Ética & Regulação
What 'Working with the Garage Door Open' Means for Teams
Dr. Adrian Vale
LLM, AI Agents & AI Infrastructure Specialist
4 min read
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LLM, AI Agents & AI Infrastructure Specialist
The concept of 'working with the garage door open' emphasizes workplace transparency by sharing processes, ideas, and challenges in real time. This approach fosters innovation and engagement but also introduces risks like communication overload and confidentiality issues. Companies like Atlassian and Nubank demonstrate how this method can drive collaboration and productivity when managed effectively.
The phrase 'working with the garage door open' was popularized by writer Robin Sloan to describe a highly transparent and collaborative work approach. It shifts the focus from showcasing only polished outcomes to openly sharing ongoing processes, ideas, and challenges with peers—and sometimes even external audiences. This fosters an environment of continuous feedback and external input, essential for iterative improvements.
This concept has become particularly prevalent in industries like technology and design, where creativity and collaboration are key drivers of success. Tools like GitHub, Figma, Miro, and Notion have played pivotal roles in enabling such real-time, barrier-free collaboration.
Embracing transparency in the workplace can lead to significant organizational gains, including:
A Harvard Business Review study highlights that teams with high transparency outperform others in problem-solving and innovation. Companies like Atlassian, with its collaborative tools (e.g., Jira), and Nubank, known for its open internal practices, showcase the potential of this approach to foster a culture of innovation and teamwork.
Despite its benefits, 'working with the garage door open' is not without its challenges:
To mitigate these risks, organizations should establish clear guidelines on what information can be shared and with whom. Building a culture that normalizes constructive feedback and reframes failures as learning opportunities is also critical.
For organizations looking to adopt this approach, leveraging the right tools and practices is essential:
As technology evolves, the adoption of open collaboration is likely to grow, especially in fields requiring high levels of innovation. Emerging AI and machine learning features in tools like Figma and Miro will further streamline workflows, making transparency more accessible and efficient.
However, the trend raises questions about data governance and confidentiality. New regulations may shape how companies implement transparency while safeguarding proprietary information.
Teams in creative and technical fields will benefit from the enhanced visibility of their peers' work, enabling faster feedback loops and minimizing redundant efforts. However, organizations must implement clear protocols to manage information sharing and avoid burnout from excessive communication.
Businesses adopting this approach can unlock higher innovation and productivity, gaining a competitive edge. Leadership must invest in training teams on effective communication and establish strong guidelines to ensure that transparency doesn’t compromise sensitive data.
The term refers to a transparent work approach where teams share ideas, processes, and challenges in real time to encourage collaboration and feedback.
Risks include communication overload, employee discomfort with open feedback, and potential exposure of sensitive or proprietary information.
Tools like Figma, Miro, GitHub, and Notion are commonly used to facilitate real-time collaboration and transparency in workplaces.
💡 Dica Pro: To minimize communication overload in open collaboration, set clear boundaries for updates. Use asynchronous communication tools like Slack or Notion for less urgent discussions, and reserve real-time meetings for critical, time-sensitive topics.
