4 ms·

Interesting. Because the article accurately describes myself and a number of other folks I work with, all of which are considered "rockstars". It's great advice

Interesting. Because the article accurately describes myself and a number of other folks I work with, all of which are considered "rockstars". It's great advice in my opinion. I 100% agree with the don't ask for help advice. People need to ACTUALLY LEARN something. I'm sick of people externalizing the costs of their inadequacies.

zzalpha 12y ago
To be perfectly honest that sounds like a surprisingly toxic work environment, and a sadly elitist attitude. What are teams for if not to act as a collaborative support system? Should it be a crutch? No. But never asking for help as a matter of course is, in my opinion, counterproductive.
- Gigablah 12y ago
  I would've worded it differently. Do approach people to confirm that you're on the right track, or to find out the (undocumented) motivation for a certain design, NOT to ask them to solve a problem for you.
CyberDildonics 12y ago
Working as a team is not externalizing inadequacies.
wallflower 12y ago
I constantly repost this comment from jlcfly from an AskHN. "Teach them to be better than you. That may seem counterproductive. I have a type A personality, and I have decent coding skills. I've been in your situation a number of times. I also know there's these mythical expert developers out there that I can't seem to find (or afford). So, what to do? A few years ago I realized that if I continue down this path, I'll end up with some serious health issues due to the stresses that come along with having a reputation for being a really good developer. So, I decided that instead of searching for developers better than me, I would teach developers I work with how to BE better. It's taken a lot of patience. And it's taken me quite a bit to LET GO of my way of doing things. I had to take my ego out of the picture. (VERY hard to do.) Nowadays, I realize that developers don't have to BE better than me. I simply have to ALLOW them to do what they do without being so obsessive about it. Turns out, even junior developers really CAN do good work. They just need a little guidance that only comes with experience, and then they need me to get out of their way." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8649415 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8649415

zzalpha 12y ago

To be perfectly honest that sounds like a surprisingly toxic work environment, and a sadly elitist attitude. What are teams for if not to act as a collaborative support system? Should it be a crutch? No. But never asking for help as a matter of course is, in my opinion, counterproductive.

Gigablah 12y ago
I would've worded it differently. Do approach people to confirm that you're on the right track, or to find out the (undocumented) motivation for a certain design, NOT to ask them to solve a problem for you.

CyberDildonics 12y ago

Working as a team is not externalizing inadequacies.

wallflower 12y ago

I constantly repost this comment from jlcfly from an AskHN. "Teach them to be better than you. That may seem counterproductive. I have a type A personality, and I have decent coding skills. I've been in your situation a number of times. I also know there's these mythical expert developers out there that I can't seem to find (or afford). So, what to do? A few years ago I realized that if I continue down this path, I'll end up with some serious health issues due to the stresses that come along with having a reputation for being a really good developer. So, I decided that instead of searching for developers better than me, I would teach developers I work with how to BE better. It's taken a lot of patience. And it's taken me quite a bit to LET GO of my way of doing things. I had to take my ego out of the picture. (VERY hard to do.) Nowadays, I realize that developers don't have to BE better than me. I simply have to ALLOW them to do what they do without being so obsessive about it. Turns out, even junior developers really CAN do good work. They just need a little guidance that only comes with experience, and then they need me to get out of their way." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8649415 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8649415