Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

Episode 248 – Better Together: How to Supercharge Your Team’s Productivity
Host: Matt Abrahams
Guest: Molly Sands, Behavioral Scientist & Head of the Teamwork Lab at Atlassian
Released: December 9, 2025

Overview

This episode delves into the science and practices behind effective team collaboration and productivity. Matt Abrahams welcomes Molly Sands from Atlassian’s Teamwork Lab to explore actionable strategies for setting goals, fostering alignment, integrating AI as a true collaborator, and making meetings matter more. Practical examples from Atlassian’s own experimentation illuminate paths to supercharging your team’s output in today’s distributed and hybrid work environments.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Guiding Principles for High-Performing Teams (01:45–04:04)

• Teamwork Philosophy: The Teamwork Lab operates on the belief that “people can accomplish a lot more together when they work well together” and that “in most companies today, it is way too hard to work together.”
• Research Approach: Atlassian’s Teamwork Lab studies both external teams and internal Atlassian teams, combining broad surveys with in-depth experiments to pinpoint common challenges and test new solutions.
• Key Focus: Making goal-setting and alignment explicit is fundamental to effectiveness.

Notable Quote

“The more that we can get on the same page about what we’re trying to achieve together and how we’re going to get there, the more effective we are.”
— Molly Sands (03:08)

2. Pinpointing Challenges in Team Collaboration (04:04–06:10)

• Common Obstacles:
  • Lack of clarity on goals (“what actually matters” for the team).
  • Misalignment where individuals assume shared understanding but actually have diverging perspectives.
• Actionable Advice:
  • Encourage all team members to articulate the team’s goals individually to uncover misalignment.
  • Distinguish between activities and outcomes; focus on desired results, not just processes.

Notable Quote

“I always tell managers or anyone that's leading a project, one of the first things you should do is ask everyone to tell you what they think you're trying to accomplish.”
— Molly Sands (06:39)

3. Essential Questions for Goal Alignment (06:48–07:20)

• Three Fundamental Questions:
  1. What are we doing?
  2. Why are we doing it?
  3. What does success look like?
• Implementation: Begin every project by documenting these answers, circulating them, and gathering feedback for alignment.

Notable Quote

“Just by asking those three questions and writing something up that everyone working on that project reads and thinks about and gives feedback on, that is such a fast way to actually accelerate everything that happens from that point on.”
— Molly Sands (06:55)

4. The Role of AI as a Teammate (07:20–12:49)

• AI Mindset Matters: Teams using AI as a collaborator (not just a tool or doer) reap more benefits—improved efficiency, creativity, and innovation.
• Practical Examples:
  • Atlassian’s “Nora” AI onboarding buddy answers new hires’ practical questions, allowing human colleagues to focus on strategic conversations.
  • AI tools are especially effective where companies have robust, well-documented data (HR policies, onboarding processes, etc.).
• Pilot Programs: Look for “pockets” of organized knowledge for initial AI-driven projects to gain quick, clear wins.

Notable Quotes

“If you really think of AI as a collaborator rather than just a doer… those are the people that are seeing much better outcomes.”
— Molly Sands (07:44)

"We've had great success with onboarding with an AI buddy… People feel a lot more comfortable asking questions. They don't worry about how AI is going to perceive those questions. So they really ask everything they want.”
— Molly Sands (09:55)

5. Rethinking Meetings for Maximum Utility (12:49–19:08)

• Three Time Modes for Teams (16:08):
  1. Deep Work — Individual, focused effort (often with AI assistance).
  2. Structured Meetings — “Page-led meetings” where a concise briefing (“the page”) is read together at the meeting, ensuring shared context for decision-making and alignment.
  3. Fluid Collaboration — Less-structured, creative teamwork (e.g., pair programming, ideation sessions).
• Meeting Practices at Atlassian:
  • Asynchronous updates via video (e.g., Loom): Replaces status/update meetings, conveys personal nuance, and saves group time for discussion.
  • Close integration of updates and goal-tracking: Frequent reminders and check-ins to maintain team focus and momentum.

Notable Quotes

“Meetings are the number one thing… the biggest barrier to productivity. But it’s essential that we talk to each other. That’s how we come up with great ideas.”
— Molly Sands (13:36)

“People don’t have meetings for no reason, even if they’re not effective… usually that problem is getting or sharing information.”
— Molly Sands (17:39)

“Have everybody record their sessions in a structured way… The requirement is that you just watch it in advance of the meeting so when you come together, you can actually have a discussion about what you learned rather than wasting the time of hearing everybody’s update.”
— Matt Abrahams (19:08)

6. What's Next for Teamwork Science? (21:30–24:06)

• Future Research at Atlassian:
  • Focusing on embedding AI not just for individuals but as a true part of the team infrastructure—enhancing team-level processes, not just solo productivity.
  • Molly is excited to share forthcoming findings about team-level AI integration.

Notable Quote

“We are doing some really interesting interventions right now with teams where we embed AI not just as an individual collaborator... but also into some of these team processes and ways of working.”
— Molly Sands (21:36)

7. Lightning Round: Communication Inspiration and Ingredients (22:28–23:40)

• Admired Communicator: Molly Graham—praised for her synthesis of complex work topics and memorable use of analogies.
• Recipe for Successful Communication:
  1. Resonance/Relatability — Connect emotionally and contextually.
  2. Clarity — Be explicit, especially about goals and processes.
  3. Passion — Show genuine care for the topic.

Notable Quote

“Making it resonant. You want people to immediately feel what you’re talking about. Clarity. And I think, passion.”
— Molly Sands (23:21)

Memorable Moments & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Insight | |-----------|---------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:08 | Molly Sands | On getting teams on the same page: “The more that we can get on the same page... the more effective we are.” | | 06:39 | Molly Sands | On alignment: “I always tell managers… ask everyone to tell you what they think you’re trying to accomplish.” | | 07:44 | Molly Sands | On AI mindset: “If you really think of AI as a collaborator… you’re seeing much better outcomes.” | | 09:55 | Molly Sands | On “Nora” the AI onboarding buddy: “People feel a lot more comfortable asking questions… So they really ask everything they want.” | | 13:36 | Molly Sands | On meetings: “Meetings are the number one thing… the biggest barrier to productivity. But it’s essential that we talk to each other.” | | 17:39 | Molly Sands | On asynchronous updates: “People don’t have meetings for no reason, even if they’re not effective… usually that problem is getting or sharing information.” | | 19:08 | Matt Abrahams | On structured video updates: “Have everybody record their sessions… so when you come together, you can actually have a discussion about what you learned...” | | 21:36 | Molly Sands | On future research: “We are doing some really interesting interventions right now with teams where we embed AI… into some of these team processes.” | | 23:21 | Molly Sands | On communication: “Making it resonant…Clarity… Passion.” |

Episode Flow (with Timestamps)

• Understanding teamwork and research focus (01:45–04:43)
• Goal setting and alignment strategies (04:04–07:20)
• Integrating AI into teamwork (07:20–12:49)
• Meeting redesign and asynchronous collaboration (12:49–19:08)
• Rapid-fire questions on teamwork and communication inspiration (21:20–24:06)

Takeaways for Listeners

• Explicitly clarify and document goals early—then check team alignment.
• Treat AI as a true thinking partner, not just a tool to automate tasks.
• Break free from unproductive meetings:
  • Use asynchronous updates for information sharing.
  • Reserve meetings for discussion, decision, or creation.
  • Combine structured briefing (“page-led meetings”) with creative, less formal collaboration time.
• Find low-hanging fruit for AI experimentation where knowledge is well organized.
• Communicate with clarity, resonance, and passion to move teams and ideas forward.

This episode equips listeners with grounded, evidence-based tactics to make teams “better together”—translating behavioral science into practical steps for clarity, alignment, and creative collaboration in the modern workplace.