Public by default

Conventional management philosophies may rely on intentional information silos or a "need-to-know-basis" approach to knowledge sharing. This approach restricts transparency, with the intention of reducing misinformation. TeamOps flips this paradigm: information should be public by default, with the goal of allowing maximum contribution. "Public by default" requires an organization to designate which information is explicitly not public, creating a bias for transparency across all functions of a business.

A traditional business problem is "how do we get the right information to the right people at the right time?" A TeamOps organization asks: "How do we create a system that allows everyone to access information and make contributions, regardless of role or function?"

In practice, a TeamOps organization uses a knowledge management system that allows any team member to view information related to all other functions. A marketing manager, for example, would be able to view a sales teams' work and data, without requesting special access. The system is free of walls and information silos. The result is that, instead of needing to create a system for unblocking access to information, management's role is to educate team members on how to use the information system, how to organize data, and how to self-serve.

This type of system scales with much less effort, and scalable leadership is effective leadership. By writing guidance down transparently — in a way that others can modify, validate, or contribute to — leadership scales beyond an individual or team, and even beyond the organization.

Examples and resources for public by default

Example: Livestreaming company meetings on a branded YouTube channel

Shortly after GitLab Chief Revenue Officer Michael McBride joined the company in 2018, he livestreamed a 1-to-1 meeting with GitLab co-founder and CEO Sid Sijbrandij. As part of McBride's onboarding, Sid was asked to provide an impromptu pitch of GitLab.

In a conventional organization, this interaction would likely be private and not recorded. By recording it and streaming it to the public on a branded YouTube channel, everyone is more informed — the two individuals on the call; GitLab team members past, present, and future; the wider community; customers and partners; candidates; et al.

Change management support for public by default

Quick Start Tips: - Individual: When a team member initiates a non-confidential conversation via email or direct message, move the thread to a public channel for visibility and broader contributions. - Team: If team members refer to conversations, decisions, or approvals that were hidden or inaccessible, ask if they can share documentation of the conversation with the rest of the group. Or, at least, ask for a commitment for those conversations to be facilitated in public channels in the future. - Company: Confirm that all engagement and employee satisfaction surveys are measuring feelings of isolation, information accessibility, and effective communication.