12 ms·

social skills = competence If you haven't got 'em, I don't care how competent you are. One bad apple can poison an entire team. Developing software is a team s

by bhickey 15y ago

social skills = competence If you haven't got 'em, I don't care how competent you are. One bad apple can poison an entire team. Developing software is a team sport.

nmcfarl 15y ago
Interestingly I've found this not to be the case, many very good teams of coders (in my experience) have at least one socially awkward person, and still perform very well. (Sometimes it feels like the manager is little more then "socialable" face of the team.) On the other hand, I find that attitude matters a lot, and one even mildly disgruntled / unmotivated person can really sink a team.
- bhickey 15y ago
  Oh, I agree -- I had taken social skills to mean "plays well with others." Awkward is just fine. Someone who is mean or lazy is another story.
  - afterburner 15y ago
    That's not social skills, that's attitude/decency and work ethic.
jebblue 15y ago
Asking coders to increase social skills is asking them to dilute who they are. Like many actors and singers, they lose who they are because they become mixed up with everyone else. Some don't, I don't imagine seeing Johnny Depp schmoozing in a totally social scene, maybe with a few carefully chosen people he trusts and in a quiet location.
- MartinCron 15y ago
  Not all programming positions require the same amount of social skills. Some jobs are just fine for the "antisocial software genius" type. Just don't make me work with those guys.
thebrokencube 15y ago
My problem with this is that a lot of programmers/hackers/etc. are pretty good at interacting with each other, but maybe not quite as proficient at interacting with the rest of the populace. Like for example when you're in the middle of working and someone comes to talk to you, maybe you're just so focused on the problem that you don't realize they're there or you don't want to draw your attention away from the problem, and then that person sees it as disrespect and signs of social awkwardness, while you're just trying to get your job done. Or if you're in the middle of trying to solve a problem and you ask someone bluntly for something (because you're so focused on the problem) and they take it the wrong way. I'm not saying that a complete lack of social skills is good either; just maybe that the target of these social skills is the manager, or the sales people, etc. and not the people you're doing all the work with.
rhizome 15y ago
One bad apple can poison an entire team. This is the second time in as many weeks that I've seen these exact words on HN...is it from a specific essay or book?
- bhickey 15y ago
  Not one that I've read.
- SatvikBeri 15y ago
  "One bad apple spoils the bunch" is a common proverb; this is a pretty simple adaptation.
  - rhizome 15y ago
    I know. I'm talking about this particular construction as applied to "teams" and in the context of "fit."

by bhickey 15y ago

social skills = competence If you haven't got 'em, I don't care how competent you are. One bad apple can poison an entire team. Developing software is a team sport.

nmcfarl 15y ago

Interestingly I've found this not to be the case, many very good teams of coders (in my experience) have at least one socially awkward person, and still perform very well. (Sometimes it feels like the manager is little more then "socialable" face of the team.) On the other hand, I find that attitude matters a lot, and one even mildly disgruntled / unmotivated person can really sink a team.

bhickey 15y ago
Oh, I agree -- I had taken social skills to mean "plays well with others." Awkward is just fine. Someone who is mean or lazy is another story.
- afterburner 15y ago
  That's not social skills, that's attitude/decency and work ethic.

jebblue 15y ago

Asking coders to increase social skills is asking them to dilute who they are. Like many actors and singers, they lose who they are because they become mixed up with everyone else. Some don't, I don't imagine seeing Johnny Depp schmoozing in a totally social scene, maybe with a few carefully chosen people he trusts and in a quiet location.

MartinCron 15y ago
Not all programming positions require the same amount of social skills. Some jobs are just fine for the "antisocial software genius" type. Just don't make me work with those guys.

thebrokencube 15y ago

My problem with this is that a lot of programmers/hackers/etc. are pretty good at interacting with each other, but maybe not quite as proficient at interacting with the rest of the populace. Like for example when you're in the middle of working and someone comes to talk to you, maybe you're just so focused on the problem that you don't realize they're there or you don't want to draw your attention away from the problem, and then that person sees it as disrespect and signs of social awkwardness, while you're just trying to get your job done. Or if you're in the middle of trying to solve a problem and you ask someone bluntly for something (because you're so focused on the problem) and they take it the wrong way. I'm not saying that a complete lack of social skills is good either; just maybe that the target of these social skills is the manager, or the sales people, etc. and not the people you're doing all the work with.

rhizome 15y ago

One bad apple can poison an entire team. This is the second time in as many weeks that I've seen these exact words on HN...is it from a specific essay or book?

bhickey 15y ago
Not one that I've read.
SatvikBeri 15y ago
"One bad apple spoils the bunch" is a common proverb; this is a pretty simple adaptation.
- rhizome 15y ago
  I know. I'm talking about this particular construction as applied to "teams" and in the context of "fit."