Every developer is different and this is what I’d like to discuss today. When you start properly working in a team environment, you start to notice traits in other developers that may come across as weaknesses in the team. This is something that you don’t want to ignore.
Be forward thinking as a member of your team. If you feel that there may be an issue with members of the development team, whether it be coding or personal, speak up to your lead, and if you are the lead hearing these members speaking up or you’re even seeing it yourself, review and action it.
If you believe it’s an issue that doesn’t require your lead, try and resolve it directly with the team member, especially if it’s a coding issue. They may be struggling with a new area that they haven’t working with yet and are afraid to speak up. This is a common thing in developers, especially ones that are new to a project, team or business. I believe that as a developer who’s got a better understanding of a project, you have an opportunity to show strength as a member of the team by helping others.
You can help by trying to build up their confidence by showing them how they can improve the areas they are struggling with by not just telling them but simply sitting down with them for a while and go through it to help them understand. It’s very likely that what you end up teaching them will help them when it comes to doing something similar again in the future. We all make mistakes as developers and it’s easy to sit and point blame but the fact of the matter is, you have the ability to help. And yes, I know you may be thinking that it’s very repetitive and there may be times that you wish you didn’t have to do it but you’re making a different to not just that individual but the team as a whole. At the end of the day, when something is wrong with a project, there’s something wrong with the team, not an individual.
To those of you who are struggling, don’t give up and remember to learn from your mistakes. Learn from what your fellow team members are helping you with and apply it in the future. You’ll probably be working around developers who have a strong understanding of the areas you are working with but remember that they too were once in your position and had to learn it. If you’re worried about disturbing a member of your team, don’t be. If you’re really struggling, look for tutorials or sessions online that may help you learn or even ask another team member for good resources to enhance your skills. Just keep at it because you’ll come out being much more confident in yourself and your code.
Most of all though,
Keep coding!
