Culture-First: Why Soft Skills Are Most Important
Why we should look beyond our tech skills 🚀
We all know that developers are often very focused on our skills. Those make us unique and capable of solving all these complex tech riddles and creating usable software. Others even treat us as magicians sometimes! 😀
But too often, tech skills aren’t enough. I would even say that I was part of all the cases. The matter of developing and maintaining software is more complex than just what happens in your IDE, editor, or wherever you do your magic.
Bad outcomes are often a sign of bad communication, a bad or no methodology followed, and foremost, the fact that devs worked in isolation on “their” problems.
In reality, those problems are a matter of the product, company, and team. Problems, challenges, and features are part of the higher mission, higher than a single individual is in that process.
So, we cannot be the heroes running the show because of great tech skills; we run the show because of the skills we have developed outside of the IDE.
• Part 1: The Challenge of the Dominant Team Culture
• Part 2: The Three Pillars of Developer Maturity
• Part 3: Human-First: Why Culture Trumps Technology
• Part 4: The Mentorship Model: Leadership and Loyalty
• Part 5: Bridging the Gap Between Business and Development
🚀 This multi-part series is about the Culture-First Approach, my favorite topic. We will go through the following parts.
Mindset is often already a game-stopper, and it’s based on soft skills and attitude.
When I talk to developers in conversations about how to become better in what they do or how to step up the game and become a senior, there is a big topic every time:
❌ The Resistance is an intrinsic force everyone knows somehow. The same force keeps us in silos and separates and prevents us from working in a team.
I don’t want to see others know about my short-comings
I don’t want my colleagues to see my code
I am afraid of deploying; I don’t want to take the responsibility
I don’t want to become blamed after pushing the PR.
These are just a few of the possible thoughts we have caused by our inner Resistance.
Having the right mindset is the key to overcoming Resistance. Mindset is one of the pillars of a good culture and is based on the self-confidence we get from the mix of soft and hard skills, paired with discipline and the will (Motivation) to improve.
Discipline and motivation can be hard to build up and keep, especially since discipline is a finite resource.
The power of the group; You are not alone.
So, to maintain a sufficient mindset, you need to keep up the following things:
Soft-Skills
Tech-Skills
Discipline
Motivation / Will
The last two are very influenced by the culture and the environment around you.
🍀 Do you have an inspiring tech lead? Are you surrounded by motivated peers who infuse each other?
❌ Or are you in an environment where every developer is for oneself? Isolated, hidden and silent? Only talked when I got asked. That is bad, this cannot lead to anything good long term.
Problems aren’t tackled, finger-pointing is a default symptom, and no one exactly knows what is going on.
Additional material based on my presentation about Culture-First
Seeking guidance? Whether it's a collaborative journey for your team or a personalized 1-on-1 mentoring experience, I'm here to help. Reach out, and let's find the perfect fit for you.
Have a great week!
Adrian Stanek, snackableCTO