The most important value is "trust". After that you
want performance. You obviously do not want a low
performer, but you for sure do not want a high
performer, low trust.
Dave Farley
Good software developers are not rockstars.
Seeing software developers as individual heros is
counter-productive, while playing nicely with egos,
those kinds of heroism often leave a big mess in the
code.
If you have a team member that you cannot trust with
your code, do not try to solve the problem by
becoming more burocratic. Fix the problem by making
the people you do not trust more trustworthy.
The unit of delivery in software delivery is the
team! We want good people, but even more than that,
we want good teams.
Refers to research by Raymond Meredith Belbin
Its about recognizing your strengths and maximizing
them, and working with other people that cover your
weeknesses while you cover theirs.
A great team has a good mix of strengths.
Google Project Aristotle findings:
Dependability
Work is done in time and in a high standard
Structure and clarity
the team and each member of it understands
his role and how it fits into the bigger
picture. People understand what they do and
why they are doing it.
Meaning
The work is important to the team members.
Gallup found that people that use their
strengths at work are 6 times more likely to
be engaged in their work. Playing to their
strengths allows them to take ownership of
the work.
Impact
Team members believe that what they are
working on matters.
Psychological safety
The degree in which people on the team trust
each other and are willing to take risks.
Can you point out that the bosses idea is
wrong?
Googles Summary: Who is on the team matters less
than how the team members interact, structure their
work and view their contributions.
Patrick Lencioni
The virtuous of a team player are:
humble
hungry
smart (people smart)
Don Clifton
cliftonStrengths is a method to describe the talents
and general behaviour of a person. You get a list of
34 well-defined distinct properties that come with
descriptions and coaching material. Have a look at
the strengths of each person in the team and then
decide if you want this person on the team.
Uncle Bob
In business people often make the mistake to think that all programmers are the same.
Authors over the years, like Fred Brooks, say, there are developers that are 10x-20x as productive.
They say you should construct teams with a few people of high experience, and then with a bunch of
lesser experienced people and allow the people of high experience teach and mentor the others.
This way you create more and more experienced people that you can spread out into multiple teams.
(Fred Brooks)