It’s been six months since I moved to Japan and joined the Money Forward Cloud Accounting Plus team. Over this time, I’ve noticed something unique about how the team operates—something that makes it both effective and efficient. It’s not just about technical expertise or individual brilliance. It’s about something often overlooked but incredibly important: glue work.
What is Glue Work?
In the software industry, we often talk about archetypes like the "coding machine" or the "architect"—roles that focus heavily on technical skills. But there’s another kind of work that doesn’t get as much attention, even though it’s just as critical. Tanya Reilly, author of The Staff Engineer’s Path, calls this glue work.
In her talk, Technical leadership and glue work, Tanya defines glue work as the often invisible and undervalued tasks that keep a team running smoothly. These tasks aren’t about writing code or designing systems. Instead, they’re about things like mentoring, facilitating communication, and ensuring everyone is aligned. Glue work is the oil that keeps the engine of a team running without friction.
Why Does Glue Work Matter?
Tanya argues that glue work is essential for a team’s success, yet it’s frequently overlooked. This is a problem because, in software development, teamwork is everything. Building large software products requires many engineers to work together effectively. And just like in team sports, having a roster of superstar players doesn’t guarantee success. What matters is how well the team works together.
Being a professional software engineer isn’t just about being technically skilled. It’s about contributing to the team’s overall success. At Money Forward, professionalism is a core part of the culture. But being professional isn’t just about being good at your job—it’s about making the team better. And that’s where glue work comes in.
When a team is chaotic or has internal conflicts, it’s hard to focus on the work. On the other hand, when collaboration is smooth, everyone is more productive. Glue work helps create that smooth collaboration. It ensures that the team isn’t just a group of individuals but a cohesive unit that can achieve great things together.
How Glue Work Empowers My Team
My team at Money Forward is a great example of how glue work can make a difference. Our team lead embodies this mindset. He’s proactive in communication, makes the barrier to entry low for new members, and has a bias toward action when it comes to improving how the team works together.
One recent example is how our company has been encouraging engineers to use AI tools to boost productivity. To push this initiative forward, our team lead proactively established an AI guild. This is a space where team members gather to exchange thoughts on how to leverage AI in our day-to-day work.
In these discussions, he didn’t just push for adoption, he listened. He wanted to understand what prevent more engineers from using AI at work. By being empathetic and proactive in listening, he identified barriers.
This bottom-up approach gathered momentum and made the initiative more effective. It wasn’t about top-down mandates but about creating an environment where everyone felt comfortable experimenting and learning. This is glue work in action—making sure the team moves forward together, not just as individuals.
The Importance of Facilitation
One last thing I'd like to touch upon is the role of facilitation in teamwork. Facilitation comes from the Latin word facilis, which means "easy." In essence, facilitation is about making things easier for the team.
At Money Forward, facilitation is taken seriously. During onboarding, there’s even a session on how to run meetings and facilitate discussions effectively. Through proper facilitation, meetings and discussions can be both more effective and efficient.
For example, when we run an online meeting with members from different offices and locations, there's always an assigned facilitator. The facilitator guides the discussion, ensuring everyone has a chance to express their opinions and asks probing questions to deepen the discussion.
This kind of structure makes meetings more effective and efficient, which is another way glue work contributes to the team’s success.
Closing Thoughts
Glue work might not be as glamorous as writing elegant code or designing complex systems, but it’s just as important. It’s what turns a group of talented individuals into a high-performing team. At Money Forward, I’ve seen firsthand how glue work, whether it’s proactive communication, thoughtful facilitation, or simply making sure everyone feels included, can make a team more effective and enjoyable to work with.
If you’re a software engineer, I encourage you to think about how you can contribute to the glue work on your team. It might not always be recognized, but it’s the kind of work that makes a real difference.
And if you would like to work in an environment that values this kind of collaboration, Money Forward is a right fit for you. You can find more details about opportunities at Money Forward at https://recruit.moneyforward.com/en/
Top comments (1)
This is an excellent perspective, Aaron. I completely agree that glue work is vital to the success of any software development team. In my experience, agile frameworks like Scrum already incorporate some of these responsibilities through roles like the Scrum Master and Product Owner, while the rest often fall under the purview of Engineering Leadership within the Development Team. These roles inherently focus on ensuring alignment, facilitating collaboration, and fostering team cohesion.
However, I believe glue work goes beyond just operational success, it’s the cornerstone of building an autonomous, self-sustaining, and long-term sustainable team. Having specific leaders within the team who proactively cover or initiate these glue responsibilities is crucial for enabling the team to thrive.
Moreover, evolving a team framework tailored to the unique dynamics of an organization can have a multiplicative effect. When done right, it doesn’t just scale productive and efficient teams but creates a foundation for sustained success and innovation.
Your point about facilitation being a key component resonates strongly, equipping team members with the tools and skills to run better meetings and streamline discussions can’t be overstated. It’s often these seemingly small yet intentional efforts that lead to extraordinary outcomes.
Thanks for shedding light on such an important topic! Glue work is indeed the invisible force that holds great teams together.