303
votes
Accepted
How to react when employee is not interested in career development?
I just went through this myself. Not everyone really wants advancement and the more responsibility and pressure that goes with it. It is great for such things to be available, but as long as they ...
- 3,162
282
votes
Accepted
How to lead a group of developers who have much more talent than you
As a developer these are things I hate:
Requesting software/resources taking forever and needing loads of forms etc.
Stupid requirements that are contradictory to other features or tecnically not ...
- 6,771
254
votes
Accepted
Co-Worker quit today, boss is pretending it didn't happen. Is this weird?
There is a certain amount of "getting your ducks in a row" that may be necessary when someone leaves employment very quickly. They may have been fired (despite someone saying X texted Y "I quit", you ...
- 148k
209
votes
How to help an experienced developer transition from junior to senior developer
This guy is a valuable asset as is. There is no need to change.
He does low level work within precise parameters without problems and he's not looking to move out of his comfort zone. There is ...
- 218k
207
votes
How to react when employee is not interested in career development?
Some people work to live.
Others live to work.
If she is happy and doing a good job why worry.
She has different priorities in life.
- 17k
200
votes
Accepted
Should I put my name first or last in the team members list?
Alphabetical order
If you and the other members are on the same level (not able to make distinctions between "Team Leader", "Junior Dev", etc)
Everyone will understand that the list is presented in ...
- 1,006
175
votes
Accepted
I'm a leader/manager. One of my team members told me they received a better job opportunity. Should I disclose this information with my boss?
As a leader, this information needs to be held in confidence. While one of your responsibilities is to protect the company, sharing this information actually doesn't do that. It sets up a condition ...
- 22.8k
163
votes
What can I do if I am asked to learn different programming languages very frequently?
From one of your comments:
i want to work what i like to work and not what they want me to work
You need to go and start your own company then. If you're working for somebody else, you're at work ...
- 106k
161
votes
Accepted
How do I give feedback when I know more about the topic than the presenter?
As a speaker, I never want to be nitpicked or corrected. I can sometimes handle it when it's important and relevant for this audience. Usually, it isn't. Usually, I've decided to simplify things ...
- 148k
130
votes
Accepted
I'm the Tech Lead, my boss is the PM. In case of disagreement, how much should I push my point of view?
We all encounter this kind of conflict.
The only thing you can do is DOCUMENT EVERYTHING
There's nothing wrong with the boss being the boss until he tries to push his mistakes off on others. The ...
- 159k
125
votes
How should a leader behave when they miss deadlines themselves?
Admit your mistakes quickly
Explain what you did wrong
Explain what you will do to fix them
Explain how you will make sure this will not happen again
Don't make the same mistake again.
- 159k
125
votes
Accepted
Am I overreacting to a new rule where I have to check-in my status every morning?
While this is a counterproductive step as framed, it’s more effective to lean into it than fight it. You admit to a litany of errors in the first sprint, so responsible management has to look more ...
- 35.5k
108
votes
Should I tell an employee she's sabotaging herself, two weeks before I leave my job?
If your goal is to help her develop professionally you should already be bringing this up with her.
It sounds like you haven't. It is incredibly likely she will feel betrayed and view your inability ...
- 111k
104
votes
Accepted
Boss wants someone else to lead a project based on the idea I presented to him
There are a bunch of moving parts to this question, so I'm going to respond with a quote, attributed to Howard Aiken: "Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll ...
- 760
102
votes
Accepted
What can I do if I am asked to learn different programming languages very frequently?
First off, I want to say that there would be many people envious of your position.
You mentioned you are a graduate, this situation can be typical of graduate programs.
Sometimes placement within a ...
- 59.4k
99
votes
Accepted
An employee has low self-confidence, and is performing poorly. How can I help?
It sounds to me like you're coddling an underperforming employee. Anxiety and lack of self esteem are not reasons to allow an employee be unproductive and picky with their tasks. You aren't equipped ...
- 2,477
89
votes
Senior employee of my team understood my email as an order and didn't like it
I can partially agree with most of the given answers. I do find the message unclear, but I don't think that that's the main issue here. Even if you had been clear on the tasks, it's the phrasing that ...
- 17.2k
78
votes
How should Directors deal with an overbearing branch Manager?
I suspect you're not going to like this answer.
This is a problem you, the directors, have created. To me, there are very few red flags in a company bigger than this:
His high standard for his staff ...
- 106k
77
votes
Accepted
Why do interviewers ask leadership questions even for "follower" positions?
Why do interviewers ask leadership questions even for “follower” positions?
Because they suck at interviewing. You can dress it up as much as you want but the specific instances you describe are ...
- 59.3k
75
votes
Am I overreacting to a new rule where I have to check-in my status every morning?
Agree with the answer suggesting you turn this obnoxious requirement to your own advantage. They want to be told what your blockers are? Tell them your blockers.
"We're falling behind the ...
- 1,080
74
votes
Accepted
Is it normal for startup team leads not to protect their team members?
This is not a "startups do this vs. big companies do that". Your situation is simply due to any organisation having a mix of good & bad people & processes. True, a larger more ...
- 2,537
72
votes
What can I do if I am asked to learn different programming languages very frequently?
In addition to the other good answers already here, I also think it may be useful to note that your attitude toward languages shows inexperience as a programmer.
The core tools and structures of ...
- 1,045
64
votes
Senior employee of my team understood my email as an order and didn't like it
Look at this from his point of view. He's a new member of a team. A few days before a project that he didn't work on is scheduled to be delivered, you send a message that this project's readiness is ...
- 5,286
62
votes
How to lead a group of developers who have much more talent than you
You do not have to be the best developer on the team to be the lead. It is important that you are technically competent to maintain respect, as you are in a hybrid role. Never lose sight that you ...
- 84.8k
58
votes
What if I'm a better developer than my Team Leader?
A common mistake in engineering is that "the team lead has to be the best and if they're not I can haz they're burger".
Sadly, the term is "team lead", not "best developer".
Think of it like this - ...
- 16.4k
55
votes
Asked to be lead of my slightly disgruntled team
I am exactly in the same position as you, and my boss has asked me to become lead of my team precisely because I am new and don't have standing issues with anybody, I will probably be in a better ...
- 1,877
53
votes
Accepted
How to deal with a difficult junior programmer?
You are the technical lead. You have a subordinate that is not only stuck on a problem for a long time without delivering, but actively refuses to accept help.
You need a one-to-one where you ...
- 168k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible