I've been fortunate to manage teams of all sizes and stages and I've found the guardrails that keep teams on track and aspiring for more.
Not every feature needs a research sprint, but almost every feature needs a visual representation; either a wireframe, mockup, or diagram to gain consensus amongst the team. These assets feed strong user stories and epics.
Agile and Kanban project management methods help keep the team collected, and automated quality assurance helps keep them calm.
Move faster by releasing code more frequently and increase code-quality overall.
Increases accountability and transparency around daily priorities. It's not just for dev teams.
Receiving feedback is a gift and creating a culture of open feedback loops is critical to continuous improvement.