Episode 433: My teammate pretends we decided, but we didn't and my team is getting worse and worse
Nov 4, 2024
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Team dynamics take center stage as the hosts discuss a teammate's puzzling habit of claiming decisions were made without consensus. They dive into the challenges of navigating such assertive communication styles, offering humorous yet practical strategies. Additionally, the conversation shifts to the cultural impact of a recent acquisition, where hiring trends have led to a dip in engineering quality. The hosts tackle the importance of ownership and motivation, advocating for proactive cultural shifts to enhance team morale and effectiveness.
Promoting open dialogue and reassessing decisions can enhance team collaboration and address authority issues effectively.
Maintaining a culture of excellence requires rigorous hiring practices and proactive leadership to nurture high standards in growing teams.
Deep dives
The Battle Between Agile and Waterfall
In software development, switching from a waterfall approach to agile requires more than just process changes; it often involves a fundamental understanding of the team's dynamics and capabilities. The distinction between these methodologies can lead to confusion and frustration, as seen in the conversation around splitting a waterfall into sprints. While agile emphasizes incremental delivery, sometimes it may not be possible to break down larger projects into smaller parts without significant compromise. Ultimately, the effectiveness of either approach heavily depends on the talent and skill within the team, highlighting that the team's composition is more critical than the process employed.
Navigating Team Dynamics and Decision-Making
Handling a teammate who claims authority by stating 'we decided' poses a challenge for team cohesion and communication. This might indicate a lack of genuine collaboration, as the engineer in question operates in a way that minimizes discussion and input from others. The appropriate response should promote an open dialogue, encouraging the team to collectively reassess past decisions and reinforce the idea that changes can be beneficial. Rather than confronting the behavior aggressively, fostering a supportive environment that allows for reassessment could lead to a healthier team dynamic.
Maintaining Culture in a Growing Team
As teams grow, especially following an acquisition, there can be a dilution in the quality and ownership of work due to the influx of average talent. The challenge lies in preserving a culture of high standards, which was naturally present in smaller teams where ownership and impact were paramount. Hiring practices must adapt to filter for candidates who align with the desired culture, requiring rigor in the recruitment process to ensure new hires contribute positively. It is crucial for leaders, such as principal engineers, to initiate conversations about cultural expectations and to inspire colleagues to embrace a culture of excellence, thereby preventing the decline in team quality.
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:
Hey guys!
I recently moved onto a new team, and my teammate has an interesting way of resolving differences of opinions. He simply says “we decided” and then follows it up with his preferred approach. These are decisions that I know have not been made.
This engineer is mid-level, so it isn’t the “royal we” of a tech lead.
How do I handle this? Something tells me that responding with “nuh uh!” isn’t the right strat.
I’m a Principal Engineer at a large tech company who’s been with the same team for almost 8 years now! The team used to be part of a startup and we’ve been fortunate enough to be acquired by Big Tech three years ago. As a result, we’ve also more than doubled in team size. However, as we’ve aggressively grown over the last few years, I feel like we’ve inadvertently hired many “average” engineers. I find that some of our newer team members simply pick off the next ticket in the queue and do the bare minimum to progress the task. What happened to the boy scout rule? Where did the culture of ownership go? This also affects the genuinely great engineers on the team who start feeling like the others aren’t pulling their weight.
Any advice on how to level up the culture? Or do I need to adjust my expectations and simply accept that any team of a sufficient size will have folks from a range of abilities and attitudes?
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