How Spotify Avoids the Growing Pains That Slow Most Teams Down

In the early days, Spotify was famous for its fast-moving, autonomous teams.

They prided themselves on a culture of independence.

Small, empowered squads that could make their own decisions, ship quickly, and innovate freely.

To keep this spirit alive as they scaled, leadership made a bold choice: let teams choose their own tools.

Developers could pick whatever programming languages, frameworks, and infrastructure they wanted.

The thinking was simple. If teams had the freedom to use what worked best for them, creativity and speed would skyrocket.

It worked… at first 🤔

But as Spotify grew, this freedom came at a cost.

Different teams started using different tech stacks.

One squad built a feature in Python, another in Java, another in C++.

Over time, this tech sprawl made it nearly impossible to maintain consistency across the company.

• Engineers struggled to move between teams because every squad had its own way of working.

• New hires had steep learning curves, delaying onboarding and slowing execution.

• Collaboration became a nightmare as teams that needed to integrate their work found themselves speaking completely different technical languages.

Spotify had built an innovation engine that was too decentralised to scale.

How They Fixed It Without Killing Autonomy

Instead of clamping down with rigid rules, Spotify found a middle ground: curated choice.

Leadership introduced smart boundaries, which they named the “Golden Path”.

1. Software Templates: Predefined templates for different engineering disciplines (e.g., Backend, Frontend, Data pipelines) that help standardise project setups. 

Check them out here.

2. Golden Path Tutorials: Step-by-step guides that walk developers through the recommended processes, ensuring consistency and efficiency in development practices. 

Check them out here.

3. Backstage Developer Portal: An internal platform where these tools and tutorials are hosted, making them easily accessible to all developers.

You can even request access for your company to their internal portal here.

Instead of choosing from a limitless number of options, engineers could still choose but within boundaries that made sense.

Both innovation and delivery speed shot up 🚀

2) CREATING YOUR OWN “SMART BOUNDARIES”

Scaling a company doesn’t have to be about choosing between speed and structure.

The best organisations (Spotify included) realise that the right structure enables speed.

• Too much freedom leads to chaos.

• Too much control kills innovation.

The key is structured autonomy: clear boundaries that guide decisions without creating bottlenecks.

Try this in your company:

1. Define your “Smart Boundaries” - can you create structured choices instead of unlimited options?

2. Remove unnecessary complexity - are too many choices slowing people down?

3. Balance autonomy with alignment - does your team know exactly what decisions they own and where they need to sync?

Clear boundaries give teams the confidence to move fast.

But to make the most of this freedom, teams need to build real capability which comes from two essential elements:

1. Technical competence.

2. Disciplined execution.

Think about driving a car. At first, every action takes focus.

With practice, shifting gears and checking mirrors become second nature.

The same applies to teams. They must develop technical expertise while building systematic ways of working.

Scaling isn’t about choosing between speed or structure.

The best companies realise the right structure enables speed.

Good boundaries focus on results, not methods.

They give teams the confidence to experiment and create.

Make it easy for your teams to move fast, and they will.

3) SIGNAL AMPLIFICATION BIAS: A LEADERSHIP TOOL FOR CLEARER COMMUNICATION

When scaling quickly like Spotify, your communication (as a senior leader) becomes more important than ever.

What you choose to highlight in your team becomes amplified.

This is known as signal amplification bias.

When you give a name to a specific trait or behaviour and repeat it over time, your people will start to associate with it more strongly.

Great cultures don’t happen by accident.

They are shaped by the signals leaders amplify.

If you consistently call out a team member’s “relentless problem-solving” or praise the team’s “champion mindset,” those traits become part of your team’s identity.

The more you label and recognise the right behaviours, the more people lean into them.

Take a look at high-performing sports teams.

Coaches constantly reinforce identity through language:

• “We are the team that never gives up.”

• “We own the fourth quarter.”

• “We outwork the competition.”

These labels aren’t just words; they shape how people see themselves and behave under pressure.

Leadership is about clarity.

If you want people to do more of the behaviour you crave, don’t just recognise the signal, amplify it.

4) YOUR CHALLENGE THIS WEEK

Define the behaviours that you want to see more of from your team.

Ask yourself:

• What makes someone on your team exceptional?

• What’s a trait that defines your culture?

Then give them a name - a strong label turns a behaviour into an identity. 

Good examples include:

• “Extreme Ownership”

• “Fast Operators”

• “Precision Thinkers”

In your team meeting this week, make a conscious effort to call out that specific behaviour with the new label.

People rise (or fall) to the expectations you set.

If you want to build a culture that wins, start by amplifying the signals that matter.

5) MY TOP FINDS OF THE WEEK 🏆

For Your Performance

• F1’s Toto Wolff’s non-negotiables for him to perform at his best every day (Watch here)

For Your Team

• Which option would your team choose? 90 burpees as a team or 1 person carries the pipe for three laps by themself? (Watch how this NRL team approached it)

For Your Health

• Coach Nick Saban’s incredible breakdown of how to generate long-term happiness (Watch the video)

Hope you enjoyed this week’s tactics. I’ll be back next Sunday with a new lineup 👋 - Alex 

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