This post is an installment in the STRIPES series. For more background on what STRIPES is, check out the July 15, 2020 post.
Let’s be honest - if this movie were real, John would have been dead 10 minutes in.
Then who would have played opposite Samuel L. Jackson in Die Hard 3?
In the last post we talked about sincerity, and I said that sincerity is a cornerstone value – and I stand behind that. But, if you are interested in being successful – especially in IT - the most powerful tool you have is teamwork.
We all love the stories of the lone hero. One of my favorite Christmas movies (fight me) is Die Hard. It is, of course, the seminal 80s action flick – Bruce Willis portrays John McClane, the reluctant hero who fights off a building full of terrorists to save his wife, throw Hans Gruber off the roof, and share a Twinkie with Sgt. Powell. The romance of the film is that there is exactly one hero and no more. Even the police and FBI are all useless in the situation – only John McClane can save the day.
I used to think that being the lone hero was the highest ideal that one could strive to be. Early in my career, we had several major incidents that took down major operations for my employer. I secretly reveled in these situations, because I often got to be “the guy” in front of the keyboard. I would struggle with the problem and bark orders at colleagues to get it up and running. I got to be the hero all by myself! (Pay no attention to those colleagues I was mentioning.)
Obviously, the fallacy of my self-anointed heroic is that I didn’t do it alone. I was supported by a team to achieve the goal. And that is almost always the case. I cannot think of a single company of any size where the infrastructure is being run by a single person – and in shops that are so small, you are almost always supported by external services or support. So even if you’re the person on the keyboard during any given incident or project – someone else’s work is supporting you.
Teamwork is absolutely essential in every area of your life – from your family, relationships, and friends to hobbies and of course in the office. So how do you be a good teammate? There have been multiple books written on this topic, and I don’t want to go too long on any given post, but I want to focus on three ways that you can be a better teammate tomorrow, nay – right now.
First, be grateful for everyone else on your team. Recognize that you do need others to support you in order to be successful and be grateful for what they do. Even if you’re the principal engineer or the Director of Everything Awesome, your job is easier because someone is taking the front-line support calls from users. It’s easy to bust on the call center or client support team, but you need to resist that temptation at all costs. Everyone on the team that’s doing a job is valuable. If you treat them with respect and act genuinely grateful for their contributions it will be noticed. When you do this, you will not only be enhancing your own reputation within the team, but you will actually cause the team to be better.
Here’s a great way to start this off: make a point every day of dropping a note to someone – be it on your immediate team or within the larger organization to thank them for something they’ve done that you have appreciated. It could be as simple as thanking someone who helped you fish a wire down a rack yesterday or the woman in procurement who helped you negotiate your way out of an unexpectedly massive AWS bill. Regardless, just drop them a note and thank them and let them know that you were able to be more productive / successful / on time with a project because of their contributions.
Second, be humble. There are few professions that I know about who like to argue more than IT engineers. Whether we’re arguing about the best way to design an infrastructure, or how to handle an upcoming maintenance window – I’ve seen a ton of arguments. I think people are drawn to the technology industry because they like to solve problems, and they like that in IT – like most STEM careers – there is a right answer. However, keep in mind that your “right” answer may be appropriate in a lab environment or in a vacuum, but may not be the perfect answer for your company’s current situation you are in. Really listen to other people’s perspectives and opinions – and learn to yield occasionally. You don’t have to win every debate; sometimes you end up winning in the long term by being willing to lose a few.
This guy has the right idea!
I just have no idea where is team is… and I don’t think he does, either.
Being humble isn’t just about easing up on the hardcore battle royale in a design review. It’s also about recognizing that ultimately this job isn’t about the technology – it’s about the people who work with the technology. I’ll never forget a time a few years ago when I was asked to judge an awards program for a technology trade show. I was excited to be in the room and talk about the different solutions, only to find out that when I got to the table the room was absolutely filled with the biggest egos and saturated in mean-spirited jabs. I walked away from that experience thinking that in ten thousand years, I’d never willingly work with these people again. Don’t be those people. Don’t let your ego prevent you from being a positive addition to people’s professional lives.
I don’t want to belabor the humble part, but let me give you a bit of practical advice on how to put it in motion. If you are arguing a point, stop and think – really think – if this is an opinion or a fact. If it is an opinion, preference, or anything else where there is some personal spin on it – do not present it as an absolute. For instance, if you’re debating about hardware manufacturers, don’t say “Brand X is better.” Instead, say “I think that brand X is a better fit because…” See the difference there? One is dogmatic and inflexible and actually leaves you more vulnerable to disagreements. The other presents your professional opinion and presents you as more of an expert because you’re implicitly open to hearing other viewpoints.
The third way to be a great teammate is to take interest in what others are working on and offer some support to help them achieve their goals. For instance, if a networking colleague is looking to improve authentication for NAC and you have some insight into the SAML configuration that can help, offer it without being asked. If supporting others and offering help isn’t culturally normal in your workplace – I would suggest that you have much larger issues than my simple blog can help you fix. In most places, this kind of behavior is rewarded, and while I’m not necessarily the biggest believer in karma - this kind of thing definitely comes back around for you.
A great way you can show interest in what others are doing is so obvious that we almost always miss it – ask people what they’re working on and if you can do anything to help them. You’d be surprised how often I ask this and people pause and then come back with “actually, could you…” and most of the time what they’re asking for is super simple and takes me almost no effort at all, but saves them hours of searching or hunting for an answer. If you’re the person going around asking how you can help others – you’ll get a reputation for being – gasp – a team player! How awful, right?
Look, at the end of the day teamwork is ultimately how everything gets done whether you want to recognize it or not. Every endeavor worth doing is done by a team. You are not an island, and your success isn’t only dependent on your own abilities. It’s up to you to support others on the team – it’s better for them, and infinitely better for you. If you want to have a stellar career, strive to be the person that elevates those around them and makes the entire team successful.
On to you:
How many people are on your team? How many of them do you actively engage with and go out of your way to support? Who can you actively support today?
Who can you thank for their contributions that have supported you today? Stop reading this and write a thank you note.
Have you ever worked with someone so toxically opinionated that you would do anything to avoid them? How did their career turn out? Were they well-liked?