On Development Teams
Earlier today Amy Stephen and I had an interesting discussion on development teams, I thought it worth organizing and preserving. Because it’s a bit of a threaded conversation it takes a little work to follow the flow, but there’s no easy way to sort it out.
One of the most interesting things here is that even though I tend to take a bit of a hard-ass “no prisoners” approach to the problem, and Amy is fairly close to my polar opposite, we actually look at the fundamental problem in nearly the same way.
| AmyStephen | Wondering about the market potential of the promise of a 1 day workshop that can turn a dysfunctional group into a high performance team. It’s puzzling to watch a dysfunctional group where members keep barriers to entry high and engage in intense, private battles within. |
|---|---|
| FxNxRl | Lets see… the seminar starts with a real-time attitude and teamwork survey, then lists who should be retained and who fired. |
| AmyStephen | That might do it – if management would so empower. Typically, you’ll find spineless leadership behind dysfunction. |
| FxNxRl | Indeed. I have done consulting assignments where I had to tell the person who hired me that they were the main problem. Awkward. |
| AmyStephen | So, how would you sort out the understandably frustrated’s from those who might be, shall we say, squelching innovation? |
| FxNxRl | Most of the time it’s pretty easy to tell one from the other by simply talking to them face to face. |
| AmyStephen | I used to think that I could tell quickly but now I am doubting my early instincts. It’s a bit unsettling, in fact. I can’t tell. |
| FxNxRl | What’s difficult is to unmask the passive-aggressive ones. Usually high-value team members who kill things by “contributing”. |
| FxNxRl | It is impossible to tell when there’s distance involved, and it can be difficult in person too. |
| FxNxRl | I once managed a team where I had to use source code control metrics to track project progress. Every time a project was really doing well, the lead developer would step in to “help” and the project would nearly stop. There was no way to fire him… |
| AmyStephen | Yes, it’s tricky when the one causing the problem has a great deal of authority. You have to control the process to figure it out. |
| AmyStephen | Source code control can be a great tool for lots of challenges simply because people who are traumatized can see justice/hope |
| AmyStephen | That is, provided they can commit to it, of course. Otherwise, it’s just another situation where they have to face this barrier. |
| FxNxRl | Yup, and it’s hard data in an environment where everyone has some emotional involvement no matter how hard they try not to. |
| FxNxRl | Development without revision control is art, not engineering. |
| FxNxRl | The very first thing is to put proven development methodologies in place. If there’s strong resistance, fire the dissidents. |
| AmyStephen | lol – I definitely do not agree, but I understand. Many times, your skeptics are simply people who think for themselves. |
| AmyStephen | In fact, you can bag anyone who’s onboard with change too quickly. Everyone should resist process changes if they are moving forward. |
| FxNxRl | I realized, at about age 45, that I had become the “asshole manager” I loathed at 25. Team results trump individual brilliance. |
| AmyStephen | In general, I think it’s a bad idea for mgmt to plunk a set of “productivity tools” on an engineer’s desk. Best to let them pick. |
| FxNxRl | Well yeah, you can’t say “effective Monday everyone is using SVN and methodology X”. The *method* of change is critical. |
| AmyStephen | I’m a HUGE believer in team. I think, though, the strongest teams are built from a complementary collection of individual brilliance. |
| FxNxRl | But the guys who say “never did it that way, ain’t gonna start now” and then dig in? Well they can do it “their way” elsewhere. |
| FxNxRl | So am I… and I have seen effective teams operate in mayhem. It’s all about getting complimentary characters. |
| AmyStephen | That’s why it’s important to involve them. Good engineers know what productivity aids are needed and welcome it. They resist “silly” |
| FxNxRl | I have seen highly effective teams with vastly different cultures. You could NEVER take a person from one of those teams and put them in the other. It’s all about getting people who work well together. |
| AmyStephen | Absolutely! I’ve worked on a team like that 2 times in my life. When you have tasted it, you know what it is & why it’s worth having |
| FxNxRl | I’ve also become friends with people who I’ve let go as a “parachute in manager/jerk”. They found teams where they fit & r happy |
| AmyStephen | Yes – there’s a chemistry that cannot be ignored. In MBTI, it’s the middle 2 indicators that can sometimes predict compatibility |
| AmyStephen | Yes. That’s best. A self-directed work team w clear boundaries and focus and empowerment. It’s how “grown-ups” should be treated. |
| FxNxRl | Dated though it may be I’m a huge MBO fan. Here’s what we need to do, tell me what you need to do it, then get it done. |
| FxNxRl | as long as it’s legal and ethical I don’t care how it gets done, just that I can measure progress and that there is progress. |
| AmyStephen | I don’t think common sense is ever dated. Keeping a focus on “what this is really about” is always good. |
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