This is a follow-up to my post on my current approach to software delivery – specifically, how I apply it when paths for it don’t yet exist.
When setting teams up for success with modern software delivery, I've found it helps to create “successful paths of least resistance”. Here are some things I’ve tried, learned, and had success with in the hopes they might help someone else. I prioritize understanding the state of these things first if I don’t see them in an environment I enter.
Before We Begin: Start With Trust and Understanding
All of the tips I share below assume that you have built trust and spent a good chunk of time listening to people/teams and sensing patterns of possible improvement.
Software delivery is a team sport. Any approach that tries to improve things without caring about and for the people who will be impacted is a recipe for things to go wrong.
Not sure if you’ve done that enough? Here’s a barometer: if you’ve listened enough, some of these suggestions will seem like great ideas and others will fall to the back of your backlog because you’ll have a feeling they might not apply.
If you haven’t worked to build trust and rapport with your team, do that first.
With that said, let’s look at some techniques that have accelerated the happy path on teams I’ve led or been a part of.
Modeling Behavior Around Feedback
A quick introductory note: when I say “modeling behavior”, I mean “demonstrating the way you’d like your teams to act”. What you do is who you are. Your actions will influence the actions of others on your team.
Explicitly ask for feedback. Discuss ways people like to give and receive feedback. Authorize people in one-on-one settings to provide this feedback, especially in front of a group. And celebrate the heck out of it when it happens. You will not always be perfect at this; I’m sure not! But working at it continuously will help you and your teams flourish.
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