Ask HN: How do you inculcate a sense of responsibility/ownership in developers?

1 points by enig_matic7 9 years ago | 4 comments

I have historically been fortunate to work alongside some amazing developers who share the same passion, sense of ownership and the same sense of responsibility towards a task as I do.

Lately though, some new senior developers who have joined our team seem least bothered about deadlines, financial risk or reputation risk which results in projects being delayed. There seems to be zero sense of ownership as the team leads like me are usually held responsible for any such delays.

How does one work alongside such people who do not share the same passion as yourself? Any practical advice?

Things I have already tried: 1. Make them aware about how time-critical a particular project is and how much financial damage it will call if delayed 2. Make them aware that if we complete on time, the amount of revenue will be tremendous which can be translated to a good raise during appraisals 3. Make them aware that successful completion raises profile within peers which leads to better collaboration in the future

chrisbennet 9 years ago |

I don't think you can fix a lack of professionalism but I can't tell if that is actually the problem you're experiencing.

Sometimes management says one thing ("This is really important!") but sends the opposite signal with their actions. Companies spend money on what they actually think is important. For example, my wife worked for a famous financial company that would sometimes ask full time employees to work on weekends - but never the contractors (they won't work for free). This sends the message that the deadline really isn't that important.

A friend works for a major defense contractor. They recently stopped paying for the first 5 hours of overtime. Managers still want their deadlines met so they can get their bonuses. Unsurprisingly, "You guys need to work for free so I can get my bonus" isn't a compelling reason for the employees (who don't have the same upside) to work longer hours.

enig_matic7 9 years ago | |

Thanks!

In my case, there is a consistent message sent out to everyone and most people do work hard and eventually get rewarded. Some other people don't care and are OK not to grow and be at the same level for their entire life. I seem to be stuck with such people lately which is what I am trying to deal with.

Cozumel 9 years ago |

What's in it for them?

enig_matic7 9 years ago | |

Tried telling them that many times:

1. Learning about a wide variety of sub-products that few know about 2. Opportunity to influence the roadmap of these products 2. Potential financial reward in the form of a substantial raise 3. [Big picture] Enabling a wide-variety of new customers who will end up becoming revenue streams for the company 4. [3] is a major point to put in one's CV 5. etc.