How can being honest actually improve your team's productivity? Let me share with you a few scenarios where you may find yourself in and what you can do and why you should do it.
When you are stuck with your code for more than the usual time it will take to fix something.
Be honest and tell your team you're stuck but make sure you've done your part in trying to fix it. With this, you're likely to progress faster if someone helps you. In fact, it's possible that someone from your team has already encountered it and the time you'll invest for like 1-2 hours could be lessened to a single question.
When something broke and you know it was you who broke it
Be honest and volunteer to fix it. You'll probably take lesser time to fix it rather than someone who has little idea of the cause.
When you don't know the answer to a question
Be honest and tell the person you don't know but try to find the answer after. It's better to tell upfront that you don't know rather than assume something and cause a misunderstanding.
If no one has been honest yet, be the first one
Other members can feel comfortable being honest themselves if someone within the team continuously do so. Everyone would feel that they can trust each other. The feeling of not being discriminated of not knowing or of making mistakes can improve the team's communication. Anyone could learn a thing or two just by someone saying "I don't know" or "I'm stuck. Can someone help me?". And without you knowing it, honesty has become one of your team culture.
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