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Enterprise Adaptability

Failed #SquadGoals

Spotify doesn’t use “the Spotify model” and neither should you.

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Jeremiah Lee
Apr 19, 2020 • 12 min read
4.50 (4)
Spotify Model
Coaching
Coaching & Mentoring
Organizational Structure
Tribalism
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Summary

Jeremiah Lee briefly tells his story of how he was excited to join the Spotify HQ in Stockholm in 2017 and see the Spotify squad model in action as a product manager - only later to learn that the famed squad model was only ever aspirational and never fully implemented, as it failed to work for the company. He witnessed the company leaders incrementally transition to more traditional management structures. So what is really the Spotify squad model and why didn't it work? let's find out in the article.

Takeaways

  • The Spotify squad framework structure was made up of teams grouped into squads that were then organized into a department called a tribe. Each team had all the necessary skill sets with a product manager that reported to the tribe lead.
  • The co-author of the Spotify model and multiple agile coaches who worked at Spotify have been telling people to not copy the framework for years because it is not guaranteed it will work for you as they are experiencing problems as well.
  • The famed squad model was only ever aspirational and never fully implemented and it failed at Spotify as the company leaders incrementally transitioned to more traditional management structures.

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