Properties5
| Type | Article |
| Author | mipsytipsy |
| Date | Jun 5, 2023 |
| URL | https://charity.wtf/2023/06/05/drive-change-and-influence-teams-without-power/ |
| Note created | Jun 5, 2023 |
Understand why things are the way they are and get to know the personalities on your team a bit before you start pitching changes. (UNLESS they are coming to you with arms outstretched, pleading desperately for changes
fastbecause everything is on fire and they know they need help. This does happen!)
Spend some time working with the old systems, even if you think you already understand. It’s not enough for you to know; you need to take the team on this journey with you. If you expect your changes to be at all controversial, you need to show that you respect their work and are giving it a chance.
Change one thing at a time, and go for the developer experience wins first. Address things that will visibly pay off for your team in terms of shipping faster, saving time, less frustration. You have no credibility in the beginning, so you want to start racking up wins before you take on the really hard stuff.
Roll up your sleeves. Nothing buys a leader more goodwill than being willing to do the scut work. Got a flaky test suite that everybody has been dreading trying to fix? I smell opportunity…
Pitch it as an experiment. If people aren’t sold on your idea for e.g. code review SLAs, ask if they’d be willing to try it out for three weeks just as an experiment.
Strategically shop it around to the rest of the team, if you sense there will be resistance…
Your first move is to have a conversation with each of them. Approach them in the spirit of curiosity, and ask what they think of your idea. Talking with them will also help you hash out the details and figure out if it is actually a good idea or not. Your goal is to make the rounds, ask for advice, identify any allies, and talk your idea through with anybody who is likely to oppose you…before the meeting where you intend to unveil your plan.
as a manager, there are far more times when you need to influence the group but not be the leader of the change, or when you need to be wary of sounding like you are telling people what to do. These are just a few of the many reasons it can be highly effective to have other people arguing on your behalf.
It’s not just about persuading people to agree with you, either. Instead of having a shitty dynamic where engineers are attached to the old way of doing things and you are “dragging them” into the newer ways against their will, you are inviting them to partner with you. You are offering them the opportunity to lead the team into the brave new world, by getting on board early.