10 tips to keep developers motivated

Below are some tips I thought I’d share on what helped me build a good relation (I hope!) with my Engineering teams. In return, they helped me build the best damn products possible.

• Have their back so they have yours. Take responsibility of failures and be the umbrella that covers them from some unnecessary and distracting sh*t storms.

Have your team’s back

• Share the successes. It’s a team effort so make sure to give credit where credit is due.

• Involve them in the roadmap process so they feel a part of the product and accountable for it.
• When writing specs, describe WHAT the features need to do not HOW to build them. Respect their expertise and let them figure out the best way to build something.
• Avoid distractions. Give them the chance to get into the zone and focus on their code by trying to avoid having them bounce around from one task/question to another.
• Include yourself in the daily scrums. If you ask them to talk about their tasks, make sure you also talk about yours so that you all feel as one team working together.

• Do some sprint pre-planning. Sit down with your team or team lead before the beginning of the next sprint to lay out your plans for the upcoming sprint. That way they see what’s coming and can plan ahead accordingly.
• Involve them in customer interviews. There’s nothing like hearing feedback from the horse’s mouth. Let your developers feel the user’s pain/delight firsthand.
• Push for everyone to use your product — as a user — on a regular basis. For example, if you’re building a running app, have everyone go for a team run and use the product outside of the “lab environment”.
• A picture is worth a thousand words. If you’re explaining upcoming features, make sure you have at least some mid-fidelity sketches for everyone to visually anchor around. Not only will this be prevent misunderstandings but it will help them visualize the needed mechanics to make the feature work.
• Be humble. Don’t pretend to know things you don’t know and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Not only will this empower your team by giving them a chance to share with you about their expertise but it’ll give you more credibility for the times you do know what you’re talking about.

• Bonus: Don’t forget to say THANK YOU! Acknowledging someone’s effort can go a long way, even if it’s just a simple “thank you”.

I know, I know, that was 12 tips… :)