The Wedge is a mythical concept that sometimes emerges on your team or in your project, always in the form of a person. It’s appearance can vary between the starting calm of a project or the maelstrom of a delivery gone awry. Whichever the case the damage can be far reaching.
The one that complains about the smallest issues, making mountains out of mole hills on a daily basis.
The one that disrupts others workspaces and efforts to complete work with a constant stream of inane chatter or actions that seek to disrupt.
The one that throws up roadblocks to every solution to a problem that is presented, not willing to tear down any of them.
The one that jumps to blame others first before looking inward as the cause of a problem.
The one that sits in the boardroom, arms crossed, not willing to budge on their position.
We’ve all exhibited this type of behaviour, perhaps on a bad ride into work, a deployment that went sideways, but this isn’t being the Wedge, this is having a bad day.
To become the Wedge, you must exhibit all of those items listed above and start to bring everyone into your vortex, where the team and project will continue to be divided and fractured until all that is left is a bunch of individual or group silos that plod along with no goal between them.
There is no sound way to get rid of the Wedge, acknowledging it’s presence is the first step, sometimes followed up with a very swift kick.
