1 + 2 Engineering Team Priorities

Published on Nov 14, 2024, filed under development (feed). (Share this on Mastodon or Bluesky?)

The main priority of every engineering team is to deliver on its mission, that is, to do the assigned work.

I believe there are two more priorities that get less attention, and sometimes none:

One is to help others, meaning other peers and teams.

The other is to improve themselves, that is, for members of the team and the team as a group to invest in themselves.

The Importance of Helping and Improving

The importance of helping others rests on its effect on the organization’s culture. (I submit that engineering culture depends on everyone.) Helping others sends a strong collaborative signal within an organization. It greases the organization. Not doing so does the opposite—it sends a signal that others are on their own.

The importance of improving oneself is often better understood—some link it to better employee efficiency, others link it to setting staff up for success—, but not necessarily well done. Companies may offer internal training and coaching, or provide a budget. But if that training and budget is limited, or not being used, it’s as unhelpful as not offering any at all.

How to Go About the 3 Priorities

Doing our work is the main priority even with three priorities. I (somewhat coincidentally) like to follow the 70/20/10 model here—70% of the team’s work goes into doing the work, 20% into helping others, and 10% into improving oneself or the team.

Is this a strict rule? No, of course not. Our teams, their members, and our environments are fluid, and so the ratios shift all the time. But the point of this brief post is that leading our teams isn’t all about “doing the work”—it’s also about positively shaping the culture of our organizations, and developing everyone individually as well as a group. Without it, we’re failing as citizens of our organizations and as coaches of our teams.

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m a web developer, manager, and author. I’ve been working as a technical lead and engineering manager for companies you’ve never heard of and companies you use every day, I’m an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (I value you being critical, interpreting charitably, and giving feedback.)