All-Stars and Jedis

We’ve been thinking about all-stars and jedis a lot lately. Recently we were chatting with a very sharp CEO who was protesting slightly that our recommended model requires finding and retaining all-star level talent. That’s understandably hard. Our response was yes, it’s true, you’re right. You need all-stars to lead your product team and each key product in it. 

The bad — and good — news is that the all-stars you’re looking for are probably not going to stroll in the front door with a certified “all star” nametag and sky-high salary demands. In fact your all-stars may be right under your nose, in or around your organization already, waiting to be discovered. Most we’ve encountered are. In Star Wars before Rey was Rey or Luke was Luke, they were both kicking around dusty planets bullseyeing womprats. Someone had to spot something special in them and hand ‘em a lightsaber.

In every organization we’ve worked with, we have helped identify and cultivate existing talent that was sitting right there inside the org, often in a role that wasn’t completely satisfying for them, nor as impactful as it could be for the organization. These are people who just “get it”, who have the right skills and mindset, and crucially also have a ton of tactical and interpersonal context on the organization.

When we help orgs screen and hire external talent, the profile we’re seeking is sometimes a bit of a surprise to them. That’s because these jedis-in-waiting may not even be highly technical. They’re probably technical enough. They’re probably getting a lot out of their tools, and they’re probably helping others do the same — and not because they were told to, but because they are just wired that way. They’re good at figuring stuff out and they naturally possess the instinct to help others.

But even more importantly — much more importantly — they’re strategically minded, skilled communicators, and they have built trusted, reliable relationships with colleagues around their organizations. These are the superpowers of a great technology leader. It’s not about technical wizardry. A technology leader with great people skills, a strategic mindset, and excellent communication instincts can find and engage great technical talent in appropriate ways. Whereas you rarely get there in reverse.

But jedis are few and far between, you might object. That’s asking a lot of our hiring process. How can we find and hire and retain a team of jedis?

You’re not wrong. You probably can’t do this with a regular hiring process. One option is that we can help you. Another option is that you get crystal clear on the structure you’re trying to build and the strategic rather than technical skillsets that you need leading the charge, and build your screening process around that.

And remember that jedis start out as padawans and there are padawans out there to be found, with the raw materials to become jedis, in the right environment and with the right support. They may not have led a rebellion yet but they used to bullseye those womprats in their T-16 back home, and that’s something you can work with. Before long they may be wielding a lightsaber like they were born with it.

Plus, what’s the alternative? More of the same that has gotten you here? Managing your technology the same old way? Making peace with the broken and the frustrating? More of the same wasted opportunities? Or perhaps at best, more of the same barely-good-enough technology management that doesn’t move any needles? Making peace with the fact that your technology will always hold every part of your rebellion back, now and forever?

Jedis are game changers. You were up against the Empire before and things weren’t looking good. Now you’ve got a handful of jedis on your team and suddenly the odds feel much more encouraging. Suddenly you notice that your squadron leaders are taking out Imperial ships left and right. When did their targeting get so good? And why do your phasers suddenly feel so much stronger? And since when did your ships enter hyperdrive so quickly? And isn’t it great that your pilots are suddenly performing like the superstars you always knew they could be? How did this happen?

Yes, it’s a real commitment to decide to be in the business of recruiting your product team jedis and building an environment where they can flourish. But the Empire is coming, whether you’re ready or not. Who are you bringing to the battle?

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Clear the Haters

If you have one job as an organizational leader to ensure the success of your technology, it's to care about it. If you're allocating time and resources, the things you care about in your organization get focus, resources, oxygen, accountability, and the opportunity to thrive.

But if you have a second priority, it may just be to put capable people on the job, and then to clear the obstructions out of their path.

It's true, we've worked with several organizations where there weren’t people blocking forward progress, and it was great. When everyone is ready to be open-minded about new, more efficient and effective ways of working, ready to bring thoughtfulness and humility to the table in search of better adjustments every day… what a powerful culture can be quickly created.

But sometimes, for whatever combination of reasons both understandable and mysterious, you can encounter people who perceive certain types of progress as a threat and seem to devote themselves to undermining their colleagues who are working towards it.

All manner of efforts should be made to get such people on board and to hear out their concerns. In most cases, people come around when there is enough communication, or when they get some initial exposure to a better way of working and start to feel the benefits. Or when they realize the threat they initially perceived isn't coming to pass.

But sometimes such people don't come around. And here's the thing. As a leader of the organization it's not enough to simply chalk it up to a "disagreement" or a clash of personalities or styles. You're in your seat for a reason. You're the judge and jury, and the justice system only works if you play your role and give the situation a fair trial. It's up to you to dig in, hear the arguments, and put your finger on the scale in the direction that makes the most sense for the organization.

And when you do that, you'll be in a position to establish a clear mandate heard by all. You'll be able to make clear that it's time for people to get on board. That there is space for everyone who is focused on being part of productive solutions, but there is no place for people to cling to outdated and wasteful models of working that squander precious resources and opportunity. 

You're the leader. You want an organization that can compete in an ever-more demanding landscape. That functions a little bit better every day than it did the day before. Let reason win the day, and clear the path for the people on your team who are fighting for a better tomorrow.

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The Improver Personality

It used to be that some lucky companies would just happen to hire someone who happened to have the gumption to say, “This could be better, folks.” And who would be able to tweak their systems accordingly, or find someone who could. And then to go around and show everyone how to take advantage of the new tweaks.

Usually that person would have a whole other job that would make up 100% of their performance review, and these extracurricular improvements would hardly be commented upon. The company might still ask if they could fix this or that when they got a chance, or fit in a staff training into their schedule. But they would be expected to do that “off the side of their desks.” 

But can you imagine a better investment than someone who is wired to constantly improve the way everything in your organization works?

Sounds great, of course. Who wouldn’t want that person on board.

In fact, we've found these "Improvers" in every organization we've worked with, sometimes put to good use and sometimes not. Sometimes they are even the target of annoyance for people who are more comfortable plugging forward with business as usual.

But don’t overlook the treasure these people represent. Some people are wired to find solutions. You should be on the lookout for people with this “Improver” personality. 

Of course it can be tricky. You need problem solvers who are careful, measured, who listen well and work well with others. Don’t be too quick to toss the keys of your rocketship to some big ego with a lot of confidence. A lack of humility is a big red flag. 

But often, the most effective problem solvers, the careful, thoughtful, humble ones, the good listeners, are already operating within your organization. They look for opportunities for improvement. They help their teammates do their work better.

You should recognize this quickly. These people are force multipliers. Build a smart team of these kinds of people, invest in them and their ability to improve the engines of your organization’s work. You’ll wonder how you ever got by without them. 
 

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You're Hiring for the Wrong Thing

A common mistake organizations make is hiring developers. This is technology, right? That must mean we need developers.

Not really, no.

Developers are very important in technology, but they often represent the most outsourceable skillset. And in fact there are a number of ways that you’re better served by outsourcing development than trying to hire for it. Development requires a significant level of depth on the platform, extensive experience, and ever-evolving knowledge of best practices and lurking gotchas. 

If you’re trying to hire for this set of skills, let alone support, manage, or monitor its level of quality, you’re probably getting yourself in over your head. Now it’s on you to make sure this developer has the time, resources, and motivation to stay on top of the ever changing realms of their particular skillsets. Meanwhile you will likely become beholden to the platforms and preferences of your chosen internal developers, regardless of their objective merit as technology evolves. This approach can lead to some short term victories, but it very commonly leads to long term pain and instability.

In fact advanced technical development is the skillset that external firms are BEST equipped to provide. It’s what they do all day, every day. Engage the right external experts, and give them the right level of partnership, and you’ll be in a much better position.

So what skillsets should you be hiring? 

First and foremost you need Product Managers, who are the strategic synthesizers, informed diplomatic communicators, and skilled shepherds of your high quality technology efforts. You may be able to outsource some pieces of the puzzle, but you can’t outsource the brains of your technology operation, and your product managers are the improver personalities who are ultimately responsible for the sustained greatness of your platforms. When you’re hiring, start here.

And when it comes time to expand your efforts, you would be well served to focus on flooding the zone with training and support. There is rarely a more highly leveraged technology investment than having someone on staff who is an intuitive trainer, has a knack for proactive and gracious user support, and excels at person-to-person communication.  

Is this in line with your organization’s assumptions when it comes to staffing your technology platforms? If not, you’re probably hiring for the wrong thing.

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What You're Getting for an Hourly Rate

We advocate for outsourcing software development and in-sourcing the key strategic skillset of product management along with an in-house emphasis on training and support.

But sometimes we’ll get pushback based on the cost of retaining external developers, especially when the organization is getting significant developer invoices on a regular basis. 

But there are a couple reasons that outsourcing software development makes good sense. 

The first is that the financial argument for hiring internal developers is probably misleading to begin with. Salaries and associated costs like benefits and facilities are often the most significant organizational expenses by a long shot. It’s just that as a department leader you might not come face to face with those personnel costs on a monthly basis. Whereas every time you receive that external developer invoice it can feel like a significant hit from your department’s “elective” budget. 

Sure, paying that invoice might feel expensive. But what are the realistic alternatives to get the work done that your organization needs delivered?

Some organizations might consider hiring a less experienced developer for less than the total cost of outsourcing work to an experienced one. But if you think your needs aren’t that complicated and any junior leaguer should be able to do a sufficient job without consequence, you may be underestimating the difficulty of the work — or the costs and implications of messing it up.

And even if you could hire an experienced developer, that may sound like a better idea than it usually turns out to be. Is your organization qualified to judge your developer’s choice of platforms or languages? To do code review in order to ensure long term quality and viability? To know how to manage or develop that person’s skills as a member of your staff? Or are you just planning to hire someone who seems qualified and hope everything somehow works out?

By contrast, when you retain an external developer or firm, the expectation should be that the work quality is high to begin with, that there is qualified oversight of that work in place, and that the knowledge and skills of their personnel are keeping up with the cutting edge in their complex realms. A good external developer is keeping on top of the very latest developments in their technology, always honing their skills, and in the case of a firm, is providing both technical and project management oversight to deliver what your organization needs at a high level of quality, reliability, and robustness. In the right external developer relationship you should be getting high quality, well-honed, ever-improving expertise along with ongoing quality control and quality assurance.

That’s not to say that every external developer is going to deliver at the level of quality you need. Finding and maintaining the right external partner relationships is an entire art unto itself (a post detailing this is coming). But finding one is a necessary part of the equation, and unlocks a far better path towards the quality of technology you need compared to attempting to build that capability in house.

So yes, that external firm’s hourly rates might appear high. But if you’re losing heart every time you receive an invoice from a skilled external expert who is helping you deliver at a level of excellence on your organization’s specific needs and dreams, you may be missing the point entirely. Expertise takes time, direction, and focus to achieve. This is the game you’re in. Can you afford to play it clumsily?

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