Hey everyone, I’ve noticed a pattern on every development team I’ve ever worked on, and I’ve struggled for quite some time to put words to it. It basically goes like this: On any given team, there emerges a de-facto leader. The team repeatedly tends to pick the path of least resistance, which means the wizard (in software, we call the best developers wizards) takes on the majority of the difficult issues, and as a result continues to grow in confidence and skill. As a result, less senior (or those that are perceived less senior) members don’t have as many opportunities to grow, and so they don’t. They are virtuous and vicious cycles that exist in parallel.
The Wizard Paradox 🧙♂️
The Wizard Paradox 🧙♂️
The Wizard Paradox 🧙♂️
Hey everyone, I’ve noticed a pattern on every development team I’ve ever worked on, and I’ve struggled for quite some time to put words to it. It basically goes like this: On any given team, there emerges a de-facto leader. The team repeatedly tends to pick the path of least resistance, which means the wizard (in software, we call the best developers wizards) takes on the majority of the difficult issues, and as a result continues to grow in confidence and skill. As a result, less senior (or those that are perceived less senior) members don’t have as many opportunities to grow, and so they don’t. They are virtuous and vicious cycles that exist in parallel.