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Don’t Assume Bad Intentions When There May Be Another Explanation There's a saying: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” The possibility of a reasonable explanation for someone’s bad behavior doesn’t mean you have to accept that behavior, but it does suggest that it’s sometimes better to consider the possibility that something else is going on. |
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Who’s the Boss? Let Agile Teams Manage Themselves This idea of a team in charge of itself is difficult for many people to accept. Traditional practices condition us to wait for someone to tell us what to do, and managers are accustomed to controlling everyone’s work and knowing everyone’s status. But agile teams can manage themselves—in fact, it's essential to agile. |
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The Difference between Managers and Leaders You often hear managers referred to as leaders, but the two terms are not synonymous. Managers can be leaders, but not always, and there are people who don’t have formal management positions who are leaders. Understanding the difference can help people in both roles—and their team members—be more effective. |
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Do Software Teams Need Managers with Technical Expertise? Soft skills matter in how effective a manager is, but what about technical skills? If you're a software engineer, how important is it to you for your manager to have the same background and to fully understand your job? Ideally they would, but in some cases, that role can be better filled by a technical lead. |
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What’s in the Spring 2017 Issue of Better Software Magazine This is the second issue of Better Software magazine for 2017, and it has the largest page count of the last few years. With close to one hundred thousand subscribers worldwide, Better Software is fulfilling a real need in the software development community. As always, this issue has some thought-provoking articles. |
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Managing Resistance to Organizational Change Change can be difficult, and some people's reaction is to shut it all down. If they think their concerns aren’t being heard, they get defensive, and your project is on a trajectory for disaster. Don't fire off an email while tempers are running high. Managing expectations thoughtfully is essential to project success. |
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An Agile Mindset: Learning Early, Not Failing Fast Agile encourages teams to continuously improve through learning. One of the phrases associated with this process is "failing fast"—trying new things and taking lessons from mistakes as you go. But Johanna Rothman thinks "learning early" is a better phrase. That change in terminology can give you a happier mindset. |
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Don’t Abolish Hierarchies—Change Them Hierarchies often get a bad rap, and that’s understandable. Bad hierarchies can increase bureaucracy and get in the way of getting work done. But when done correctly, good hierarchies can streamline processes and provide organizations with some much-needed structure. You just need to rethink how hierarchies can work. |
