3 ms·
I'm sure all software developers have been exposed to strong personalities. Often in the form of bullies, primadonnas, class clowns, big men on campus, pointy h
by munificent 3y ago
I'm sure all software developers have been exposed to strong personalities. Often in the form of bullies, primadonnas, class clowns, big men on campus, pointy haired bosses, etc.
The problem is that—as a generalization—strong personality tends to correlate inversely with competence, and software engineers esteem the latter above all else (because a machine is not swayed by charisma, after all).
Good leadership is really the combination of strong personality and competence. That combination is so rare that for most software engineers, the safest bet is to simply try to avoid employers with strong personalities entirely.
- Madmallard 3y ago"strong personality tends to correlate inversely with competence" citation needed
- edmundsauto 3y agoNot to support the generalization but this describes my bias. Just as the flashy person with diamonds and a nice car does not indicate class. It also kinda makes sense if you think it through. Strong personality types receive less feedback. Feedback helps us grow.
- zmgsabst 3y agoAggressive personalities aren’t the same as strong personalities, in precisely the way status trinkets aren’t class. I’d say strong personalities are essential for consensus: When it’s clear who is holding court, there’s much less talking over each other and bickering, precisely because the leader has made it clear what the expectation is — and everyone knows it will be enforced. “Let’s quiet down for a moment, I really want to hear what @edmundsauto is saying.”
- nottorp 3y ago"if you feel a need to be aggressive, it means you've done no deeds that will speak for you" How about that?
- Madmallard 3y agoalso seems wrong
- austin-cheney 3y agoWhere did this talk about aggression come from?
- nottorp 3y ago"Strong personalities", which are mostly fake.
- austin-cheney 3y agoCompetence at what? Avoiding strong personalities purely for the sake easing hostility sounds a lot like cowardice. A better course of action is conflict resolution.
- ephemeral-life 3y ago> Competence at what? There is a class of people who believe leadership is something you can learn on its own. These are the people who join all the useless commitees for resume building purposes. Leadership only has value when paired with significant knowledge in some domain. > Avoiding strong personalities purely for the sake easing hostility sounds a lot like cowardice. Cowardice is when you avoid something, because of fear. GP is talking about avoiding people who will annoy you.
- austin-cheney 3y ago> Cowardice is when you avoid something, because of fear. GP is talking about avoiding people who will annoy you. That sounds like autism. Avoidance for what ever imaginary reason your creative mind can conjure is still cowardice. The excuses only fool yourself. Other people will see it as they choose.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- ephemeral-life 3y agoah yes. the internet autism diagnoses.
- BeFlatXIII 3y agoI wonder if you’re chatting with an LLM.