Teams are about picking the right people. Not always the best, but the right. With the right people, the team can do anything. With the wrong, they will never rise above where they are. What goes into being the right people – so much, and it’s different wherever you go but at its core – they have to be willing to change, to grow, to know when to lead and when to team and lastly…
When they were smaller, you didn’t know you were having them. When you started using chat, you didn’t realize how much faster and simpler they made your life. The first time you had a call with more than two people you marveled at how much you got done in such a short time. When you got together to discuss a topic, a point, a problem – you didn’t need to write copious notes and have…
Growing Teams isn’t easy. Growing development teams while having to deliver releases is an endeavor in its own category that is always met with – “I don’t want to onboard new people while I have a pile of work to get done” – which is completely understandable. We always default to scaling by people, headcount, and numbers – and yet there are other ways to scale as well – Process, Growth, Minimalism, and Skill. I…
I wrote this article originally on Medium – Team Leads vs Technical Leads – and have been stumped figuring out a follow-up for it. When I wrote it, it drove me home because I see so many developers stuck between being a Team vs a Technical Lead – thinking if they go one way, they close the door on the other role forever – which is furthest from the truth. If anything, it will make…
Who does what? Who actually does what? Who needs support? Who is struggling? Who is doing great but getting lazy because they aren’t learning anything? Who is overloaded? Who is being missed? Who needs a kick? These are the questions you need to ask yourself when taking stock of your team. This is what helps you understand who needs help, where and when and how to plan your strategy out to help them.