The Culture-First Approach – Why Culture Beats Technology, Part 1
The Challenge of Dominant Team Culture
Dominance sounds powerful, but it’s one of the biggest root causes of problems. When you set yourself above others because of hierarchy or experience, you hurt the environment and eventually yourself.
Based on last week's talk at PHPUG in Mainz, Germany, I want to start this series. Why? Because it all starts with understanding what not to do first.
🚀 This multi-part series is about the Culture-First Approach, my favorite topic. We will go through the following parts.
• 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
Presentation of my take on the Culture-First Approach at PHP User-Group Meetup hosted by Sucurema GmbH1
Here is the actual presentation deck.
What is Dominance – A Personal Anecdote
The first domain I worked in when I was young was the printing and media industry. I literally learned how to print professionally for a while. During this time, my Boss wanted one proof sheet that met the (“his”) quality criteria.
So, I needed to adjust everything, let the machine run several times to reach a point where I was confident with the result, and present this sheet to my Boss. Taking a critical view, he told me exactly what to change; a bit more of color this color and an adjustment here. Well, he is the boss, right?
So, I went back and applied the changes. These are very minor changes, but they are not really fixing anything. I brought the new sheet to review. Same game; a little bit of this and that, and I shall apply it – Thankfully, he provided me some faith by telling me: “You will see these things one day as well.”
Okay, I let the machine run but brought the same sheet. I showed the same sheet again, and voila, he told me: “Look, this is what I mean! Now it’s perfect!“ 😀
This was the moment I knew I didn’t want to be part of this industry forever.
Dominance Is The Opposite of Innovation
The software industry is highly dependent on innovation. How can we make things smarter and faster in decent quality? This is a game of continuous innovation, and one type of person can’t progress much in this case: The dominant one.
The energy a person like this spends on keeping the position of “someone who learned a lot in the past and is very seasoned” is enormous and thus wasted.
We must understand that it’s the wrong reason; experience is not an achievement we can settle on. We have something at our disposal to learn new things, adapt to new challenges, and innovate.
A dominant person aims to keep the environment stable for him or herself. It’s a form of stagnation and very slow improvements aligned to the person. We cannot afford this as a team or company.
Driven by the ego, this person often overestimates their own capabilities and convinces him or herself of being great. In fact, this is a long-term result since human psyches tend to affirm themselves and believe what is in front of them – even when it’s obviously the case.
Most often, "the best in the team/company.” This has similarities to the Dunning-Kruger Effect2.
Less strong people will have problems keeping up.
It will be especially difficult when people cannot find ways to face this dominance. We know that from the “boss” who is in power, but it can also be the colleague, who is a very strong character and not so much about a healthy culture.
The latter concerns me a lot since it’s often why younger-generation developers don’t try out new things. Even experienced devs try to avoid conflict in this case and simply accept the status quo, which is stagnation.
As tech leads, it’s important to be aware of that and ensure you put enough time into nurturing an environment where opinions and open-mindedness can exist alongside positive side effects.
As a colleague, we should make sure that such a silo doesn’t exist. It cannot be good for anyone, and of course, not for the outcome and the goals.
Take-Away
Recognize the Limitations of Dominance: Dominance might seem powerful, but it often stifles growth and innovation. When leaders place themselves above others due to hierarchy or past experiences, it harms the team's dynamics and their own development.
Dominance as a Barrier to Innovation: A dominant attitude can halt progress in industries that thrive on continuous innovation, like software development. Dominant individuals often focus on maintaining the status quo to protect their position, which can lead to stagnation.
Experience Is Not a Final Achievement: Valuing experience too highly can prevent personal and professional growth. Constant learning and adaptation are crucial to staying relevant and innovative.
Cultivating a Culture of Open-Mindedness: Tech leads, and colleagues need to nurture an environment where new ideas are welcomed and not suppressed by dominant personalities. This openness is key to driving innovation.
The Role of Self-Reflection: Encouraging an atmosphere where everyone, including leaders, continuously evaluates and challenges their own ideas can lead to better decisions and more inclusive teamwork.
The Importance of Challenging Dominance: It’s important to confront dominant behaviors that lead to silos within teams. Encouraging dialogue and challenging ideas constructively can help break down these barriers and promote a healthier, more collaborative environment.
Conclusion
🍪 Be opinionated; this is a sign of being passionate and willing to push forward, but don’t make the mistake of being close-minded and overly biased.
As we wrap up today’s conversation about dominant culture, I want to stress how important it is for us, especially those in leadership roles, to remain open to learning and evolving.
I've learned from personal experience that clinging to the idea that we know it all after achieving 'Mastercraft' status stops our growth and can also hold back our entire team. Seeing our opinions as starting points for discussion—hypotheses to be tested—can transform how we work.
This shift has been crucial for me; it’s about staying curious and receptive, always ready to adapt and improve. Let's commit to fostering innovation and growth by challenging ourselves and welcoming new perspectives. This way, we can create a work environment that thrives on collective progress and shared success.
Looking forward to continuing this conversation next week. Until then, let's keep pushing boundaries and stay open to the endless possibilities for learning and improvement.
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
https://www.sucurema.com/en
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning-Kruger-Effekt
This article makes sense and true in every word. Another thing is people can’t see stagnation because they are indeed happy with status quo. It is so because they have been managed up so well by the dominant people. Such businesses survive for a while and die a slow death, I would assume.
This is the best thing I read today, very enlightening!
It's great seeing you in a meetup setting once more. You're back in the fast driver's seat! Hope your health picks up just as fast.