How did you kick off your R&D team?

Written By Jen Hirsch

Starting strong matters, especially in R&D where the pressure to deliver is high, the work is complex, and the need to work seamlessly across functions is essential for success.

Over the years, I’ve seen just how much the first 30–60 days shape a team’s trajectory. Whether launching a new therapeutic disease area, integrating after an acquisition, or assembling a cross-functional team to solve a strategic challenge, how you start sets the foundation for how you operate, make decisions, and ultimately deliver.

So here’s a question we ask at Plumtree:

“How did you kick off your R&D team?”

And maybe more importantly:

“Was it intentionally designed?”

What We Often See

Too often, R&D teams are launched like project trains already in motion. They are tasked with ambitious goals but lacking the shared understanding, practices, and behaviors to navigate complexity together and deliver efficiently.

  • Roles unclear. Who owns what becomes a frequent question forcing the team to be reactive

  • Decisions slow. Decisions are escalated up or pushed outside the team

  • Meeting and sub-team creep. Meetings and subteams become a crutch to get work done outside of the primary team.

It’s no surprise that delays, frustration, and missed opportunities follow.

A Different Way to Start

At Plumtree, we believe in intentional teaming. We focus on co-creating how teams work together, not just what they work on. When we help kick off a new R&D team, we start with:

  • Unified Purpose. What are we here to do together?

  • Ways of Working. What behaviors and practices will help us navigate uncertainty?

  • Decision Clarity. Who decides what, and how will we handle tensions?

  • Relational Trust. How do we create safety to challenge, learn, and move fast?

This doesn’t have to take weeks. In fact, just a few focused hours can create alignment, energy, and clear agreements that teams carry into day-to-day execution.

The Impact

The difference is rapidly visible when teams start this way:

  • Productivity accelerates

  • Decisions are made faster

  • Tensions get surfaced (and resolved!) earlier

  • People feel more engaged with increased team ownership

What About You?

If you’ve recently launched (or relaunched) an R&D team:

  • How did you kick it off?

  • What worked? What would you do differently?

We’d love to hear your reflections. And if you’re about to kick off a new team and want to do it differently, let’s talk. Plumtree is here to help you and your team work at the speed of science.


Jen Hirsch