Most of your programming career will be working as a team with other people. Value teamwork as soon as possible.
One of the most common questions developers are asked during interviews is whether or not they consider themselves to be a strong team member.
And although this question is a bit generic and widely used (not to say cliché), it is being asked for a good reason: teamwork is (very) important.
In times of crisis like the one we are living in 2020 with COVID-19, it is interesting to note some facts. Community and teamwork are being of vital importance.
Even if sometimes it’s for strange reasons like buying tons of toilet paper without any apparent reason or to build a hospital in less than 10 days.
We see what power a community has when it unites around a cause. In that case on a global scale.
To a lesser extent, we have our family, friends, people we study with, work with, who live in the same neighbourhood, city, and so on.
This also applies to us, developers, with our team.
I know that sometimes what we want is just a comfortable chair, air conditioning, good internet, headset and a good cup of coffee. It’s not too much to ask, is it? And there’s nothing wrong with that. Individualities should be respected. And if you freelance or have your own blog or website that doesn’t require so much work, maybe you can keep up with this lifestyle.
But what’s probably gonna happen most of the time is this. One table, several monitors, developers and mugs. That I can safely say is a much more common environment.
And these guys next to you are the ones who are probably part of your team. We often call teams by their names. Prometheus, BlueSky and Lions were some of the names of teams I’ve participated in.
If you think that in the first scenario you will be more productive or that you will be able to finish the job faster, you may be wrong.
Great teams can be more effective than all the individual skills combined.
Great teams can be more effective than all the individual skills combined. This is known as synergy.
But there is another side to the same coin.
Weak teams can be less effective than the least effective person on the team.
“One bad apple is enough to spoil the bunch”
Just make sure you’re not that apple.
Regardless of the project you’re going to enter and the size of the team. The ultimate goal that should prevail is the collective goal, not the individual goal.
“Better to have one person working with you than three people working for you”
When members think they are in a competition or that individual success is enough, this team undoubtedly has a high chance of failure.
Talent wins games, but only teamwork wins championships.
Michel Jordan
When all team members have the same goals and failure or success is at the team level, not at the individual level the interest of each team member is converted to the interest of the group.
Your boss or company may have put you in a team where each member is rated individually and every “we’re in it together” attitude is hard to maintain.
Or, you can hear from the team members themselves something like this: “this is how we work better, it always worked out”. These are definitely teams that have never seen real teamwork in action.
This is a posture that can and must be changed. And it can start with you.
You can choose to show team spirit by slowing down to help a colleague, giving feedback or communicating the overall project status to the team.
Don’t just try to finish your activity as quickly as possible to “show service”. This is not a competition.
The influence of only one person’s example can be powerful.
Each person has their own set of skills, strengths and weaknesses. When the whole team works together, people can also take the opportunity to learn from each other.
If you consider yourself the “last cookie in the package”, know that there will always be people who know more or at least have the same level of knowledge as yours.
A project that doesn’t challenge you or take you out of your comfort zone, maybe this is not the ideal project for you to evolve as a developer.
A challenging project will require all the help it needs. This is where teamwork comes in, and you have your chance to increase your portfolio of solutions.
If you’re the smart one at the table, you’re at the wrong table.
Simple as that, sometimes you know only one way to solve a problem, which is great, in the end you will solve the problem. But maybe that’s not the most efficient way.
If someone on your team has been through some similar problem and also knows how to solve it, maybe this is an excellent opportunity for you to learn something new.
If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.
Peter F. Drucker
Nothing great can be accomplished by just one person. A great idea may come from a single person, but putting it into practice requires a team.
As a developer and team member you can and should always:
As a developer you are the active part of the project, your opinion and solutions are valuable and you should always share them. And this not only shows that you are actively involved in the discussion, but also shows your concern for the good of the team and the project.
If you want to be a good team member, you should always be ready to walk the team a little further. Helping in a task that is completely out of your scope is a great way to help the team finish the project. Not to mention that this kind of attitude will undoubtedly create strong bonds between you and the team members.
Recognise the individual effort of your colleagues, value the lessons learned. Value teamwork.
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