My Commitment as Team Lead

(🇳🇱 Mijn Commitment als Team Lead)

Yes, I admit it, I’ve always said I would stick to my guns. I would remain faithful to my role as a software architect, because in it I can bring my true power to the table and apply a sense of reality before all.

After 25 years of dedication to this role, I’ve personally seen “the good, the bad & the ugly” in so many different incarnations, have been taught by the best and have experienced how sometimes … things could be improved upon.

Today I’m convinced more than ever that I no longer should apply those 25 years of experience merely to that role. I firmly believe that using it to guide those that stepped in my footsteps as a team lead is the right way forward today. In doing so, I see a new and better way to achieve my goals: the realisation of the dream of my customer

My Pillars

After 25 years, I’ve deliberately taken a few months time to actively and with the help of several people, find and shape my personal management style, and this based on my personal experiences as a software architect in all those different roles. From that soul searching a story emerged, which I not only wholeheartedly endorse, but also promote as a profile text, as a statement of commitment, and implement in a targeted way.

It quickly became clear that two pillars were essential. They define my style: the team comes first and a no-nonsense approach. Each pillar is further constructed based on three primordial properties, whereby one common element forms an overarching connection.

The Team Comes First

Inclusivity

A team works because of its weakest link. This is not a negative fact, but an extremely important cornerstone. Just like the largest and smallest cog in a (mechanical) watch, every team member is important and contributes to the success of the entire team. As a team lead you ensure that every team member feels like an integral part of the team. This is the basis of a positive work culture, where everyone feels safe and valued.

Personal Development

A team works through teamwork and is more than the sum of its individuals. As a team lead, you look for the best in each member of the team, integrate this into the team and actively support & motivate the team member to continue to grow.

Open Communication - Internally

A team works through communication and team communication is primarily about feedback. As a team lead, you do not dictate the agenda, you create it from the feedback of your team and then ensure that it is communicated and realised.

No-Nonsense

Open Communication - Externally

A no-nonsense approach always starts from business needs. There is no software architecture for software architecture. As a team lead, you apply the same open team communication towards the rest of the organization. You are the single point of contact and ensure that needs are heard first and foremost, and offer guarantees that they are addressed.

Goal Orientation

A no-nonsense approach always starts from reality: to measure is to know. As a team lead, you ensure that choices in the software architecture are made based on facts, not hypes or personal opinions. If a choice cannot be supported by demonstrable fact, then it is not a choice but a gamble. A choice is not written in a thick book either. Every business, every organization, every need deserves a personal solution. And that solution is achieved through a process-based approach.

Sense of Reality

A no-nonsense approach acknowledges mistakes, bad luck,… as an integral part. As a team lead, you realize that despite all good intentions, it is always a matter of trial and error. A team learns, a team lead learns.

If you’re now thinking: “Christophe, we’ve heard that all before”: Without a doubt. However, when have you met a team lead who has written his commitment down in black and white and posted it online as an open contract for his team?

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