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The Team and Company Culture – Part 2
Posted by: | CommentsTeams are powerful entities. They are much more powerful then just a group of individuals. This in itself can be a major deterrent in changing the culture. Once a team is formed, stays together for six or more months and becomes self-organizing it can become very influential.
It is very difficult for managers to ignore the requests of the team especially when it is very productive and working toward the corporate goals. It is interesting that teams usually request changes that will make them more productive. These changes such as a team work area, change in performance review procedures, setting goals and self-governance are actually better for the company.
But all of this runs contrary to most companies management hierarchy. How does one manage a self-organized work team? You don’t! Good teams need to be guided to where they should be going. The manager needs to make sure they do not go off track and provide the best environment for the team to excel. This leadership is very important for a team to function at optimal levels.
The Team and Company Culture – Part 1
Posted by: | CommentsDoes a company really believe that is team is more productive than individual contributors? Take a look at the how a company does performance reviews and compensation.
Most performance reviews focus on how the individual performed in the last year. After the review the individual is informed as to what their new compensation with be. Very little is considered about the team they are working on. The following are some of the issues this causes for a team:
- The individual’s performance is more important than the team’s performance.
- Individuals feel reluctant to share their knowledge with the team.
- The team is not rewarded for performing well.
In most companies the culture is based on the individual not the team. So the individual is concerned that they will not receive the appropriate recognition if contributing to the success of a team.
Team Building and Focus
Posted by: | CommentsWhen there is a lack of focus this is a lack of teamwork. When each developer has other projects to work on they are not working together.
In an Agile team it is critical that each member has the same vision and goal. Unless the team is first the team will not succeed. When team members are more concerned about their own individual gaols instead of team goals you have lost the team focus.
Unless we can all capture the same vision we will fail. Oh, we may get a product out the door but will it be the best product we could have produced if we were focus.
In order to produce quality team work and capture the vision we have to spend quantity time together. This means working side by side with each other for hours a day. Time spent together ends up creating a team works together well an helps keep them focused on the vision.
Team Focus or Lack of it
Posted by: | CommentsDuring a sprint a team has to remain focused on the goal. So often the team gets distracted from the goal. Some of the sources of distraction are as follows:
- Other Projects
- Personal issues
- Lack of hardware
- Lack of team synergy
Other Projects
These can range from pet project from a manager to the previous project a team member was working on. Also, there always seems to be an emergency project that needs to be worked on. All of these affect the velocity of a team and may affect if the team is able to finish the user stories it has committed to. It is important that the ScrumMaster communicates to the management and product owner how much other projects are affecting the team and when they become major impediments. I my role as a ScrumMaster this has been the most prevalent issues I had to deal with. It is no fun when you have to tell a resource manager you report to that they are affecting the viability of a project.
Personal Problems
All of us face time when we have family issues or have physical problems that need attention. Unfortunately our jobs may be the cause of many of our problems. Our jobs cause stress that may affect our health and our families. It is important that we create a healthy work environment that does not cause excessive stress. Employees need to have time with their families and time for recreation to keep a healthy body. A good exercise routine leads to a more productive employee and less visit to the doctor. If we keep to a 40 hour work week we will have time to spend with our families.
Lack of hardware
It in uncalled for that companies invest in adequate hardware for their employees. Niceties such as dual large monitor, powerful laptops and large disk drives are cheep compared the cost of a employee. Necessary hardware should be available to the employee without having to go through excessive red tape. Also the supporting build and testing environments should be setup and supported from the beginning. There is no excuse for the lack of good hardware.
Lack of team synergy
So often a team is a team in name only. So often the individuals are just working on their tasks and nothing else. If they finish early they will find something that interests them to do and not even consider what other task they can work on.
In a productive team the members learn how to leverage each others strengths. They work together for a single purpose. There is no individual recognition. We as a team work together toward the goal of finishing the sprint goals. Each member makes sure they do their part by taking on available tasks.
Team Work
Posted by: | CommentsAgile relies on self organized teams. But most of us do not really understand what it means to work on such a team. The model I see most often is that the ScrumMaster or the Technical Lead will take control of the team.
I have seen one team where the ScrumMaster actually created all of the tasks for a sprint and assigned members of the team to work on these tasks. In other cases the technical lead controlled what tasks are created and made sure the team know who are working on the tasks.
I know that each team members may have special skills and it makes sense that they are the best choice but in doing this we loose the value of the team. A team functions best when we share knowledge with each other. It is great when you have a team in which members will help each other even if they are not the expert in the field. Also, a team protects itself when the knowledge is distributed among the team.
As team members we should be willing to learn new technologies. Also, team is more efficient because there is no “down” time.
When a team creates the tasks they are going to do in a sprint they assume ownership of those tasks. They have created the tasks and will be more likely to see that they get finished.
Demotivating a team
Posted by: | CommentsAgile methodologies support best software practices. One of these practices is that working together as a team is more productive then individual contributors to a project. But it is easy for a team to be demotivated.
We all start out being motivated. We like the work we do and we want to do a good job. So what happens? It is the situation we work in that demotivates. This includes the stress and company culture. This quote is from “Agile Coaching”:
These are factors that demotivate people if they are not present, even though these factors are not motivators when they are present. For instance, fast computers, decent coffee and fair pay won’t be noticed if they are there, but their absence can demotivate employees.
It important to be aware of what may be demotivating a team.
Working together as a team
Posted by: | CommentsEvery team members contributes. It is vital the the team cultivate ideas from every member. Each of us has a unique perspective that helps make the team succeed. Working together a community helps each of us to better understand our unique skills.
This entails that we are willing to learn from others on the team There is no place for a prima donna on a team. The member fresh out of college has knowledge that a 30 year veteran does not have. It takes humility to learn from the junior member.
Also we much be willing to teach each other. A person should be willing help others learn the skills they have acquired. Many times this will require patience when other team members do not learn easily.