Especially in newly formed teams, “unspoken assumptions” create gray zones that block collaboration and cohesion.

The risk is even higher for cross-cultural groups (e.g. Europe–India), when composed by diverse backgrounds (developers, product specialists) and working fully remote.

Urban legends about such collaboration problems are real.

Inspired by MANIFEST.in and the Agile Manifesto, the team created a manifesto to make values and expectations explicitly shared. Using virtual whiteboards, voting and a pinch of AI, we aligned perspectives on what truly mattered day-to-day.

The manifesto became more than a guide: it is our north star. It clarified expectations, strengthened cohesion and identity, and helped prevent “that guy” behaviors. It also normalized error culture and generated positive side effects, like virtual coffee, cat photos and manicaretti in chat, making work lighter and more inclusive.

The talk will illustrate the team’s initial situation, the benefits gained through the manifesto, and how this approach can help remote, cross-cultural IT - and any - teams live their dream team.

Problems in teams often come from “unspoken assumptions”: implicit expectations, responsibilities and communication. Inspired by MANIFEST.in and Agile, this talk shows how a team manifesto boosted cohesion, identity, and prevented “that guy” behaviors in a new remote, cross-cultural team.