Don’t be a collaboration killer, 3 steps to being a good teammate
Sometimes we want to be the coding hero. Fly in with our cape fix the problem and leave.
I thought I knew what the problem was. I changed some code and in haste tested it quickly. Then I deployed it to our test environment.
Ramesh asked me, “Why did you overwrite my change?”
Then I realized I messed up his change and the load test that was in progress.
Instead of being a coding hero, I was a flop!
Be Present
As we develop solutions our mind focuses on code and technology. Take a step into the present. Check in with your teammates.
In Perfect Attendance: Being Present for Life Harriet Stein reminds us to place a pause. Take a breath. Connect with yourself.
Next, see how your teammates are doing. Can you help them? Collaboration requires you to be present.
Bring Intention
There is a lot of talk about Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), from the impact on our children to adults in the workplace. I have seen people struggle with this.
Jon Giganti talks about a similar struggle in his book With Intention. Essentially we lack intention. He calls it Intetion Deficit Disorder.
To collaborate effectively we must have intention and comprehend the goal. Just floating through our work doesn’t foster success.
Connect
In 2012, I started at the West Des Moines Leadership Academy. Over the year-long program, I got to know many of my classmates. Danny Beyer was one of them.
We kept in touch over the years. Even being part of a weekly coffee group with a few other guys.
Danny wrote a book called Ties that Bind, Networking with Style. He recently released the second edition. It is updated with his current advice.
Danny shares many ways to connect with our professional network. We need to connect first before we can collaborate.
In conclusion, collaboration is possible if we don’t stop it. Be Present in meetings and in our work. If our mind wanders we aren’t effective. Or worse we make mistakes like I did overwritting Ramesh’s code.
Use intention to focus our mind. That might mean we need to shut down Slack or Teams. Put in some deep work.
Finally, connect with our teammates. Together we can collaborate. Please get to know their style. Then you can understand them.