I’ve been working with many different teams during the years and met many different people being in different stages in their careers. We often speak about juniors and seniors and they all come in different flavors and there are different ways to look upon them. Let’s say one aspect of being a junior means: “you have not yet done many of the mistakes needed to learn what solutions and approaches to avoid”.
OK, so juniors will make technical mistakes. And for me the old cliche: “as long as you learn from your mistakes and don’t repeat them, …” it’s OK, but not in every scenario. I do have a higher threshold when it comes to technical mistakes rather than social mistakes.
Every once and a while, I bump into a junior that is eager to deliver features. Getting a rush out of being fast and getting that pad on the shoulder from business people, who initially values a rapid pace. Most often, that junior also starts to dip his/hers toes into as many lakes as possible, eagerly hunting for more knowledge. Knowledge later used to “shine” in meetings and thereby being seen upon as being skilled, since the person in a quick period “knows” so much. And while coding away with lightning speed, using true master art Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V coding, he or she suddenly hits the wall. BAM! What happened? Well, the reality caught up and most often in my eyes, this is due to the fact of producing solutions that are lacking quality. It could be that someone in the team has raised concerns. It could be that to many items gets re-opened. It could be that something bad happens in production, causing loss of business revenue. The reasons could be many, but here it comes: The wall could EASILY have been avoided. You could at least have gained a less thick or not as hard wall or maybe been offered a helmet if you just had BEHAVED.
Behave. Show manners. Don’t step on peoples toes. Be passionate but not a passionate rock star wannabe. Being high on adrenaline caused by a feeling of being a rock star programmer is the behavior that led you to slamming into the wall. Mind your peers. Adopt. I’m not saying you should sit down and be quite. But be gentle. Strive for long lasting relationships and results or you will find your self switching jobs.
//Daniel