The software industry works strangely. It “punishes” good coders who understand computers very well by “rewarding them” with managerial positions, asking them to manage a bunch of incompetent coders!

Writing good code is a technical problem. Getting a team to write good code is a people problem.

Often, the new team lead is floundering. He does one or more of the following.

  1. Keeps shouting at people and make the work longer hours.
  2. Continues to do the major / crucial work himself.
  3. Rewards people who work like him.
  4. Rewards people who are able to communicate well with him.
  5. Uses the performance appraisal as a carrot or a stick.
  6. There is one fundamental truism they do not understand

To get the best work from different people you have to interact with each of them differently.

Sameeksha will coach your front line leads to manage their teams better. This will be done by group sessions with the team leads as well as personal coaching to individual leads as they interact with their team.

A quick glimpse of the kind of coaching provided. The following example is taken from a product development organization.

A leader was having a lot of trouble managing his team. After observing the situation for a few meetings the following framework was provided.

Look at developers not performing well, find out why each of them is struggling and solve the problem appropriately.

  1. Assume the developer is not sure what he is supposed to do. ENSURE CLARITY ON WHAT TO DO
  2. Assume the developer lacks required knowledge or skill. PROVIDE GUIDANCE TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL
  3. Assume the developer does not understand how his work connects to the organization goals. ENSURE CLARITY ON THE “WHY” OF HIS TASKS.
  4. Assume he is in the wrong organization for his skills and attitudes. ENSURE HE MOVES OUT OF THE COMPANY

This allowed the leader to gradually transform his team to be extremely responsive and productive.

Sameeksha provides coaching for first time team leads to help them create great teams. If you want to find out more, get in touch.

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