News From The Trenches
In Organizational Under Currents and More On Underwater Currents I wrote about how the people who are actually doing most of the work express the real organizational culture – the subtext of organizational culture. The written procedures, the metrics, and the things which are being said publicly are only the tip of the iceberg. In many, this public information covers a much more complex picture, which can even turn out to be the complete opposite.
I am aware of this phenomenon for quite some time now, but it always amazes me. The people in the trenches often have a much better intuition of what needs to be done and how to do it. They know what’s really going on, what is really needed, and where the real problems are.
When I talk to developers I often hear them say they feel they need to have their code reviewed. They say they that unit testing increase their confidence in their code and make them work faster and better. They want to improve their design skills. And they know exactly when a project is well-managed and when it is not.
Many managers, on the other hand, have a completely different take on any of these subjects (as well as others). When I talk to managers and developers within the same group I sometimes get an inverted picture of reality: “We are doing fine without unit testing. Code reviews are just for newbies. And that project was the best project we ever did”. Yeah, right. Your developers might beg to differ.
Managers have to be a little less self-assured. They have to take the time to honestly hear what their people have to say. This is the best way to solve (or prevent) many of the “software development problems” we are facing.
Give your people credit for knowing what needs to be done. Don’t take their word for granted. But at least be open to really hear what they have to say. Encourage them to be open and say what’s on their mind. You, as a manager, will do a much better job if your decisions rely on more data and insights from the field.
