This year, some people from my team recommended my company to their friends because of how much they love working here.
For me, this is the biggest sign people like our work culture. If that’s not common among your teams, change it.
When the work culture is good, you:
- Attract better talent
- Retain those people
- And improve productivity
Not everyone will agree with your culture, but this is also fine. Values will be clear, meaning anyone who doesn’t align with them will leave or be asked to.
And all of this is well within your power as an engineering manager (EM)!
As an introvert, changing a culture created by someone else might seem daunting, but you are in a very unique position to succeed. That starts with understanding what it is currently.
Defining and determining your culture
A culture is nothing more than shared values, beliefs, and behaviors defining what is “normal” at work. If other managers prefer async communication, for example, then this is probably the norm in your company. On the other hand, if your CEO is more explosive, yelling might be normal.
But when you become an EM, you get more than autonomy – you get power. Your team is your little kingdom, and you decide what culture you want to see there. However, you also have the power to affect other managers and their kingdoms, which will affect the overall company culture.
As an introvert, your ability to listen, observe, and understand what’s really happening around you gives you an advantage here. Others might overlook little details like:
- How people talk to each other
- How they behave when they think you’re not watching
- And how they feel about their work
But not by you.
However, because of how subjective the concept of work culture is, it’s helpful to have some guidance on how to interpret those little details you see and on what to look for in the first place.
Cameron and Quinn’s culture assessment
You can read more about Cameron and Quinn’s approach later, but this assessment will help you clarify what culture you currently have and compare it with how you’d like it to be.
To do this exercise, rate every aspect of your organization’s or team’s culture by choosing between 1 and 6. Once you’re done, do it again, but think about your ideal culture.
By comparing the two, you’ll know exactly what to change and where to start. Transforming something abstract, like the concept of culture, into data will take the guesswork out of the process.
Changing your culture
Convincing other managers to try new approaches is easier with data and success stories. That’s why I believe changing your team’s culture first is better than going straight to other leaders and telling them how they should rule their kingdom.
To do that, you don’t need to sit people in conference rooms and train them for hours on new procedures.
Instead, follow a different strategy – don’t tolerate everything. How you behave and let others behave around you dictates the culture and what’s acceptable. This is valid with other managers and even CEOs.
For example:
- Draw different boundaries: If bursting into people’s offices bothers you, ask other managers to knock and respect your privacy.
- Set and enforce different standards: Maybe being punctual wasn’t important before, and you want to change that. Besides showing up on time yourself and having your team do the same, hold other managers accountable, and involve superiors if needed.
- Ask people to do things differently: If the norm was to ask directors for permission before making decisions and you believe in more proactivity, ask them for more autonomy for your team.
- React to things in your own way: If yelling and getting emotional was normal when someone made a mistake, instead of yelling back, postpone meetings and figure out a solution later when everyone calms down.
You can’t fully ignore company procedures and values but you can and should create a healthy work environment where everyone feels good and is productive. Remember, you’re not doing this selfishly – you’re doing this to bring added value to the company’s culture and results. Those who argue with you will look foolish, but the change has to start with you.
Improving remote work cultures
Many companies are now asking people to return to the office. I believe wholeheartedly in remote work. I also believe remote settings bring to light problems in-office cultures already had, and no one knew or talked about.
The tendency to micromanage or the lack of clarity and goals are some examples of problems online teams make more visible. And I believe the secrets to creating good work cultures and avoiding these problems in any company, remote or not, are:
- Leading by example: You can’t expect people to adhere to guidelines you ignore or work hard when you don’t.
- Getting enough information so you can manage your team: If your team needs another’s data to write code correctly and on time, for example, follow up with the other managers. Know what to expect and when so you can prepare your team’s schedules and goals.
- Letting go of absolute control: This is where it gets tricky for most managers. Some of them can’t live with the idea that people work according to their own rhythm. Don’t fall into this trap.
Balancing letting go with influencing others
Obsessing over every little detail of another manager’s work and team is problematic for many reasons:
- You’re overstepping boundaries
- You’ll lose focus on your own work and team
- The effort will burn you out
- You’ll damage your relationship with them
- And possibly even burn them out, too
Control isn’t the answer – influence is. So, make sure you’re:
- Asking them about their problems
- Trying to help them
- Following up on some important task related to your team’s work
- Holding them accountable when needed
- And, most importantly, following the same rules you’re asking everyone else to
In other words, create an environment where everyone has the chance to shine and feels supported, not commanded or controlled. And, at some point, know that you’ve done what you can to create a better work culture – the rest is up to everyone else.
Overcoming the fear of interfering
As introverts, we often don’t interfere because we don’t want to be a nuisance. It’s easy to stay in our corner to avoid conflicts or bad blood.
However, as an EM, you will have to do this many times.
With time and practice, it will be easier, but there are some adjustments you can make to transform interactions into more natural conversations:
- Setting up frequent one-on-one meetings with other managers: Creating a safe space to understand their strengths and challenges makes working with them easier.
- Documenting everything: Use your organizational skills to create clear processes for tasks dependent on other teams’ work with clear goals to minimize misunderstandings.
- Monitoring their progress: Use your meetings to check progress on tasks that influence your work. Use your previously agreed milestones to hold them accountable.
- Asking for feedback: Actively look for ways to improve as a leader. Other managers have valuable points of view, and they will be more receptive to any constructive feedback you give them in the future.
- Celebrating their wins as if they were your own: It’s rare to find someone who can be as happy for our wins as theirs. Be that person. You’ll create a positive environment and show them that every time you interfere, it’s because you genuinely care about them and their success.
And, above all, have patience with yourself and fall in love with the process of becoming a better manager, collaborator, and communicator. The better you are, the better culture you will create.
The short version: good culture is a byproduct of good management
Before being able to change or influence your team’s culture, you need to know where you stand. There is a questionnaire from Cameron and Quinn that you can use to do so.
After that, acknowledge what you can do differently. Improving culture is nothing more than this. For instance, if your previous supervisor shouted, and you didn’t, you are changing the culture. So, what behaviors do you want to change?
If your teams are remote, keep in mind that creating a good culture is not impossible. It has its challenges, but remote work is worth doing, and its culture is just as important as the one in office.
The steps you can take in either case are the following:
- Setting boundaries: figure out what works for everyone, build them, and stay consistent
- Enforcing standards: take the same steps as you would for boundaries
- Asking people to change: if people don’t know what’s on your mind, they can’t take action
- Leading by example: follow everything you ask others to do, or they won’t
- Letting go of control: there’s only so much you can do, and your goal is to influence, not command
- Interfering more: documenting everything, monitoring progress, asking for feedback, and so on
If you never stop trying to improve as a manager, you will create an amazing culture without a doubt. Just give it time and have patience. It’s amazing what you can achieve with a little time and dedication.
Want more tips on leading effective software engineering teams?
Join my newsletter if you’ve found this content useful
Originally published on Medium.com
Content in this blog post by Alex Ponomarev is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
