Marine Corps Leadership Secrets Part VI

Know Your Team and Look Out For Them

As team lead, you need to know what the strengths and weaknesses of each team member are. For example, if one person is strong on writing backends and another is strong on UI, assign them to tasks that play to their strengths. If you need to cross-train members, put a strong member with a weaker member. The better you know your team, the more effective they will be. Likewise, if you don’t know or ignore team members capabilities and preferences, you will soon run into difficulty. Use your judgement to make the right choices for you, your team, and your organization.

Also, watch out for your team’s welfare. If a project sponsor insists on your team developing a 12 month project in 6 months, have the moral courage to stand up to them. Don’t just roll over and let your team suffer under an unrealistic schedule.

Keep Your Team Informed

In the Marines and Navy, scuttlebutt was originally the term for a cask of water. Of course, as men drew water they talked and thus the term came to mean exchanging rumors and gossip. The ‘water cooler’ rumor mill is strong in some organizations. As a team lead, it is your job to make sure that you keep your team well informed about your organization and that they aren’t depending on rumors. Playing “I’ve got a secret” with your team is a sure way to damage morale. Have the integrity and dependability to keep your team correctly informed.

Certainly, there will be times you have confidential information. In those cases, show your loyalty to your organization by keeping it secret. However, you should also look out for your team in this case, particularly if the news is bad.

Set Goals You Can Reach

How many team leads have gotten into trouble by agreeing to schedules that they couldn’t keep? A lot, I would wager. It is your job to only accept work that your team can accomplish within the time frame given. Read up on project estimation and negotiation tactics to help protect your team from futile death marches. Your team may be good but don’t ask the impossible from them. Likewise, giving little make-work assignments one after another to a team of crack developers will frustrate them. Set the right goals for your team.

Make Sound and Timely Decisions

Knowledge and judgement are needed to make a sound decision while initiative is needed to make it a timely one. If you’ve made a bad choice, have the courage to change it before more damage is done. While you should avoid changing your mind frequently, sticking with a failing plan or development tool decision will only bring more trouble upon you and your team. Part of making good decisions is knowing when to make a change and when to stick with it despite the odds.

Know Your Job

Honestly, if you don’t know programming well you really don’t need to have a team lead job. This should go without saying but many organizations promote faces and personality over technical skills. As a technical team lead or IT manager it is your job to stay informed on the latest trends. You don’t want to be the kind of manager who says something like, “Oh, Ajax, I clean my kitchen with that” or “Orcas? Yeah, I saw one of those at Sea World.” Instead, you want to be in the know on all the latest trends.

If you don’t know, then have the courage to admit it. Don’t try to fake it in a ‘pointy haired boss’ fashion. Instead, learn from your team when you can. This not only improves your knowledge but improves the morale of the team too.

Teamwork

Encouraging teamwork seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? However, I’ve seen a number of teams fail because of interpersonal problems, cliquish behaviors, backstabbing, work hogging or avoidance and other such problems. Make sure that the people on your team are getting along. If they aren’t, find ways to help them deal with each other and, as a last resort, find a way to restructure your team. Ignoring these kinds of personal problems will only make things worse for your team. If you find one member is hogging all the work or avoiding taking on work, make an effort to better distribute the work. Whatever you do, don’t entertain gossip about a team member from another team member. This is a major morale killer.

Also, try to schedule social time together for the team. This might be as simple as lunch or drinks after work as a team once a week or so or something more elaborate on a less frequent basis. Be careful not to exclude some team members from these activities and try your best to schedule them in such a way that everyone can attend easily. While people may not show it, being ‘disinvited’ from such gatherings can be quite a morale killer

Marine Corps Leadership Secrets Part V

Take Responsibility For Your Actions

As the leader of the team you are the one responsible not only for your own performance but that of the team as well. If your team makes a mistake, you are the one who is accountable for it. You don’t pass the blame on to a subordinate. Nobody above or below has much respect for a leader who does this.

You’ve been given the authority to manage the team so exercise it using the traits of judgement, tact, and initiative. Have the moral courage to be loyal to your team and your organization. Ultimately, your goal is to be responsible for success, not failure, so use these leadership traits to bring in a successful project. Even if things don’t always go 100% according to plan, you can still extract a degree of success through good leadership.

Sadly, some organizations may not give you a lot of authority as a team lead. In a situation like that it can be difficult but do your best using what little you have to bring about positive results. That too is good leadership.

Seek Self Improvement

I’ve seen a number of people allow their technical skills to deteriorate as they moved into a lead or management role. This isn’t a good thing. Even worse, they don’t make an effort to improve their leadership and management skills. Don’t be that kind of person. Instead, choose to stay current with your technical skills while improving your project management, general business or other related skills.

Take the time to examine where you’re at to see if you measure up. If you find yourself lacking in any area, seek to improve it. If you honestly think your skills are up to date and strong, seek new areas to learn about. For example, if you know VB.NET well, spend some time learning C# or Java. If you know project management, learn some accounting methods. Just don’t stay static.

Set the Example

A big part of leadership is setting the example. This not only applies to how you do your work but the way you do your work. Which do you think will inspire your team more, coming into work late, half doing tasks and making excuses or arriving on time or early, doing excellent work and taking responsibility? When it comes down too it, setting a strong example does more than any instruction or discipline will ever do.

Ensure That Work is Understood and Completed

A common problem in software development projects is poor communication. If your team doesn’t understand what is to be done, it is likely that what they do won’t be right. As the team leader it is your responsibility to see that the work to be done is understood by all. If there are missing pieces, it’s your job to seek them out from your management or project sponsors. It is also your job to clearly communicate the project goals and timeline to the team. They’re looking to you for this information and if you don’t provide it, you’re almost guaranteeing something will go wrong.

You’re also responsible for seeing that the assigned work is being done correctly and is moving toward completion. However, you don’t want to be a micro-manager. After all, these are supposed to be professionals you’re working with, not ditch diggers. Avoid asking for daily status reports or (shudder) holding daily staff meetings. Instead, use email, source control, and other tools to keep an unobtrusive finger on the pulse of a project. If you note a problem, quietly take it up with that team member in a positive manner. You’ll find this approach puts you in closer touch with the status of a project than any make-work status report ever will.

That’s all for this part. I’ll be wrapping up this series in the next day or so when I go over a few more principles of leadership. If you have any questions or comments about this series, please feel free to leave me a comment.

Marine Corps Leadership Secrets Part IV

In this fourth article in my series on applying United States Marine Corps leadership traits and principles to software development team leadership we’ll be looking at the last 4 leadership traits: Endurance, Unselfishness, Loyality, and Judgement.

Endurance

Physical endurance plays a big part in the Marines but mental endurance is also important and that’s what we’ll concentrate on here. Endurance is defined as the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful activity. While you probably won’t be leading any 50 mile forced marches we’ve all heard software development projects referred to as ‘death marches’. Quite often a project can become a stressful mental exercise and, in some cases, a physical one as well as long hours are worked. Your ability to endure this misery will test your team leadership ability.

As a team leader the rest of the team will be looking to you to help get them over the hump on these tough projects. If you slack off, what do you think the rest of the team will do? They’ll follow your lead. If you decide that extra hours or even an all-nighter is needed, you’re the one toughing it out to get the job done, leading by example. I’ve known mid to upper level IT managers who’ve worked through the night and into the next day to fix a problem, helping when and where they could, and I’ve also known some who thought making it to the country club early on a Saturday was more important than being in the office for a weekend release. Can you guess which ones I respected as a leader more?

Unselfishness

It is a Marine tradition that in a chow line the lower ranking Marines are served first, then the squad leaders, then the staff non-commissioned officers. This is unselfish leadership in action. How can you show this kind of unselfish leadership in your role as a team lead?

An unselfish leader doesn’t grab all the perks for themselves. Sure, you’ll get some of these due to your position but you don’t need to flaunt them. One good example would be the computer system you’re using. If you have a top of the line system and the rest of your team is struggling by on poor performing systems, how do you think they’ll feel about that. As tough as it may be to you, make sure that your team is well supplied with the tools they need to do their job before you are. If you shortchange them, they’re likely to return the favor.

Another key area is in giving and taking credit for work. Nobody likes to work for a manager who takes personal credit for someone else’s achievements. You should always recognize the hard work and great ideas of your subordinates both to them and their peers and to your management as well. Not only does this behavior make them look good but it makes you look good as well.

Loyalty

The Marine Corps motto, Semper Fidelis, a Latin phrase meaning ‘Always Faithful’. This phrase embodies the loyalty Marines have to each other up and down the chain of command and even after they leave active duty in the Corps. Loyalty is a two way street and your words and actions should always reflect your loyalty both your team and to your managers. What are some ways you can show loyalty?

One is to back your team when they’re right and tell them they’re wrong when they’re wrong. A poor team lead will tell the team one thing and their management another and thus, show disloyalty to both. Sometimes it takes moral courage to be loyal in a situation. Have the courage to be loyal.

Another opportunity to show loyalty is when you pass on orders to your team, particularly ones that are distasteful. Don’t be disloyal by blaming the person above you for the situation. To do so only weakens your standing with the team. If you can’t change the situation, make the best of it. If it is something you can fight for, do so. Either way, it’s being loyal to your team and organization.

Never criticize your company leadership or your management peers in front of your team and discourage your team from doing the same. Nor should you allow gossip about personal lives be passed around. Stay loyal to your company and to your team by avoiding this trap.

Another way to show loyalty is to help out your team members if they’re having a problem, personal or professional. Hopefully your company isn’t a real world version of a reality show where you get points for throwing team members under the bus when they’re not up to par for some reason. Instead, help them out. By showing your loyalty this way they’ll have greater loyalty toward you, the team, and the company when the situation has past.

Judgement

Our last trait, Judgement, is all about applying the other leadership traits and your experiences to make the best decisions. You should avoid thinking rashly and, instead, think through a situation so that you can make a good decision.

Of course, there will be situations outside your experience. In the best cases, you will have someone else you can rely on to give you the benefit of their experience in your organization. This could even be someone who is technically junior to you within the organization but who has more experience there. If there isn’t anyone available to you, which is not the best of situations, you may have to rely on sources further removed or even a book or article. But, if you need help, seek help. This too is good judgement.

That covers our discussion of the leadership traits. Next in this series we’ll be looking at how to apply these traits. As always, feel free to leave a comment or question if you have one.

Marine Corps Leadership Secrets Part III

In this third article in my series we will continue to take a look at how to apply United States Marine Corps leadership traits and principles to software development team leadership. ( this part I’ll be discussing the leadership traits of Justice, Enthusiasm, and Bearing.

Justice

A sense of justice. What does it mean to you? In the context of this discussion this means fair impartiality, of taking actions that are fair and just to all.

For example, to be just in your day-to-day work, this means that you don’t play favorites. If you always give the best assignments to the same person and the worst assignments to other people on the team, how to you think it would affect team morale? It’s easy to guess that those given the bad assignments would probably not think that highly of your leadership ability and it will impact their attitude and productivity.

Being just also means keeping your emotions and prejudices out of your decisions as much as possible. While this is often company policy when in comes to some groups, such as race or sex, just because a particular type of person isn’t on this protected list doesn’t mean that you’re allowed to treat them unjustly. You should treat all of your subordinates justly. If you don’t like someone on a personal level due to an annoying trait that grates your nerves at an emotional level, don’t take it out on them by assigning them all the grunt work or using them as a pawn for layoffs. Instead, work on getting to know them better or, if you can’t treat them justly, help them find a place within the company where you won’t be their supervisor.

In short, unjust treatment will harm team morale and undermine your leadership while just treatment for all will have the opposite effect.

Enthusiasm

This doesn’t mean that you have to be a rah-rah cheerleader. Software developers typically don’t like phony behavior and such insincere behavior isn’t what you’re looking for here. What you are looking for is showing an interest in the work your team is doing.

Let’s imagine a scenario where a developer on your team wants to show you a new algorithm they’ve developed. Sadly, many a team leader would blow off such a request in favor of other ‘more important’ meetings. This syndrome becomes worse at higher levels where the manager doesn’t have a good feel for the development tools being used and has a tighter schedule. How do you think the enthusiasm level of the developer who’s brushed aside will be afterward? That’s right, not so good. Do this enough and the whole team is in the dumps.

Maintain enthusiasm within your group by being a sincere cheerleader and coach for their efforts. If they’ve worked hard, acknowledge it and applaud their efforts. If they’re struggling, be a mentor and help them find a solution through positive methods.

Also work hard to avoid outside problems from dampening your team’s enthusiasm. While sometimes this is unavoidable, you can do your part by not complaining to them about the direction the company is taking. Try to keep things on a positive note as much as possible in these situations. Doing so enhances your leadership of the team and, at the very least, improves the morale of the team where mutual misery will only weaken it.

Bearing

Everybody knows the look of a squared away Marine in uniform. Movie characters like Jack Webb’s The D.I. or R. Lee Ermey’s Gunny Hartman in Full Metal Jacket or John Wayne in Sands of Iwo Jima have burned in this image. So, do you need to be all spit and polish, tough as nails, cussing and swearing to have bearing as a software development team leader? No, bearing is really deeper than physical appearance, it’s an attitude, a state of mind.

I don’t want to totally discount physical appearance though. If your company has a dress code, live up to it. Being slack in this area will only encourage yourself, and the rest of the team, to be slack in other areas. If you’re lucky and don’t have a formal dress code, consider casual dressing for success. You might be surprised how much a neat look improves your leadership.

But, beyond the physical, what is bearing? It is how you conduct yourself verbally and emotionally. If you rant and rave at your team, you’ve lost your bearing. If you cut down a team member, that’s loss of bearing. If you make a joke out of handing out work assignments, you’ve lost your bearing. If you engage in sarcasm, you will lose it as well. However, if you conduct yourself with dignity, show that you’re more interested in being understood than impressing others, and make yourself approachable, you will develop excellent bearing.

Marine Corps Leadership Secrets Part II

In this second article in my series I’ll continue my explanation of how to apply United States Marine Corps leadership traits and principles to software development team leadership. In this part I’ll be discussing the traits of Decisiveness, Dependability, Initiative, and Tact.

Decisiveness

Nobody likes to work for someone who leaves important decisions up for debate by the group or who simply leaves them up in the air, unmade. Nor do they like to work for someone who is inconsistent or wishy-washy. Managers who publicly vacillate over making key decisions usually lose the respect of those underneath them. However, people will respect a leader who can make a decision, tell everyone the decision in clear, confident, terms and then stick to it. They’re a person who says what they mean and means what they say.

This doesn’t mean that you should be inflexible about the decisions you make though. Situations change and, when they do, a leader is required to decisively act upon the new information. For example, a development tool a lead decided upon isn’t working right due to serious bugs that the vendor isn’t going to fix anytime soon. Instead of muddling on toward failure, the decisive leader takes steps to fix the problem quickly and save the project.

Being decisive also means be accountable for your decisions. If you make the call, you are responsible for it. Don’t pass the buck to your team members, peers or your management.

Dependability

Can your team depend on you? Can your management depend on you? Dependability works both ways.

To be dependable to your management is really basic Work 101 stuff. It means you show up on time, that you don’t make excuses or complain without a good reason, and stay on the job until it is completed. If you aren’t doing these things for your management, then why should you expect those you’re supposed to be leading to do the same for you?

How can you be dependable to your team? You do this by first of all being an example as I mentioned above. You are the role model they’ll look to, for good or for bad. However, it goes beyond just that. It means that you are willing to stand with them if there is an emergency that needs to be handled or if there is extra work needed to complete a project. If the team is coming into the office over the weekend to work you should be there too if at all possible. If there is a disaster, like a failed database, you are there working to correct the problem, even working through the night and into the next day if necessary. Your dependability will inspire those working for you while shirking your responsibility will, over time, demoralize your team.

Initiative

If you only do what you’re told to do and wait for others to take action, well, you aren’t much of a leader. Take a look around and see what needs to be done to either help you reach your goals or that’s keeping you from reaching them. For example, if someone on your team is having a problem with their PC, take the initiative and help them get it fixed. If there is a new tool that would greatly speed the development of your project, take the initiative and get it in for testing. Are there classes you and your team could take? Get them signed up.

Don’t be satisfied with the status quo. Learn to think outside the box and to solve problems in new ways.

Tact

Tact. It means a sense of what to do or say in order to maintain good relations with others or to avoid offense. You may be surprised that this is on a Marine Corps leadership list after seeing movies or TV shows about boot camp. You see a lot of insults and screaming and yelling there. But, courtesy and respect plays an important role within the chain of command once a Marine leaves boot camp. Likewise, the courtesy you show to your team and to your management is important as well.

When you assign work, do it in a courteous, direct and personable manner. This helps insure the work will be understood and will be carried out correctly and with enthusiasm. If you give out assignments in a careless or brusque manner it might very well have the opposite effect.

Tact also applies to how your respect your team member’s time, property, and feelings. Wasting their time in useless meetings, not respecting their property, or hurting their feelings, intentionally or unintentionally, will hurt your authority within the team.

The simple management axiom is to praise in public and reprimand in private. This is one of the key ways to be tactful with your team. A public reprimand or even one that is private in name only can seriously damage your credibility within the team and harm morale. If you must reprimand, make sure that you are fair, firm and friendly about it.

With your managers, you should approach them in the manner that you would want to be approached if you were in their position.

Wisdom from Mahabharat

Advice given to the Pandavas during their exile in the service of king Virata. This is so relevant for staff officers in their relationship with commanders.

When the Pandavas thus decided, Dhamuya blessed them and advised them thus : “those who are engaged in service under a king should always be vigilant. They must serve without talking too much. They may give their counsel only when asked, and never obtrude it. They should praise the king on befitting occasions. All things, no matter how small, may be done only after informing the king, who is a veritable fire in human form. Do not go too near him, nor yet appear to avoid him. Even though a person may be trusted by the king and have great authority, still he should always behave as if he would be dismissed immediately. It would be foolishness to place too much confidence in a king. One may not sit in the conveyance, seat or chariot of the king, presuming on his affection. A servant of the king should be ever active and self-restrained. He should not be excessively elated, nor unduly depressed, by being honoured or dishonoured by the king.

He may not reveal the secrets confided to him, nor may he receive anything in the form of gift from the citizens. He should not be jealous of other servants. The king may place fools in positions of authority, leaving aside the wise. Such waywardness should be ignored. One cannot be too careful with the ladies of the court. There should not be the faintest suggestion of indelicacy in one’s conduct towards them.”

Sound Advice For Anyone Joining the Army

In units today, the senior subaltern is a lost instituion. Shortage of officers has resulted in a situation when there is hardly anytime when there are a sizeable number of young officers present. In such a scenario, there is a need to provice some substitute for grooming the new officers joining units.
The following extracts could form a good nucleus for material on the subject.

EXTRACTS FROM "A GOOD MAN IS A GOOD SOLDIER" FROM THE BOOK "FOLLOW ME II" BY MAJOR GENERAL AUBREY S. NEWMAN

There are some thoughts I would give any young man leaving to join the army-

- The first thing to get straight is that you are entering a profession. As in any other profession, good time Charlies and deadbeats travel a bumpy road.

-To go from high school to college is from one young society to another, it's a much greater transition to go from high school or college to the army. Suddenly you are in a man's word, dealing with serious responsibilities to others. Equally vital to understand, you no longer work alone [as in taking academic tests], but not must work in concert with others-which is much harder.

-A good businessman enjoys his work and it's the same way in the army. For poor businessman life is a burden and it's like that in the military profession too.

-Life in uniform is what you make it, just as it is on the outside.

-The armed services rest on a foundation of discipline-which is not the disagreeable thing many civilians visualize, nor is it hard to understand. Discipline is the willing obedience to all orders and, in the absence of orders, to what you think those orders would have been.

-Don’t be too quick to get chummy with new acquaintances; they maybe the wrong chums. If you run with the wrong crowd something happens inside your heart and to your attitude as a man and as a soldier-and that's a real misfortune.

-Reserve your ideas on how to reform the army until such time as you have won increased right by experience, increased rank, knowledge and understanding.

-Many things that seems senseless and useless to recruits have been proved by long experience to be the best way to serve the overall good. Young men new to the service should be slow to decide they know more overnight than all others said have preceded them. First learn to swim with the tide - there will be plenty of time to swim against the tide later.

-To say Sir demeans no man. It's a custom that helps military men at all levels bridge the rank gap-recognizing its existence while talking man to man.

-Similarly, saluting is a distinction reserved for military men-a friendly and professional greeting between soldiers in good standing.

-The more you know about anything, the more interesting it becomes. Don't wait to be force-fed information. Ask questions, study manuals and practice techniques with weapons and equipment. You will soon be an expert in many skills and fields if every day at every opportunity you seek to know.

-Develop the habit not only of being one time, but so regulating your days that you are on time without scrambling.

-Don’t have your feelings stuck out to be bruised, or they will be. When dealing with thousands of people, it's not possible to rub everybody's for the right way all the time when issuing orders. Just do what the man saves-and forget it.

-Observe those who have been in service for years: watch how they meet problems and perform their duties. Emulate things you admire in good soldiers, avoid errors made by bad ones.

-Just as "ignorance of orders is no excuse" in civilian life, it's the same way with military regulations and orders. Study those that affect you personally.

-Don’t drift, aim for advancement.

-The same things that make fine soldiers make successful civilians, including good character and good habits, sense of responsibility, getting along with others, good judgment and the continuing will to strive. Military service has an intangible something to offer any man-but you have to reach for it.

-The army has no quick and easy method to make a man out of a bum. An interesting comment on one case was made by a senior general in a reply to a soldier's father who had written a letter berating the army for not instilling discipline in his son. The general said, tactfully, it was hardly reasonable to expect the army to do in six months what the father had failed to accomplish in 18 years.

-The gripers are unhappy ones and they always distort facts. Look closely and you see they are really kicking themselves, trying to alibi their own failures and weaknesses.

-The measure of a man and a soldier is the ability to take it when the going is rough. To "blow your top" does not make you a tough cookie; it's just lack of self-control. Any dope can lose his temper.

-All successful men need human understanding-the ability to understand people and what makes them do what they do. Military service offers an unparalleled opportunity to cultivate this quantity and to learn to get along with others, as important in civilian life as in the army.