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Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Posted Wednesday, August 25, 2010 8:19 PM

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Comments posted to this topic are about the item Individual Contributions

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Post #975307

Cade Roux

Posted Wednesday, August 25, 2010 10:26 PM

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Yup. A team has to have people in different roles. All have some kind of value, and people aren't all paid the same - that's the way it is. It's funny, people always ask me "why didn't you ever get rid of so and so" - I usually tell them the same thing "I was getting my money's worth - you know he wasn't making that much money". I wasn't expecting to get any better work out of a junior level position.

While you can expect people to do their best and to push themselves, every kitchen needs a chef, a line cook, and a dishwasher. And it isn't really reasonable to expect that the dishwasher wants to be the greatest dishwasher in the world. And you wouldn't expect the chef to complain that the dishwasher isn't pulling his weight on the team because they can't get orders out on time.

It is reasonable to expect clean dishes, though.

Post #975337

krishnaroopa

Posted Wednesday, August 25, 2010 10:56 PM

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Absolutely right.. Every one has their unique values and skills.

Really motivating topic.. Thanks

Post #975351

COOL_ICE

Posted Thursday, August 26, 2010 1:35 AM

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Hay Steve,
Nice article motivating everyl level of technical people.

- SAMJI
If you marry one they will fight with you, If you marry 2 they will fight for you Smile

Post #975407

Mike Cunningham

Posted Thursday, August 26, 2010 1:43 AM

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Well said Steve, point well made

Post #975414

Manie Verster

Posted Thursday, August 26, 2010 3:59 AM

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Steve, in South Africa we have a saying and it actually sounds better in Afrikaans (dialect of Dutch). We say you hit the nail on its head. Well said there. People complaining about another person till they have to do their job. The problem is they forget quickly and it's not long then the complaining starts again. Wink

Manie Verster
Developer
Johannesburg
South Africa

Life is about choices.... I choose to be happy today

Post #975496

Aurora Resource Consulting

Posted Thursday, August 26, 2010 6:09 AM

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"Never underestimate what you can bring to the table."
and the corollary...
Never overestimate what you actually bring to the table."

Nice reminder to remain humble.
Neil

Post #975557

krowley

Posted Thursday, August 26, 2010 6:58 AM

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Sounds like the real problem was a culture of complaining.

Post #975590

Keith Langmead

Posted Thursday, August 26, 2010 7:36 AM

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Couldn't agree more, I think the problem at times is that it's very easy to forget how little you knew x years ago, or when you first started in computing.

I'd actually argue that a less experienced person can be as valuable in real monetary terms as your most experienced person, as by handling those low level jobs it frees up time for the experienced staff to do the difficult jobs.

We've got a young guy here who we like to think of as our very own PFY, can he do many of the things that I and some of the others here can? No. Does his knowledge of what we do come close to mine? No. Does his 6 months of experience in the industry match my 10 years? Of course not. Would we change him? Hell no. There are plenty of jobs he can do, and for every job he picks up, it's one less I have to do. In turn that gives me more time to get the bigger, harder and more interesting jobs done.

If we employed someone with as much experience as me then we might have more highly skilled resource, but those little jobs still need to be done, and one of us would have to do it. Suddenly doing those simple jobs gets a lot more expensive for the company!

Post #975627

Eric M Russell

Posted Thursday, August 26, 2010 7:42 AM

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In many cases, coworkers simply don't see or fully understand the scope of another's job. Some people are talented, but don't like to "toot their own horn", or maybe they are just so good at what they do, they make it all seem effortless.
However in the information technology profession in particular, there is untapped potential in almost every team member. Sometimes that potential may be even kept hidden by the individual themelves. For example, the girl who keeps to herself, avoiding high pressure assignments, punching in at 9am and out at 5pm, may have a gig on the side where she leverages technical skills that are outside the scope of how she's been typecast by coworkers on her day job. It would be in the best interest of the company to draw these people out, acknowledge them, and develope them to the fullest of their potential, before they get lured away by a competitor.
There is a book called "The Invisible Employee" by Gostick and Elton that every manager should read.

"Wise people understand the 10,000 things without going to each one.
They know them without having to look at each one,
and they transform all without acting on each one." - The Tao Te Ching: Verse 47

Post #975637

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