I told this story unplanned and impulsively at code freeze, I may as well tell it here too.
It was deep in the dog days of last summer, our funding situation at its grimmest. I lay awake every night gnawing and fretting over whether we really had product market fit or not.
It was deep in the dog days of last summer, our funding situation at its grimmest. I lay awake every night gnawing and fretting over whether we really had product market fit or not.
We had several critical projects in flight that I hoped would fill in the blanks in our story and add heft to our biggest bets.
But everything seemed to take *forever*. A week felt like a year. I didn't know if these bets would pay off or not. And we were running out of time.
But everything seemed to take *forever*. A week felt like a year. I didn't know if these bets would pay off or not. And we were running out of time.
I wanted to move faster. I could also see the wear on the team's faces, and wanted to lighten the load and make it _fun_.
That's when my brain caught a manager brain virus and snapped into stupid mode.
That's when my brain caught a manager brain virus and snapped into stupid mode.
"WHAT IF," I suggested, a little too brightly, "WE MAKE A GAME OUT OF ALL THESE BUGS? WE CAN COMPETE FOR POINTS. IT WILL BE FUN AND NOT FEEL AT ALL LIKE A TECH DEBT SLOG"
The team response was mild, which would have been a warning had I been listening rather than barreling on.
The team response was mild, which would have been a warning had I been listening rather than barreling on.
It fell to @jeffgraySF at the last possible moment to say it bluntly:
"What if -- hear me out -- what if you just made sure everyone was crystal clear on what they must do, and removed absolutely all blockers to getting it done? Why will adding anything more help?"
"What if -- hear me out -- what if you just made sure everyone was crystal clear on what they must do, and removed absolutely all blockers to getting it done? Why will adding anything more help?"
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He was right. Everyone knew the situation we were in. Everybody was already working their asses off and postponing vacations. They felt more ownership and responsibility than I could ever have asked. And I was going to "motivate" them with a game? Lol, sigh.
🤦♀️
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He was right. Everyone knew the situation we were in. Everybody was already working their asses off and postponing vacations. They felt more ownership and responsibility than I could ever have asked. And I was going to "motivate" them with a game? Lol, sigh.
It's a constant challenge to realize your limits as a manager, and one of the biggest is this: the work takes as long as it takes. You can't pull an all nighter to get it over a hump.
Any change you make imposes a cost. And any changes you make will take time to play out.
Any change you make imposes a cost. And any changes you make will take time to play out.
Motivation doesn't come from you, and it doesn't come from games or novelties. It comes from believing in the mission, knowing how your part is crucial to its success, and having the resources to get it done.
And from caring about the people you work with.
And from caring about the people you work with.
Managers can't create motivation. But they can sure as hell kill it. "First, do no harm."
Fortunately the virus cleared before I could act on plan. Bracing honesty will cure most manager thought viruses. 👍
Fortunately the virus cleared before I could act on plan. Bracing honesty will cure most manager thought viruses. 👍
