Said by every developer ever. “It can’t be a bug if I never had the requirements.” “It can’t be a bug if it never existed in the first place.” “It can’t be a bug because no one else is complaining about it” All valid answers. As well as opportunities to invent a new work item type that removes the stress from finding a feature at the last minute and lightens the mental state of the…
I wrote this presentation a few years ago on how to Build a Great Team but I forgot a critical element to it all. The Glue – you need someone who is the glue on your team. Maybe it’s your Manager or Team Lead or maybe it’s the one that’s setting up Virtual Machines on a daily basis. But whether it’s one person or many or rotates between a few – you need that Glue.…
Don’t rock the boat. Don’t ask the hard questions. Take No for an answer. Don’t try and prove them wrong. Don’t try out new ideas. Go along with the popular vote. Don’t stand up for anything (and the same goes for sitting down). Stay in your lane. Don’t believe that you can be more. As the saying goes – “Smile more, talk less”. And become the leader that follows everyone around, never making a critical…
The best way to learn is to learn from others. Learn what they have done to become successful. Watch what they do (and stop talking about it). Don’t share the fact that you’re learning from them. Listen to what has and has not worked. And then, ask questions, get feedback on your approach, what are you doing that works and what are you doing that is not. Or, keep doing what you’re doing and hope you…
We pick teams based on strength and accomplishments. And when we put them all together we expect magical things to occur. But sometimes the better approach is to Lead by their Weaknesses – not to showcase and single out where everyone is weak (I hope this is obvious) but rather to make a note where they need help, make a plan, figure out what needs to be done and focus your energies there. If you…