The Good Sergeant

As I age in my software development career, I find myself falling into unofficial #management roles. Analogous to a Product Owner who also acts as a Business Analyst. If you are like me, you spend a lot of time interacting with people at work. There is an expectation that as you move forward in your career as a software developer, you will naturally make more decisions about process than you did the year before. It's the benefit of experience and hopefully as you have aged you have gained some wisdom. If not that's not the end of the world and I think that's why job titles are simultaneously very important and the least important in this domain.

I often find myself aware of the opportunity to make decisions that drive change for my teams. I would classify myself as "intense" and "opinionated", I apply influence to my teams and though my confidence, which gives them the safety to follow along. It's critical to remember that this isn't about giving permission but providing opportunity. You are their servant, it's a collaborative act and it's a matter of trust. Servant leadership is the marriage of referent (attractive) and expert authority.

Attractive(referent) authority is charisma, it can be achieved in a number of ways. You could be funny and confident, or be great at relationship building and interpersonal skills. It's measured like most things by outcomes, this skill makes deposits in the emotional bank of their co-workers as Covey would call it. Thus, this investment provides opportunities to influence future decisions. You do things for people you like, it's really a no-brainer. An example of how I often make deposits into the emotional bank is by protecting and supporting my co-workers.

Expert authority on the other hand is the result of being able to communicate knowledge or through intelligent expression which produces trust. Your co-workers don't need to verify if you are in-the-know because you have set the example through your actions that you are brilliant, or well experienced in a subject.

I think referent authority is easier to gain immediately if you are the kind of person who tells stories or is willing to share their weaknesses. I believe that people are attracted to people who can comfortably share their vulnerabilities. While, expert authority has to be demonstrated through considerable performance. Luckily enough work is all about performance, so you shouldn't find a shortage of opportunities there either.

I don't like making analogies of work and war, but I do respect the ideology of the "good sergeant". As you may be aware, the term sergeant means the "one who serves". Its interest to me is it's part of a small subset of ranks called NCO's, non-commissioned officers. In general the magic here is that this person has through promotion reached leadership and thus trust and did so without a commission or a formal warrant for such authority. I don't have a military background, so this understanding is more romantic than it is likely accurate. The connection to the work world can be made by comparing a commission with roles of manager and above. Thus, a lead within a technical organization is someone who has reached a rank of authority without entering the management hierarchy.

Authority is not unary, you can have an entire team of leaders all acting on each others' behalf. Authority is not about holding power, it's about exercising influence. Here in lies the trap, you make the decision, and now you own the decision. It hurts if the decision changes, is taken away from you, or is in conflict. If you find yourself feeling this way don't be too bothered, caring is an important trait, But, here is an opportunity to remember, you are not your work. If you ever wanted to learn how to identify ego driven actions, become a leader, you will have ample opportunity. It's a practice like everything else, and I sure struggle with it sometimes, but ego is your enemy. Ego is the unary force that makes you right and everyone else wrong. My solution for this is to keep presence of mind over the goal. The best path to take is always the one that achieves the best value towards the goal, everything else is a negotiation.

Secret time! If you find that leadership is often in conflict, things seem disorganized, and decisions take a long time to make, take a step back and observe if they are all acting towards the same goal. I bet you they aren't, and that is not your fault. This is the reason we have executives, people who set the direction and steer the ship. I know that sounds hand wavy but hierarchies are smaller at the top because it's less distracting. A few make some big (pronounced: broad or vague) decisions and leave the smaller and smaller ones to those below them. It's a collective narrowing of focus, it's a critical side effect of good leadership, and it's probably why you see more conflict than you expect.