Technologists Are Never the Problem

I was taken aback. He failed to even proof his note properly. I was about to delete the email and move on when I decided that I should explore this a little further. I crafted the reply:

"Projects fail for a variety of reasons. Customer requirements, management support, too many defects, scope creep, etc. The technical team certainly has their part in that. Don't you think your members would want to know how to minimize their contribution. It would increase their longevity at their employers."

He never replied.

Inculpability's Safe Harbor

Therein lies the problem—if someone else is more culpable than him, it is not his problem. He is probably the same guy who, a few months later, will pout as his project is canceled, maligning management for doing a poor job of controlling the project (i.e., him) and now his vision has vaporized. This selfish, myopic view of responsibility kills hundreds of projects every month. It is never "my" responsibility. Programmers can add dozens of neat little features, architects can design bleeding-edge systems, customers can refuse to compromise, and quality analysts can test for every imaginable and remote situation, all remaining devoid of guilt, since the project's collapse was someone else's responsibility. Management tolerates, while leaders revile, this attitude.

Doing The Right Thing

Albeit, leadership should come from the top, in reality, anyone can step up to that position. They simply need to develop a few guiding principles for how they work with others. Thousands, if not millions, of these lists have been generated and I have seen only a few that I have disliked. I have found, though, that instilling the following principles in my teams are the most helpful.

• The project's goal is value. Above everything else on the project, everyone must focus on the project's value. The value does not come from a great project plan, state-of-the-art technology, a bug free product, or delivering the project within scope, schedule, and budget. It comes from delivering a product that meets the customer's needs.
• Understand how jobs interrelate. The project is not about you, it is about a product that a team is creating. Any member of that team can make or break a project. Adding the simplest of features, such as a print function (see the earlier Case Study in Will We Ever Learn? Lessons from The Mythical Man-Month), can drastically increase scope for the entire project and detract from the customer's value. Any change, addition or deletion, affects everyone associated with the project. What may seem like a simple addition for one group of the customers may be a bane for another.
• Communicate With Teammates. No one can understand the complexity and conflicts of the desires, wants, and needs of a customer. It requires relentless communication with all the stakeholders. It is incumbent on every team member to assiduously communicate and question his or her assignments and activities. Success is a world devoid of dictatorial management and hierarchical communication. It requires leadership that trusts and allows people and teams to master their duties and work autonomously. This requires teams composed of the right individuals—people that comprehend the greater good and derive motivation from excellence—not perfection.
• Do The Right Thing. Back in the days of old, I worked with the Digital Equipment Corporation where a stated value, looming larger than life, was "Do the right thing." This was at the core of their innovative spirit. The project team is morally bound to translate what the customer wants to what they need. This lies on the project team, since they are intimate with the details of building the project's product. They are the ones that can foresee the impact of a decision. This cannot, however, be performed in the project team's vacuum. There are conflicts between the wants and the needs and the customer must be part of every decision. This requires fluid and frequent interaction between the customer and the team. They must look at all the requested features and derive innovative and cost effective solutions for delivery. Although sounding like an Agile tenet, it is not exclusive to that methodology. It is at the foundation of any successful project.

The Right Answer

The subject of my opening example may be quite capable of working in the environment described above. Given a change in venue and allowing time for de-programming the accusative and blame-oriented style of management philosophies that he probably works in today, I will wager his work ethics would morph and he would be a valuable team member concerned and contributing to the success of the project. He simply needs the right leader. That leader could be you. It does not need to be your boss.

What Are Your Thoughts?

Please, share how you lead from within and what makes your projects excel.