Yes. You read that right. It’s OK to fail. Yes, I am talking to you. You… that guy who is part of every team. The one who seems to feel the need to be right about everything. The one who thinks that everything new has already been done 15 years prior. The one who believes that every project they have participated in has been a profound success, and that a project-level failure (which includes missing deadlines or blowing the budget) is something they have never experienced. Failure is not only OK, it’s something that you must experience somewhere along the way so you know when you’ve succeeded.
It’s safe to admit that you just don’t know! In fact, it’s better if you do admit it. Pretending that you know what you don’t not only makes you the butt of the jokes, but you end up being detrimental to the success of the project.
Stop trying to be a know-all. Let go of the idea that you need to be the one to approve everything. Take a step back and be honest to yourself and the rest of the team. You aren’t a one-man-band. You aren’t the technical guru that you think you are. You aren’t even a specialist in a particular area, let alone a jack-of-all-trades.
When you attempt to do something and you fail, stop trying to make it sound like you haven’t failed. Please stop yourself from trying to turn your wrong into a right. Everyone fails in one way or another during their working life, and as much as you don’t want to admit it, it does include you.
Change your attitude. You’ll be doing yourself a favour.
And while you’re at it, how about you get up to speed with the technology you’re working with. Then you won’t have to pretend, and the likelihood of you failing will start to decrease.
Thanks for listening.
This might seem like an angry rant. I admit it is a little. It’s not directed at one particular person. It’s aimed at a particuar type, or breed, of person. One that seems to appear in every gig that I work on. This kind of individual can be a bad apple in a barrel of good apples who over time causes long-term rot and frustration amongst the team. Velocity can be seriously affected. Productivity can plummet.
Remember, it’s not about you, it’s all about the software.