Re:Busting the 10x software engineer myth
by jjav on Wednesday September 22, 2021 @04:18PM
(#28621210)
> people take it to mean someone who cobbles together broken apps at a rapid pace and gets credit from management for being a hero
I agree, but as you say, this is more often than not the definition used (unconsciously) by management. Management considers this person the 10x and others consider them the -1x.
And yet.. these developers are also great though, in their niche. It's awesome to have someone on the team who can whip up the demoware in an evening for investors and customers! Even when I'd rather they never commit anything to the product source.
Which is why this discussion of finding who is the 10x is misguided. Turns out people excel at different things. Good management will identify what everyone is best at and have them focused on that. Bad management will shoehorn people into the wrong roles and set them up for failure.
I agree, but as you say, this is more often than not the definition used (unconsciously) by management. Management considers this person the 10x and others consider them the -1x.
And yet.. these developers are also great though, in their niche. It's awesome to have someone on the team who can whip up the demoware in an evening for investors and customers! Even when I'd rather they never commit anything to the product source.
Which is why this discussion of finding who is the 10x is misguided. Turns out people excel at different things. Good management will identify what everyone is best at and have them focused on that. Bad management will shoehorn people into the wrong roles and set them up for failure.