The Collaboration Leak | Article 4: The Glue Work Gap

I used to think that “Individual Productivity” was simple: the person with the most commits on the chart was my top performer. I looked at the “Line Count” and the “Ticket Count” to see who was moving the needle.

I was wrong. I was measuring Local Throughput while ignoring the System Load Balancer.

The Invisible Infrastructure
In a complex system, the most critical component isn’t always the one doing the heavy calculation; it’s the “Glue” that holds the modules together. In a team, Glue Work is the human equivalent of a high-speed router. It’s the work that makes everyone else faster, but leaves no trace in the “Code Commit” logs.

• The Unblocking Protocol: The engineer who notices a teammate is stuck and spends thirty minutes helping them debug.
• The Documentation Patch: The person who notices a README is outdated and fixes it so the next hire doesn’t hit a “Cache Miss.”
• The Technical Translation: The person who clarifies a vague requirement from Product so the team doesn’t build a Logic Error.

The Logic of the Gap
The “Leak” happens when I reward only the “Visible Output.” If I only promote based on “Feature Shipped,” I am incentivizing my nodes to stop cooperating.

• The Greedy Algorithm: If an engineer realizes that “Helping Others” hurts their own “Score,” they will stop doing it. They will focus 100% on their own tasks.
• System Fragmentation: Without “Glue,” the team becomes a set of isolated processors. One person finishes their task, but the “Handover” fails because no one was looking at the connections between the tickets.
• The Lead-Pipe Bottleneck: Eventually, the “Glue Work” falls on the one or two people who “just care.” They become overwhelmed and burnt out, while the “High Commit” engineers wonder why the system keeps crashing.

The Patch: Rewarding the Interconnect
To fix this, I have to change my “Metrics.” I have to start measuring System Velocity, not just Node Speed.

1. The “Impact” Interview: During 1-on-1s, I stop asking “What did you build?” and start asking “Who did you unblock this week?”
2. Explicit “Glue” Allocation: I make it clear that “Improving the Environment” is 20% of the job. It’s not “extra” work; it is the Maintenance Cycle of the team.
3. Peer Acknowledgement: I look at who people turn to when they are stuck. If a developer has fewer commits but is mentioned in five other people’s “Thank Yous,” they are likely the Most Valuable Router on the network.

Submit a Bug Report
How do you know if you have a Glue Work Gap? Look at your “Silos.”

If you have two engineers who are “Rockstars” but the juniors on the team aren’t improving, or if the “Onboarding” process is a nightmare for new hires, your “Glue” has dried up.

You are paying for fast processors, but your “Motherboard” is broken. Stop rewarding the person who finishes first; start rewarding the person who ensures the whole team finishes together.