July 14, 2026
Episode 196: The Soul and Structure of Great Teams with Jacob Taylor
What’s the secret sauce of a great team? On this episode of The Future of Teamwork, Dane Groeneveld interviews Jacob Taylor, a fellow at the Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings, anthropologist, and former professional rugby player, to explore what drives high-performing teams.
Drawing on experiences on the rugby field, academic research, and years of working with organizations, Jacob explains how every successful team is built on two essential elements – soul and structure – and how those relationships, trust, and shared purpose drive people to do their best work.
Jacob also shares what anthropology can teach us about teamwork, what elite sports can show us about workplace performance, and what size teams often perform best. He explains how “vibe teaming” helps teams generate better ideas and better outcomes (before throwing AI into the mix), and how to get away from traditional top-down structures in favor of more empowered, self-directed teams.
Whether you’re leading a startup or managing a growing team, this episode will give you a fresh perspective on building a thriving team.
🔗 Connect with Jacob Taylor at Brookings and LinkedIn
The Soul and Structure of Great Teams with Jacob Taylor
Guest Bio
Jacob Taylor is a fellow at the Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution and founder of Two Hands Human Performance, a boutique consultancy for elite team performance. As an anthropologist of human performance in elite teams, Jacob specializes in the design of new approaches to human-AI collaboration (like “vibe teaming” and “context-maxxing”) that amplify—rather than erode—human agency and collective intelligence. Prior to Brookings, Jacob worked as a consulting scientist to a DARPA program for developing an “AI teammate.” He has a background in professional team sport, representing his home country of Australia in Rugby 7s, 2009 to 2013.
Key Takeaways
00:00 Welcome to the Future of Teamwork Podcast
00:53 Meet Jacob Taylor
01:48 Rugby Roots and Team Sync
04:30 China and Cultural Connection
06:29 Anthropology as a Toolkit
08:10 Soul Versus Structure
10:30 When to Change People
13:29 Reorgs and Pod Teams
18:12 AI Plus Human Wisdom
21:06 Dyads and Musical Chemistry
23:01 Chaos Into Performance
24:47 Crucibles and Bonding
26:23 Competence Builds Commitment
28:22 AI Slop Cannon Era
31:21 Mattering and Team Cohesion
32:26 Vibe Teaming Workflow
36:52 Facilitating Vibe Conversations
39:27 Teams as Change Agents
43:36 Bottom-Up Infrastructure Shift
46:53 Context Maxing and Interop
48:56 Hopeful Closing and Where to Find Jacob
51:43 Final Disclaimer and Outro
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