Compliance vs ownership - that's hitting hard! I'm going to continue to ponder additional ways I'm seeing that show up. You're so right. You want to see some fight, some investment.
Good article. From experience I can say it is one factor. Another one is also energy spend/ reward ratio. I was once figuring out a problem which would cost company a whole project, make them paying a fine and be sued for not delivering. Across different teams people were struggling to solve it and at the end conclusion was we lost it. I spend 2 months to come up with the solution which actually saved the project. Management happy ,project saved. I asked for a raise as I didn’t get one since 2 years. They after 2 months of meetings and talks offered me like 100 bucks more and “promotion” with another responsibilities and no compensation.
It did felt like slap in the face being honest and I lost my enthusiasm for the job starting looking for another one.
I want to believe workplaces and bosses like this exist, but the cynic in me thinks this is just a feel good anecdote, no leader can possibly be that insightful, driven to do the right thing the right way, making engineering matter, think long term as opposed to next quarter, really have their engineers' backs, create purpose.
When people see that they are counted and included, then they can make an impact in the best way possible.
But when they ntoice that their thoughts re not considered, they become demotivated and uninspired.
And that''s the quickest way to lose such people. Good on you that you decided to give an ear to your people and let them shine their light.
Precisely. In theory, I knew that I needed to do that. But in reality, it’s easy to miss this without self-reflection.
Sometimes, there needs to be turning point, so can understand the situation better.
"Shields Down" [1] is another phrasing of this idea that I particularly enjoy. Thank you for writing this.
[1] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/shields-down/
Thanks for sharing.
Compliance vs ownership - that's hitting hard! I'm going to continue to ponder additional ways I'm seeing that show up. You're so right. You want to see some fight, some investment.
Yes. It requires caring about it. Detachment sounds good on paper, but in reality, it does not bring the energy required to build great products.
Good article. From experience I can say it is one factor. Another one is also energy spend/ reward ratio. I was once figuring out a problem which would cost company a whole project, make them paying a fine and be sued for not delivering. Across different teams people were struggling to solve it and at the end conclusion was we lost it. I spend 2 months to come up with the solution which actually saved the project. Management happy ,project saved. I asked for a raise as I didn’t get one since 2 years. They after 2 months of meetings and talks offered me like 100 bucks more and “promotion” with another responsibilities and no compensation.
It did felt like slap in the face being honest and I lost my enthusiasm for the job starting looking for another one.
Ouch. I have seen this many times. Reward for good work is more work and less appreciation. Good yo moved on instead of facing heroic suffering.
I want to believe workplaces and bosses like this exist, but the cynic in me thinks this is just a feel good anecdote, no leader can possibly be that insightful, driven to do the right thing the right way, making engineering matter, think long term as opposed to next quarter, really have their engineers' backs, create purpose.