Every successful team relies on more than just visible output—its success hinges on glue work, the invisible work that fosters connection, smooths friction, and keeps projects moving. Yet this critical work often goes unrecognized, leading to burnout, inequity, and unbalanced teams. The Glue Work Framework is designed to make this invisible work visible, measurable, and valued, so organizations can fully recognize the contributions that sustain collaboration and drive results.
The Glue Work Framework: Make Invisible Work Count, Recognized, and Rewarded
What Is Invisible Work?
Invisible work—sometimes called glue work—is the effort that keeps teams aligned, connected, and moving, yet often goes unrecognized. It includes tasks like coordinating between teams, smoothing conflicts, mentoring colleagues, and maintaining shared processes.
Learn more on Wikipedia.
How the Glue Work Framework Strengthens Teams and Recognizes Invisible Work
✔ Formalizes Invisible Work – Integrates seamlessly into career ladders, ensuring glue work is recognized and rewarded at every level.
✔ Builds Shared Ownership – Distributes invisible work across teams, reducing overload on key contributors and fostering equity.
✔ Boosts Team Performance – Strengthens collaboration, trust, and cross-functional resilience by acknowledging all contributions.
✔ Improves Retention – Keeps your most reliable and connective team members by valuing their unseen impact.
✔ Enables Meaningful Measurement – Turns intangible contributions into clear metrics for reviews, calibrations, and promotions.
Engage with the Framework
Read more about the value of glue work and invisible work – insights and practical examples from our Substack.
Listen to The Messy Middle Matters podcast, Episode 04 – hear real stories of teams leveraging glue work.
Get the Free Starter Kit – a hands-on introduction to making invisible work visible.
Purchase the Full Glue Work Framework Toolkit – advanced tools for teams and leaders.
Schedule a Consultation – personalized guidance on implementing glue work strategies in your organization.
“Indra’s webinar helped me make the invisible visible. I set up separate billing codes for my contracted work and the glue work I was doing, which allowed me to track, value, and set boundaries around the extra work that keeps teams connected. Now I manage my workload sustainably, and my clients see the full impact of what I do.”
This free, self-paced course introduces the Glue Work Framework, a practical, people-centered approach to identifying, measuring, and integrating invisible work into career growth and team health.
This premium kit includes the full Glue Work Framework, implementation tools, and a consultation to help you integrate invisible work into your org’s career ladders, reviews, and culture at scale.