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Ask HN: Going to lead a struggling dev team in a different culture, now what?
61–70 of 79 posts
Re: Ask HN: Going to lead a struggling dev team in a different culture, now what?
#62"no test, a single staging dev server (no local dev env), no doc, inconsistent function and variable naming" --> none of these things prevent code from shipping, per se. I know it's convenient, as a first time leader, to focus on the technical aspects, but from your description, it seems there's underlying non-technical issues you might want to get familiar with first. On the technical side, I recommend _listening_ a…
Maybe start introduction with your pull requests, not destructive criticism?
Re: Ask HN: Going to lead a struggling dev team in a different culture, now what?
#63Cancel the gig.
You can not fix prior mismanagement with technical means and definitely not by bringing in an outsider who probably also does not speak the local language.
In addition you will be limited in who you can hire locally if this is the first time you are moving to a particular country. You will not have connections that are necessary for identifying and retaining high quality staff, should it be found that there has been some sort of acrimonious interactions between the CEO and his/her local team which has impacted morale, which essentially requires you to replace the entire team in order to fix.
So in your situation, you might be forced to try to fix the local team which is a coin-tosser (50/50 chance of this working out), and entirely not acceptable if an artificial deadline has been established.
Cancel the gig. Save the money you would otherwise have spent, and go on a vacation in the same country if you must.
Now, if you’re mad and still want to proceed, you might do well reading https://www.marshallcavendish.com/marshallcavendish/genref/T...
Re: Ask HN: Going to lead a struggling dev team in a different culture, now what?
#64> What first steps would you take ?
Quitting the job immediately.
Re: Ask HN: Going to lead a struggling dev team in a different culture, now what?
#65As an experienced manager, I shudder at the thought of pulling this off. But... and want to push myself to a first experience software lead. Am I to take this to mean this is your first experience leading a team? If that is the case, you are being set up for failure so that the CEO doesn't have to take the heat. "I brought in a high-dollar contractor, she was supposed to be good, but I guess not." If what you describ…
Couldn't agree more. If the situation is as reads, OP is being set up as a scapegoat. Maybe not maliciously, but it stinks of last ditched efforts to avoid personal failure by the higher ups.
I wouldn't take this job and I absolutely love a challenge.
You don't send a first time manager to save a failing project at the last minute. You'd send an experienced one and use the first timer to fill in gaps on easier projects if needs be.
I really hope you rethink this OP, there's lots of good comments here.
Again, there might be more to the story so insert disclaimers here.
Re: Ask HN: Going to lead a struggling dev team in a different culture, now what?
#66The main thing to realize is that this is primarily a people-based challenge, not a technical challenge. There's actually a good chance that some of the team members know better practices but feel like they don't have time to implement them. I would start by having one-on-one conversations with each member of the team to understand what they think the current problems are, what they think solutions might be, and what…
>>> The main thing to realize is that this is primarily a people-based challenge, not a technical challenge. There's actually a good chance that some of the team members know better practices but feel like they don't have time to implement them.
Not necessarily in this context. The project was outsourced abroad, probably to the lowest bidder. It's possible that contractors were sold as developers but have never developed anything before and don't know any good practice.
Re: Ask HN: Going to lead a struggling dev team in a different culture, now what?
#67If this is a hierarchical culture, I worry that the changes you propose will be seen as a slight to whoever was in charge before you. Consequently, if I were you, I'd go in as a teammate and get something out the door to build camaraderie. Then, have an open meeting where everyone talks about the project, what is working well and what isn't working very well. I'd frame it as if there is nothing wrong, but that you could work together to improve things.
Re: Ask HN: Going to lead a struggling dev team in a different culture, now what?
#68As an experienced manager, I shudder at the thought of pulling this off. But... and want to push myself to a first experience software lead. Am I to take this to mean this is your first experience leading a team? If that is the case, you are being set up for failure so that the CEO doesn't have to take the heat. "I brought in a high-dollar contractor, she was supposed to be good, but I guess not." If what you describ…
Couldn't agree more. If the situation is as reads, OP is being set up as a scapegoat. Maybe not maliciously, but it stinks of last ditched efforts to avoid personal failure by the higher ups. I wouldn't take this job and I absolutely love a challenge. You don't send a first time manager to save a failing project at the last minute. You'd send an experienced one and use the first timer to fill in gaps on easier projec…
Also, remote teams can be a world of difference. Even if you're pure of spirit and think countries are just lines on maps it's really unlikely that they see it that way too.
Re: Ask HN: Going to lead a struggling dev team in a different culture, now what?
#69I would suggest that despite the country or the company or the culture you are working, you have to lead by example that means first you have to work hard to prove to the team that you are capable to lead them, both technical and leadership.
When you lead by example, you set the standard for code, design patterns, documentation, etc. and as you go along build the tools, infrastructure, processes and culture.
Don't expect to change everything overnight, it will take time, be patience and you have to trust people you will be working with.
Re: Ask HN: Going to lead a struggling dev team in a different culture, now what?
#70Meta: these posts are a LOT more interesting if the person asking the question bothers to stick around to clarify, discuss the answers they’re getting, say thanks, etc.