Who would you rather have on your project?
Will is an introvert, quiet and methodical. He thinks through each move, coding like keystrokes are set it stone.
Sean is an extrovert, funny and quick to tell you what he thinks. He talks as he types, and lives by the DELETE and UNDO keys.
When my boss worked closely with Sean, he told me, “That guy’s a go-getter! I love it!”
When my boss worked closely with Will, he told me, “You should have fired that guy a long time ago.”
A surprising discovery
I asked my programmers, “Who would you rather have on your project?”
“Sean, because he’s awesome to work with.”
I asked my customers, “Who would you rather have on your project?”
“Will, because he delivers the right thing the first time.”
I was surprised because I thought Sean was the better programmer, hands down. Yet Will was the one customers wanted on their projects.
My experience of managing someone clouded my view of the work they were doing. I needed to re-think how I evaluated my programmers.
Do you need to do the same?
You may also like...
