One mission. One leader. One backlog. Zero BS.

Small Teams are how we actually get things done at Unstuck Engine. Not departments. Not committees. Not cross-functional working groups that meet twice a month to discuss alignment.

Small Teams are focused execution units that own specific outcomes, not outputs.

What Makes a Small Team

Every Small Team has 4 non-negotiables:

  1. Shared Goals & Metrics – Everyone knows what winning looks like. No ambiguity about what matters this week, this month, this quarter.
  2. Dedicated Workspace – One ClickUp list or folder. All work visible. All context in one place. No digging through Slack threads or meeting notes to figure out what's happening.
  3. Weekly Leadership Sync – One meeting with leadership. That's it. Updates are async. Decisions happen in the moment. No recurring status meetings that could've been a Loom.
  4. Clear Ownership – One team owns the outcome. Not "we'll see how it goes." Someone's name is on it.

That's the whole formula. If you don't have all four, you're not a Small Team – you're a Slack channel with ambitions.

The Magic Number: 2-6 People

Small Teams are 2 to 6 people. That's it.

Two is the minimum – You need at least two people to actually be a team. One person with a goal is just... a person with a goal.

Six is the maximum – Beyond six people, coordination overhead kills velocity. You start needing meetings to plan meetings. Communication becomes a full-time job. Context gets lost.

If your Small Team hits 7+ people, something's wrong. Either:

Small Teams stay small on purpose. It's not a phase. It's the model.

Our Small Teams Structure