thanks for your article.
It felt like it was one-sided and a little too aggressive for my taste.
Here is a question I have:
"But first, become a leader and then look for formal authority."
Why would someone take on the job of an official leader if the person has no authority and is not paid for it?
That irritates me, because the result would be arduous persuasion because the authority is not there. The person must also be responsible for decisions for which they have no authority, which can be (legally) dangerous.
I agree that almost nothing is black or white in life, I chose this style on purpose.
Concerning your question.
In my experience, many people become manager and therefore they get formal authority without having become a leader first. I don't say that cannot become good managers, but in my opinion, it's better if they first built their authority as an individual contributor. Their acceptance rate will be higher and they will have an easier time to direct a team as they are already trusted members or they can easily demonstrate their competence.
This does not necessarily require "arduous persuasion", leading by example can make miracles. Even though sometimes you do need to try to persuade some people, but that's inevitable if you want to achieve changes.
Even as an official leader. After all, most of us are not in the army with court martials, devs easily ignore "commands" from there bosses if they don't agree. But that definitely depends on the culture as well.
Hello Sandor Dargo,
thanks for your article.
It felt like it was one-sided and a little too aggressive for my taste.
Here is a question I have:
"But first, become a leader and then look for formal authority."
Why would someone take on the job of an official leader if the person has no authority and is not paid for it?
That irritates me, because the result would be arduous persuasion because the authority is not there. The person must also be responsible for decisions for which they have no authority, which can be (legally) dangerous.
Hi Akin,
Thanks for your honest feedback.
I agree that almost nothing is black or white in life, I chose this style on purpose.
Concerning your question.
In my experience, many people become manager and therefore they get formal authority without having become a leader first. I don't say that cannot become good managers, but in my opinion, it's better if they first built their authority as an individual contributor. Their acceptance rate will be higher and they will have an easier time to direct a team as they are already trusted members or they can easily demonstrate their competence.
This does not necessarily require "arduous persuasion", leading by example can make miracles. Even though sometimes you do need to try to persuade some people, but that's inevitable if you want to achieve changes.
Even as an official leader. After all, most of us are not in the army with court martials, devs easily ignore "commands" from there bosses if they don't agree. But that definitely depends on the culture as well.
Here is a good book on the topic.