Software development is a strange world of science, technology, commerce, and deadlines. Presently, the people who keep these robust systems working represent less than one-hundredth of one percent of the total world’s population. It means we have more work than people who can do it. The Wall Street Journal notes that it is creating weird situations in the job market and business community. Leadership must change to meet this new reality. I knew over ten years ago that the current path would not be sustainable and joined the agile reformation. It was a strange decision, but it makes sense because changing the world requires traveling differently.
The online comic “The Oatmeal” has a fantastic cartoon about high school and popularity. We sort young people into so many categories. Elite academic and athletic starts float above the student body. What remains are masses of students attempting to get by and find a niche in life. Among their ranks are the hard rock kids trying to escape with music and drugs and striving theater kinds and band members using performance as a path forward in their lives. Finally, there are meek and unknown people looking to find anything which might provide purpose and direction to their lives.
The upper crust of sports and academics occupy leadership roles in many schools. Teachers and administrators find these individuals and provide them a path to college. I was lucky and singled out in this fashion, but not fitting in gave me a different perspective and approach to leadership. High school became a fertile soil to grow a personality.
I would spend college learning to run a newsroom, work at a radio station, and interact with very different people. The time I spent preparing for a career showed me how to retrain myself when economic and personal conditions change. Funnily, my exposure to liberal arts and media made me more adaptive to the peaks and valleys of a modern economy.
Businesses need strange, creative, and resilient people to lead change. More than ever, to solve complicated problems, we need individuals who see things differently. These personalities look at issues and try outrageous approaches to solving these problems: more freaks and geeks calling the shots and fewer prom queens and homecoming kings.
I am very proud that the agile movement has these eccentric characters. People who are attempting to improve diversity among the ranks of developers. Project people who understand that nine women cannot create a baby in one month and leaders that get their hands dirty with the teams doing the work instead of giving orders with no grounding in reality. Each day, they are attempting to rebuild trust in the business world. It is a struggle, sacrifice, and frustration. Nothing worth doing is easy.
It is why you need to look for those people who don’t fit in and give them some room to make a difference. Instead of promoting a rising star, make them a scrum master and work across the organization building teams and clearing impediments. When you promote these individuals, they will be better equipped to lead others because, as scrum masters, they must lead without any authority. Teaching people to lead without authority is going to be an essential skill in business. Many problems today require collaboration and systems thinking instead of power and hierarchy. It is why traditional paths of leadership and looking increasingly obsolete.
As a business person, success depends on looking at problems from a different perspective. Organizations decouple leadership from authority. Finally, collaboration is essential to solve business problems. To find people who excel in these areas, you should direct your attention to the fertile soil of the agile movement and the colorful characters who make it unique.
Until next time.
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