At NEWMEDIA, we pride ourselves on our ability to collaborate and work as a team. It is this mentality that has gotten us to where we are today and will lead us into the future as a successful company.
During Drupalcon, the keynote on the first day talked about having a rock star on the team that can’t play with others and whether it was worth it. In the tech industry, awkward introverts that are antisocial and unable to communicate in the appropriate manner seem to be the stereotype of the typical developer. “The Project Manager is there to communicate for them” is often the mantra that keeps this personality persisting and able to work with such free flow in the community. But the question that arises from this is whether or not this personality is good for the community, team or workflow of a Company.
When a company is in an expansion phase there are many personality types that must persist in order for the company to grow in an appropriate and sustainable manner. The first is the “idea guy,” then there is the “leader”, the “inspiration,” the “boots on the ground guy,” etc. All of these people must come together under the same directive and be able to communicate in an effective manner. Most importantly, everyone must be a team player for the benefit of the Company.
Now, I am a football fan that knows very little about football, besides how to yell when players make stupid plays and the refs make the wrong call. I do know that no one on the field is more important than another player during the game. While it may look like the quarterback is able to make all the plays and throw the ball down the field for the touchdown, he would have never had the pocket to throw the ball if the linesmen didn’t guard and the other wide receivers, tight ends, and fullbacks didn’t do their part to block or distract.
While this metaphor is idealistic at best, a tech firm works as a team and in a post-devops realm the most important aspect of a company is the team work. If the developers and the operations are not working simultaneously and collaboratively, but working in silos, there is no way that the touchdown pass or big project will be completed in a timely manner, on budget, or well.
At NEWMEDIA, we are great at communicating and helping to push the bounds of the community and the sphere in which we work. We are constantly striving to help standardize practices that will allow for easier onboarding, discussions, and workflows. It is with this in mind that we continually try to make sure that people are not islands but land masses, with states, counties and towns surrounding them, helping them to become a stronger mass than before, and helping the flow of knowledge.
Because even if you have a brilliant mind at your company, if he/she can’t communicate his/her ideas well to a team in a effective manner, then there is no way the team will succeed as a whole. Further, by allowing this type of practice you are further damaging the transfer of information and the ability for growth in the company and community because that person is now harboring all the information and dictating while not effectively explaining. And it is safe to say, no one likes a dictator.
