Teams don’t come with Instructions, people on your team don’t either. Depending on where your codebase is at, that might come with next to nothing in terms of how things are done. Even if there are instructions, they are probably out of date, that’s because the team that was using them doesn’t need the instructions anymore, they know what to do, they know where to do it, they know what comes next, and where to…
The team needs a leader, the individual needs a mentor. You lead the team, by connecting with the individuals and figuring out what they need to buy into the vision. Some will resist, they can’t see it on the first, the second, or the eighteenth day. They have different viewpoints, different goals, and different ideas – the leader brings them into the focus of the team, not ignoring them but finding how they connect to…
The fastest way to build trust is to get everyone onto one page. We’re on this journey together, no one is getting off, we’ll see it through, whatever happens. We aren’t looking for experts, rockstars, ninjas, or gurus to solve our problems with and gift them all the problems we have – we are looking for someone to be there with us, to work with us, to support us and not leave partway through. Trust…
Start small, master the small, get really scary good at it, keep track of it and how you are doing. And then add more. But don’t add until you’ve mastered the first small thing. Otherwise, it’s simply a set of experiments you are doing (not bad either) but not the goal.
A team needs principles, tenets, values, a mantra, a song, a theme… They need something they can get behind, something they can always fall back on when they are not sure what to do. If you’re making one for your team, some thoughts; Don’t do it by yourself – it can be a great team exercise. Keep it digestible – a page, a print-out, something that can be viewed everywhere and anywhere and doesn’t require…