Communication is Key

I had to learn hard how to program, but talking to people has always been second nature. Most people assume that as an engineer you aren’t going to have soft skills or be able to explain yourself. I have worked hard to bridge the gap between Stakeholders, Engineers, and Product owners. Communicating is the way to build relationships. Relationships enables people to value other people more, which helps people to collaborate, mentor and constructively criticize.

 Transparency Builds Trust

This one starts with Communication, but communication isn’t enough. You can communicate, but not be transparent. I believe that the way to show true trust and respect to both superiors and people who report to you is to be transparent. Talk about project status, blockers and all the goods and bads.

 We Are All Responsible

Accountability is important, but equally important is not pointing the finger. When we work on a project everyone who plays a part of the inception, laying out the stories, writing the code, reviewing the code, and doing the testing are all in it together. The Utah Jazz have a great saying that the strength of the team is the team. People who are siloed or solely responsible for projects end up getting stressed out and feel like the can’t take vacation time or enjoy the time off. It’s equally bad for the buisiness as those peoples value becomes the product knowledge and not the skills of the engineers.

 People Grow Faster Than Software

We hear it all the time. Technology is always changing! Languages change, new releases and updates come out and we feel left in the dust. We forget sometimes how fast we change! If I look at myself 2 years ago it is sometimes hard to see myself. I love looking at code from two years ago cause I can always see so much growth. Most people assume our job is just to keep up with technology. We need to keep up with the right technology and help our teams to grow. I have always said that if you are still in the same place as you were two years ago then we have failed you.