Just Keep Swimming
Like ENRAGED this morning.
I can’t even…I don’t know how much I should even talk about but…
I will say that experience counts for SO much…but it depends on the types of experiences you have.
Like if you have say 30 years of development experience….but mostly count your recent experience as having general awareness about development techniques not having done anything personally…should that really count for anything?
Or if you are experienced in 1 thing for the most part, should you be in a leadership position?
For me the best leaders are ones who are competent in several areas. This gives them the ability to think on a larger scale rather than the silo they exist in.
Project management especially is dicey, like you can have all the textbook knowledge and certs, but not a ton of experience in dealing when things don’t go right…and let’s face it, things will not go right like 99% of the time.
Project management for different types of work is also nuanced. While the theories the same, culture plays a HUGE part in how to adjust the process. One’s ability to facilitate a team is also a HUGE skill that’s needed. That work is more than about reporting out and metrics and cost and schedule….for me what’s most important is focusing on the team and optimizing them as much as possible according to THEIR personal habits, not what’s presented as an industry best practice in a 300 page book.
I guess they put me in certain meetings so that I’ll raise my hand and be like “this is dumb”…but MAN I don’t understand how legit a room FULL OF PEOPLE who are all older than me and have all these degrees and certs don’t understand what seems fundamental to me.
Even like A.gile development….like I get queasy at the fluffy emotional stuff that goes with it, but that awareness is CRUCIAL for the facilitators of those projects. I don’t feel like it requires getting in touch with feelings in a hippy sort of way, but again more of common sense thing. If someone in a meeting isn’t speaking up, call them out and ask for their opinion. If someone is spinning on a task for too long, take two seconds to stop by their desk and see why to help resolve it. If the team doesn’t seem like they’re progressing, adjust the workload and move on. If you don’t have the aptitude to think to do those things naturally, then maybe you should do something you’re more suited for instead.
Also notice I sad FACILITATORS not managers or leads. No lone LEADS or MANAGES an Ag.ile project. Those teams are self organizing and people are accountable to themselves and to the team.
Even Project Management, your role is not to be in charge of the project, it’s to optimize it and keep track of the numbers. Your role is not more important than any other person on the project, in fact I’d almost argue that it’s less important because you don’t directly contribute to the product like the other team members do.
Everyone should know their role.
Team members have more power than they think.
“Managers” need to stick to making sure those team members have everything they need.
If you they do, your numbers will reflect that by being within cost/schedule/and whatever other metrics you need to hit.
SUPER ANNOYED RANT.
(And I’ll def be shouting this up the chain…tomorrow because hosting family AGAIN)
