018. You Are the Culture
How technical leaders shape software team dynamics.
Software development teams are made up of individuals with unique personalities, skill sets, and work habits. As a technical leader, you have a unique opportunity to shape the culture of your team. This is both a great privilege and responsibility; your ability to cultivate a cohesive team culture will determine your team's success.
A team's culture is a direct reflection of its leader's contentiousness, leadership style, and values. In this article, we'll explore the concept of unit cohesion and how it applies to software teams.
Unit Cohesion in Software Teams
Unit cohesion is the degree to which a team functions as a single unit, rather than a collection of individuals. This is a quality that is supported by values such as collaboration, communication, and taking ownership of your work.
In software development, unit cohesion is critical. Teams that are cohesive work together more effectively, communicate more clearly, and are more productive.
By focusing on your team's culture, you can improve unit cohesion and maximize your team’s capabilities.
Culture is Reinforced
Culture is not something that organically occurs within a team. It's brought about through your encouragement and direction. As a technical leader, you have a pivotal role in shaping your team's culture. You can do this by setting expectations, providing feedback, and modeling the behavior yourself.
If you want to create a team culture that values collaboration, actively promote that behavior. To institute a culture of open communication, practice being communicative yourself. When you actively reinforce the positive behaviors you want to see, your team members have the opportunity to follow suit.
Some foundational values you may wish to adopt are working collaboratively, communicating openly, and taking ownership of your work. When your team members feel connected to each other and their work, they will be more motivated to work together to achieve success.
Culture is Practical
As a technical leader, it's easy to get caught up in vague value statements. You might say that you want your team to be collaborative or communicative, but what does that actually mean? Practical actions are more effective than vague value statements.
Invest some time in writing down the practical manifestations of the values you wish your team culture to exhibit, then model these behaviors. For example, to model collaboration, always make a point of helping your team members get unstuck before moving on to your own work. Or, to model communication, encourage your team to ask for help when they need it and emphasize that there are no dumb questions. Ask questions yourself to demonstrate. By providing practical examples, you give your team concrete actions they can take to help build a positive team culture.
You Are the Culture
Remember that as a leader, you are the primary driver of your team's culture. Your actions and example setting will have a direct impact on the behavior of your team members. When you lead by example, you create a culture that values the behaviors that lead to success.
By actively shaping and reinforcing positive behaviors, providing practical guidance, and leading by example, you can create a cohesive team that works together effectively and produces high-quality software. Remember that culture is not something that simply happens; it requires intentional effort and direction from leadership. As you work to develop your team's culture, focus on practical actions rather than vague value statements, and lead by example to set the tone for your team's behavior. By doing so, you will be able to improve unit cohesion and create a team that is not only successful in its work, but also enjoyable to be a part of. A positive team culture is not just a nice-to-have, but a critical component of any successful software development team.
Take it to work today:
Make it practical. Write down the values you'd like to see in your team culture and the practical behaviors that support them.
Make it personal. Communicate these behaviors to your team and emphasize your own intentions to model them. Ask your team to hold you accountable.
Be consistent. Model your values at every opportunity and continue to reinforce them as standards for your team.