When I started with a team that did Agile and I didn’t, I learned Agile. When I started with a team that used TypeScript and I didn’t, I learned TypeScript. This doesn’t mean I didn’t throw in my own suggestions or bowed down to what was there but it did mean I learned the systems that were in place that had made that team successful. Along the way, I made suggestions for them and us…
Yeah, yeah, I know – there is always a team that wins. But when you lose… Did you get smarter? Did you get better? Did you get stronger? Did you learn what works and what doesn’t? Did you figure out what you would change for next time? Did you build a team? Did that team survive? You can lose and come out better for it.
You don’t pick your team. Your team picks their leader. And maybe that will be you, whether in title or not.
Teams grow based on numbers, skills, and deliverables. They don’t grow overnight. It doesn’t happen over an interview. The first time you meet, you are not a team, you are a group project, thrown together to see what you do. It’s your first deliverable that makes you a team and starts your path to growth – what next, what else can we accomplish, who else do we need, what do we do next – these…
If you’re going to ask your team to implement a set of standards, there are a few points to consider. Are you writing them or asking them to be written? Will you be following what is written? What value will they create? Do they simplify or complicate your team’s life? Of all these items to consider, if you, as the leader, are not willing to follow these standards, then you shouldn’t be asking for them…