WHAT EXPERIENCE BRINGS

The purpose of software procedures, methodologies and leadership courses is to try to systematize how experienced people carry out projects.

But there are some very salient points that no set of procedures can capture. They are:

1. It is important to recognize which details the big picture turns on (and to what extent).

Laying out a system is like a chess opening. Mess it up in the beginning and it's hard to recover in the mid or end game.
A variant of this is the ability to see the forest from the trees.

Just because one is an excellent Scrabble player, or a linguistics expert - does not mean they can also write a book.
Technology is filled with "details people" who are excellent at solving well defined problems. This is how most people are when they first get out of school. Whether they go on to get better at handling more details among the trees - or get better at the layout of the forest - depends on the person.

2. It is important to recognize which things are intuitive, and which things run counter intuitive.

Don't overly theorize the intuitive.
Conversely, don't take the counter intuitive for granted. You will need a deeper understanding in order to successfully deal with it.

3. It's important to know where to put your foot down, and what to let slide.

Few things are rarely done as well or efficiently as you'd like. Knowing where to make a stand - and when to go along - is critical for any sort of teamwork.
And it's an even more critical skill for a team leader or manager.

e.g. In the extreme: a technically messy system that comes together and is used and useful is better than a more perfect one that never makes it out of development.

4. As a team leader or manager, there are two basic types of people under you:

Technically competent people with whom you still have to frequently touch base - in order discuss their progress and (especially!) brainstorm their challenges.
Well organized people who will know when to come to you with a problem.

And here is the critical point: Don't EVER mix these two types up in your management style. If you do:

The first type will think you are aloft or don't care.

They will miss schedules and/or drift off - producing superfluous functionality which misses the point.

The second type will resent you micro managing them.

Hire good people. Make sure you are on the same page. Then get out of their way and let them do their job. They will come to you if there is a problem.

Copyright ©2018 by Ken Freed. All rights reserved.