Competition or collaboration
Today I came across the view that new people join a team solely to pursue personal success and compete with others.
Maybe that’s true in some specific case (though there are usually far more than two motivation factors in play) — but does it really matter that much at the very beginning?
New people are an opportunity. They bring a fresh perspective, their own experience, approaches, skills, and tools. That enriches a team, making it more versatile and capable. Talk to each other, share what you know — and you’ll all get stronger.
The first thing I ask newcomers for is honest feedback.
- Do you like the way our processes are set up?
- Are the project structure, documentation, and API easy to use?
- What’s giving you trouble?
- What makes you uncomfortable?
- What specifically is missing, and what would you change?
I’m sure some answers will shock you, but honest feedback lets you see the weak spots and make the product or process better.
Sometimes it feels like everything is perfect and there’s nothing left to improve, or you’re convinced that you understand the whole picture. Then you dig a little deeper and discover that people have simply gotten used to minor inconveniences — a convoluted component import, say, or unclear instructions in the documentation.
I’m genuinely glad when new people arrive. A fresh perspective and outside experience are a stroke of luck. The main thing is to keep communication open, and the new ideas will help every one of you move forward and hit your goals.
The new year is just a couple of days away — how about a retrospective based on these questions?