Aligning Teams with Choreography
Summary
External agencies augment internal enterprise teams by providing fresh perspectives and adding energy. However, often the agency's capability is not being utilized to its full potential due to poor engagement strategy. In this talk, Séamus highlights obstacles to "inter-team" integration and presents tactics to prevent engagement issues and empower teams to work better together. We can achieve successful inter-team alignment with choreography, but it involves learning new routines, moving to the same beat, and not stepping on each other's toes. Séamus based this talk on real client stories from running an agency for 12 years.
Key Insights
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Unprepared internal teams often react with skepticism or resistance when external agencies arrive, underlining the need for proper internal onboarding.
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Agencies frequently operate with only a partial view of the client's organizational complexity, which hampers effective collaboration.
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Scope creep and unclear roles arise frequently when the nature of agency engagement is not precisely communicated upfront.
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The 'dancing monkey' culture describes an unhealthy dynamic where agencies are expected to perform theatrically without sufficient internal support.
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Choreography concepts—space, time, people, routine—can be adapted as a framework to coordinate and align cross-functional teams.
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The Team Alignment Canvas is a practical tool to clarify project zoom level, timelines, roles, and collaboration routines early in the process.
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A 'first rehearsal' informal meeting before the official kickoff helps teams build rapport, share working styles, and set foundations for trust.
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More time should be allocated to external teams for discovery and sensemaking, ideally at least one to two sprints.
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Champions on the client side act as ideal 'choreographers' to bridge agency and internal teams and maintain positive dynamics.
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Effective onboarding and alignment require ongoing proactive communication beyond just the project start to support continuous collaboration.
Notable Quotes
"No two teams are the same, and no two individuals are the same—every team has unique relationships and dynamics."
"Sometimes the internal team looks at us like, oh my God, not again—external agency—it’s this perpetual doom cycle."
"As externals, we're only getting a snapshot of the client’s organizational landscape, missing the bigger picture."
"If roles and responsibilities aren’t clear, scope starts to grow legs and we end up on rabbit holes that dilute the original project."
"Dancing monkey culture is where agencies are expected to perform with confidence and charisma but often lack internal support."
"Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements—this is so close to what we do on a day-to-day basis with people."
"Space is about the level of zoom—whether we’re looking at a UI, a product, or the whole business delivery."
"Time is often not discussed but is critical—deadlines, epics, sprints, and roadmap clarity are essential for both sides."
"Routine shapes how we collaborate—different teams have their own habits and we need to learn to dance together differently."
"The internal champion is the ideal choreographer who builds trust, invests in onboarding and bridges the agency and the client teams."
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