The secret to building a successful team: be a team player, not a manager
Tags: tutorial, career, motivation, management
Published: 2023-03-29 17:01:49


## Projects to suit any developer’s taste 
It is pivotal for an IT company to have a place for a professional with any stack. Someone prefers a quiet life in support, someone loves to create games, and some choose to work with modern technologies and new frameworks and build architecture from scratch. There is room for anyone: projects with a startup spirit and more conservative teams. It all depends on the specific client and product; however, we can always find an atmosphere to one’s liking for a great specialist.

The products themselves are also diverse and can come up to every taste. For instance, one of the new projects is an NFT trading platform with game mechanics, where users can collect NFT cards of football players. The project will be developed from scratch by our guys; we will ultimately build the platform, site architecture, and game from scratch: from design to implementation. For development, we will use modern technologies and stacks.

Another example is a fintech project, a high-load application with challenges both on the front and back end. This is a vigorously evolving product with new features being added. It was also developed from the ground up.

## Communication is the key 
We have pretty loyal management on all projects. We are not building a “manager-subordinate” communication but a “teammate-teammate” communication. Within the teams under my leadership, we interact as friends, have a good laugh, exchange memes, and troll each other. We do not hesitate to express our emotions; we do not build a formal chain of command. Instead, we play a team game where all mistakes and all achievements are shared.

We always try to help each other, and for me, a colleague's problem is automatically mine. I believe that if a junior has an issue in my team, I deal with it first and then proceed to my tasks.

We don't have the bureaucracy that I've seen in other companies. I have done my best to eradicate any manifestations of bureaucracy; we communicate directly. If you want to ask a question, come to me and ask it directly. If you want to chat, call me and let's talk. If you want to write, go on and write me. We exclude bureaucratic and formal ways of communication in work, such as tickets; we use them only in case of storing important information and the process chronology. Communication is the key to efficiency and teamwork.

## Talents are the most important thing for any company
In engineering, the development of team members plays a pivotal role. The software development business directly depends on talent — the development team. In a nutshell, engineering is about talent. Those who believe the system is primarily aimed at the client do not understand how it works. You can hardly make a customer happy without providing a good service or product. And we are not talking about a crowd of managers but those who create these products. I am not trying to diminish the importance of quality management; it plays a rather important role, but not the key one, as it is commonly believed in engineering. Talents are at the heart of this pyramid — professionals and fans of their work. The task is to provide them with all the conditions for work, recreation, and development, and then the team will create a great product.

Upon getting such a result, the client is satisfied, continues to enjoy cooperation with the company, and gives excellent reviews about the service on the market. Businesses get more opportunities to create learning and development conditions and ensure the team's well-being. Therefore, the development of each person plays a crucial role. It is imperative to keep in mind that every team member, from QA to an architect, is a piece of the puzzle in the entire company's success.

## A good manager is a playing coach, not an overseer
Everyone feels secure when a manager loves and appreciates the team, and tries to always help and protect them from harmful external factors. I consider it vital to allow teammates to rest fully, especially after some stressful periods, so I encourage hard work with extra days off.

However, on every project, there are moments when you need to work overtime. If a “classic” bureaucratized manager comes to the team and says: “Guys, we need to work until 8 pm today,” then the answer most likely will be: “We have other plans for the evening”. When a “classic” manager offers to work longer, the answer is always “classic”.

Suppose we are talking about a manager who is also a team member, who will always come to the rescue and be on the team's side whatsoever and will not shift all responsibility to "subordinates". In that case, the team will give the appropriate return. I usually say, "Guys, this week will be quite challenging for us; we need to finish this part of the work. Please, if there is an opportunity, let's work together on Saturday. Not that you work while I sleep, but we do it hand-in-hand”.

An important rule: such relationships should not be faked. If you can’t find common ground with the team and take the position of a “playing coach”, — don’t try to pretend. Worse than the "classic" manager is only a fake manager.

## Soft skills are the kings
We focus more on soft skills than hard ones, which might sound weird for some. Talent is not only about technical knowledge.

Hard skills are quite easy to hone; it just takes time. So sometimes, if a candidate doesn't pass the technical interview flawlessly, I don't focus solely on mistakes or inaccuracies because an applicant can simply get overwhelmed. The main thing is to have the right mindset, a good technical base, the proper approach, and interact with the team. Minimum bureaucracy, more human touch — this is the principle that I adhere to.