Ask HN: Critique my company • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Critique my company

#71

Post by bbcbasic » Sat, May 06, 2017, 4:19 AM UTC

tomcam wrote: post #53

cookiecaper wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, one of the most important things to learn is that people do not mean what they say. Frequently, they don't realize they don't mean what they say. It takes a lot of work and a good grounding in psychology to start to get some useful introspection on even our own motives, let alone the motives of others. It's easy to say "Yes, I want harsh criticism!" Indulge this a few times and see what happens. I have been for…

That is a bleak answer. Upvoted because despite what the idealist in me says, I believe it to be largely true.

I think the remedy for a company is to slowly change the culture from command and control to directed collaboration. Why do I need a team lead to apportion work if I am a senior developer? Probably I don't. Maybe the team can burn through work and collaborate on decisions.

Then criticism becomes normal and non offensive and can be used constructively to make the team better because you are convincing peers not overlords.

Re: Ask HN: Critique my company

#72

Post by zhte415 » Sat, May 06, 2017, 9:58 AM UTC

Use an external agency to give truly anonymous 360 degree feedback for everyone in the organisation.

This can get you get to the roots of problems. Take their advice on administering.

From what you stated, it sounds like the company is in a hierarchy power structure where others don't want to stick their head out too much.

At only 20 people, to have this problem sounds like a problem. Getting an external consultant to do some investigation seems to make sense.

Re: Ask HN: Critique my company

#73

Post by cookiecaper » Sat, May 06, 2017, 9:15 PM UTC

bbcbasic wrote: post #71

tomcam wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a bleak answer. Upvoted because despite what the idealist in me says, I believe it to be largely true.

I think the remedy for a company is to slowly change the culture from command and control to directed collaboration. Why do I need a team lead to apportion work if I am a senior developer? Probably I don't. Maybe the team can burn through work and collaborate on decisions. Then criticism becomes normal and non offensive and can be used constructively to make the team better because you are convincing peers not overlo…

You're right that the problem has to be solved through subtle manipulations in the environment. That's why terms like "directed collaboration" have become "corpo-speak".

Many of us have had "open-door" bosses and we've found out that they're actually not unlike "shut-door" bosses or bosses who haven't stated a door-type. The difference is that open-door bosses are professional managers who know that framing the environment in approachable terms makes their job easier (or are at least hypnotically copying the actions of those who know this), even if "open door" doesn't actually mean "open door".

Being "open door" doesn't change the overall situation though, it just makes it easier in the unlikely event that someone will want to come talk to you. Bosses still need to analyze their employees carefully and attempt to coax them into revealing their true feelings.

Consider that even in the most intimate relationships, like marriage, people frequently hide their true feelings for years. If they can live like that in their marriages, they can live like that in their jobs, too. Don't let problems fester.

If you wait until the time that your employees are coming to you under "open door" pretenses, the problem is usually pretty bad; you've waited too long to discover and fix it.

Corpo-speak has become detested precisely because normal people see the hypocrisy and condescension in them, but in the real world, this doesn't seem to matter much. I guess people prefer to hear the version that they don't really believe because it leaves open the possibility that you'll choose to honor it in their case.

Re: Ask HN: Critique my company

#74

Post by mixmastamyk » Tue, May 09, 2017, 4:45 PM UTC

mixmastamyk wrote: post #23

I've worked at a few places where the products were mature and sophisticated enough that it too me six months to get a handle on them and start to become truly productive on implementing improvements. Before that time I felt like a deer in the headlights. Sounds like what is happening here.

took me