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I agree, this is my experience as well. At the extreme ends, some people absolutely require synchronous communication / social interaction to be productive, whi

I agree, this is my experience as well. At the extreme ends, some people absolutely require synchronous communication / social interaction to be productive, while others' performance (and sometimes happiness) depends on the absence thereof (often perceived as inefficient or even a waste of time). They are inherently at odds with each other. Personally I fall into the latter category and I do believe it's a better fit for a software engineering role in terms of getting things done, but I've also come to the realiziation that in our world, you'll eventually have to meet the others half-way. Hiring a team that shares the same communication style is often just too difficult (exacerbated by the fact many candidates aren't even self-aware enough to know which preferences they really have, or don't want to admit them).

tarsinge 5y ago
I think we should nuance that a bit. Personally I'm an introvert, and naturally fall into the latter category like you. But at work, especially for management and direction, I find synchronous and social interactions way more efficient, allowing higher level discussions and vision and necessary to really move things between teams company wide. Written asynchronous communication seems more fit for intra team work, i.e. solidifying processes when the direction is clear.
- JJzD 5y ago
  This is a great summary and would also explain the tendency to want to meet in response to a thought out document. The author has wrestled with the topic long enough to write out a specific document. The receiver of the document has not yet spent this time, and needs to understand broad outlines. Besides this, if there is a meeting of equals, they might bring something to the table, the author hasn't thought about, or did but dismissed it for undocumented reasons. Let alone the buy in factor of a shared product vs 'you go build this, off you go' I hate meetings for looking busy, but a 20 minute conversation can bring a week of work to actually implement the decision.

tarsinge 5y ago

I think we should nuance that a bit. Personally I'm an introvert, and naturally fall into the latter category like you. But at work, especially for management and direction, I find synchronous and social interactions way more efficient, allowing higher level discussions and vision and necessary to really move things between teams company wide. Written asynchronous communication seems more fit for intra team work, i.e. solidifying processes when the direction is clear.

JJzD 5y ago
This is a great summary and would also explain the tendency to want to meet in response to a thought out document. The author has wrestled with the topic long enough to write out a specific document. The receiver of the document has not yet spent this time, and needs to understand broad outlines. Besides this, if there is a meeting of equals, they might bring something to the table, the author hasn't thought about, or did but dismissed it for undocumented reasons. Let alone the buy in factor of a shared product vs 'you go build this, off you go' I hate meetings for looking busy, but a 20 minute conversation can bring a week of work to actually implement the decision.