take and we have done that knowingly.”
  — Toni Ala-Piirto [09:36]

Aligning Technology Strategy with Business Objectives

Processes Implemented:

• Collaborative Roadmapping: Toni highlights the importance of tight cooperation between technology and product management to ensure alignment with business objectives. This involves regular check-ins and synchronized roadmaps that balance new features with technological improvements.

  “There's really tight cooperation with the product management... reducing the back and forth on where to allocate resources.”
  — Toni Ala-Piirto [12:28]

• Three-Horizon Planning: The team employs a three-tiered roadmapping process:

  1. Beyond Six Months: Focused on vision and long-term goals.
  2. Next Six Months: Detailed problem-solving aligned with product vision.
  3. Three Months: Specific epics with rough estimates for immediate planning.

  “We have six months roadmap at a detailed level, then three months for planning and estimating epics.”
  — Toni Ala-Piirto [20:56]

Scaling Engineering Teams

Strategies Employed:

• Knowledge Transfer: To maintain productivity during rapid growth, Toni emphasizes effective domain knowledge transfer through pair testing, where new hires collaborate with experienced team members to understand the product deeply.

  “We put people to test things together with someone who has good domain knowledge to help them accomplish.”
  — Toni Ala-Piirto [27:25]

• Cultural Integration: Scaling teams can dilute existing company culture. Toni focuses on nurturing and maintaining good practices by fostering environments where new and existing employees align with the core values.

  “When you double the size, there's a challenge in maintaining the existing culture while integrating new ones.”
  — Toni Ala-Piirto [32:59]

• Recruitment for Committed Talent: Beyond technical skills, finding individuals who are passionate about improving processes and products is crucial. Toni is keen on identifying talent that not only fulfills their roles but also drives overall team productivity.

  “How do you find people who have the drive to make everything better and take responsibility?”
  — Tony Ala-Piirto [32:59]

Overcoming Scaling Challenges

Biggest Challenges:

• Rapid Team Growth: Initially managing a small team required aggressive product development and re-architecting efforts. Scaling quickly introduced challenges in maintaining productivity and ensuring new hires absorbed domain knowledge effectively.

  “Aggressively starting new product versions meant bringing in consultants and ensuring knowledge transfer was seamless.”
  — Tony Ala-Piirto [25:32]

• Maintaining Culture: As the team grows, integrating diverse cultures remains a challenge. Toni stresses the importance of maintaining good practices and nurturing a cohesive culture despite the influx of new team members.

  “New employees bring their own cultures, which can alter the existing company culture.”
  — Tony Ala-Piirto [32:59]

Active Participation in Strategy Definition

Ensuring Technology is Heard:

• Integrated Roadmapping: While company-level strategy defines long-term goals, Toni ensures that technology strategy supports these objectives through collaborative roadmapping. Regular sessions help align technology capabilities with business needs, ensuring that the technology team actively contributes to strategic planning.

  “Technology vision supports our strategy; it’s not the other way around.”
  — Tony Ala-Piirto [16:53]

• Frequent Collaboration: Regular meetings with product management, sales, and other departments facilitate ongoing dialogue about strategic direction and technological advancements. This ensures that technology considerations are integrated into business strategy seamlessly.

  “We have weekly sync meetings and management team meetings to facilitate collaboration.”
  — Tony Ala-Piirto [15:38]

Personal Growth and Surprises in the CTO Role

Unexpected Responsibilities:

• Expanded Collaboration: Transitioning from a development role to CTO revealed the extent of cross-functional collaboration required, including synchronization of company-wide planning and interacting with various departments.

  “The side of synchronization and company-level planning was something I hadn’t fully experienced before.”
  — Tony Ala-Piirto [35:59]

• Leadership Skills: Leading as a CTO involves developing new communication and leadership skills to effectively engage with executives, sales directors, and customers, which was a new learning curve for Toni.

  “Learning to communicate and collaborate with non-technical leaders was a significant adjustment.”
  — Tony Ala-Piirto [37:08]

Influential Literature

Recommended Reading:

• "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni: This book has significantly influenced Toni’s approach to building and maintaining effective teams by addressing trust, commitment, accountability, and team dynamics.

  “Understanding commitment and accountability from 'The Five Dysfunctions of a Team' has been impactful in fostering team pillars.”
  — Tony Ala-Piirto [38:06]

Conclusion

Toni Ala-Piirto’s experiences as a CTO provide valuable insights into scaling engineering teams, maintaining cohesive team cultures, and aligning technology strategies with broader business objectives. His emphasis on holistic problem-solving, effective knowledge transfer, and fostering committed talent offers actionable strategies for Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches aiming to enhance their leadership and team dynamics.

Notable Quotes:

• Toni Ala-Piirto [03:44]: “People tend to focus on part of the system and don’t step back and view the whole issue.”

• Toni Ala-Piirto [07:32]: “My style is boring... thinking ahead, preparing for the things, making sure that you don’t end up in crisis mode.”

• Toni Ala-Piirto [09:36]: “When we take a risk, we know the risk that we take and we have done that knowingly.”

• Toni Ala-Piirto [27:25]: “We put people to test things together with someone who has good domain knowledge to help them accomplish.”

• Tony Ala-Piirto [32:59]: “How do you find people who have the drive to make everything better and take responsibility?”

For more insights and actionable strategies, listeners are encouraged to connect with Toni Ala-Piirto on LinkedIn and explore additional resources provided in the show notes at scrummastertoolbox.org.