Everyone knows who the best teammates are. They have the best skills, but they don’t flaunt it. They take the tasks no one wants, but they know they need to get done. They don’t complain when things go sideways, they figure a way out. They don’t place blame on others, they look for what they can change. They own up to things that happen and chart a path forward. They do what the team needs…
No I don’t. Not even close. I know things you don’t know and vice-versa. That’s the beauty of working with a team, you don’t have to be the expert at everything, you don’t have to know it all. The best advice I ever got for leading a developer that outclassed me in every area – “I won’t be able to help you with coding, but I am going to help you with all that other…
You don’t just start trusting each other. It’s not something that happens on the first, second, thirtieth, or seven thousandth day. It just happens. It happens when the team has put in the daily bits to make it happen. It happens when the team has put in the effort to get there. It happens when the team has committed to the result, irrespective of the costs. Don’t force it, guide it, support it, then it…
You will lose a team member. You can’t always plan for it, but it will happen. It will not be of your own choosing. But it will happen. And when it does… I wish them well, success, the best of luck, and support, for they will need it. Starting over, at a new place, a new job, a new team is never easy. It wasn’t meant to be, but they are taking a step forward…
Everyone brings the same thing to their teams. Skills, Attitude, and Effort. Skills – whatever your job is. Attitude – how you treat people and act when things go wrong. Effort – how much you put into the team. The best teams I have worked with excelled in attitude, energy, and skill. It doesn’t mean there is a great disparity between all three, what it does mean is that the group knows where their focus…