5 Secrets to Engaged Technical Teams

When I think of engaging technical teams, my client Matt comes to mind. Matt was an amazing software developer and a master problem solver. He was the “go to” resource for any team member with technical questions and he was often relied upon as the software lead for new products. When there was an opening for a Director of Software Development, he was the logical choice and Matt took the career advancement opportunity with enthusiasm. However, it didn’t take long for him to figure out that most of the skills that made him successful in his previous role, were not working in the new leadership role. As a result, his team was frustrated, perpetual project delays became the norm, and people began to leave. Engagement was in the tank.

Does this sound familiar? Perhaps you know of a situation like this or perhaps you are the “Matt” in this story. The good news is that there are solutions to these problems. Technical leaders can build a culture of team cohesion and belonging that facilitates employee engagement.

An engaged employee isn’t just someone who is happy or satisfied in their work. They do their work energetically and take the extra effort to go above and beyond their normal jobs without being asked. They genuinely care about the company and voice that to others. And research shows engaged employees are more productive, more profitable, more innovative, and more customer focused.  

So what are the secrets to engaged technical teams? Let’s take a look.

1.   Know Your People And Connect With Them Often.

Most employees want to feel like they belong. They want to know they are appreciated, understood and valued. It’s easy to overlook these things in the daily grind and pressure to meet deadlines. 

I once had an employee who wanted to start out each morning by sitting in my office to give me an update on his family and his latest home project. At first, I was annoyed (after all, I had a lot of work to do), and I’m certain my body language showed it. However, I soon realized this was an important part of my work. Having these short morning conversations got his day off to a good start and allowed me to get to know him better. Not only that, because I listened, he knew that I cared.

In addition to getting to know your employees personally, it is also important to know them professionally. This goes deeper than knowing their programming proficiency or how they are doing with their latest deliverable. It includes understanding their strengths, weaknesses, what they love to do, what they want to do, and their long-term career vision. Knowing these things helps you, the leader, to leverage their strengths, give them engaging stretch assignments and coach them in areas where there are gaps.

Also helpful to knowing your employees is the classic “Management By Wandering Around” (MBWA) or pulse checks. Rather than waiting for formal reviews to find out how a person is feeling about their work, getting a regular pulse is vital. This is best done with informal check-ins outside of your “office” (whether it is physical or virtual). Recently, a tech executive was expressing to me his disappointment in the resignation of one of his best employees. He discovered too late that the employee had been struggling with concerns that the leader could have easily addressed had he known about them. By the time the person resigned, their mind was made up.

Getting to know your people personally and professionally shows that you are a leader who cares. It allows you to address any hidden issues, and helps your employees to feel they are part of an organization where they are valued. 

2.   Encourage Technical Creativity And Learning.

When I ask successful leaders what the key is to attracting and keeping great technical talent, they unanimously emphasize the importance of continuous learning. With the rate of change in technology, technical skills can get stale fast if engineers and developers aren’t given the opportunity to try new things. This can be hard with daily project demands, but if it isn’t built into the culture in some way, people will eventually leave to get the learning elsewhere.

Continuous learning happens in a number of different ways depending on the culture and needs of the organization. Some leaders ask their developers to prototype new solutions to prove a concept. Others move people around to different technical areas within the company to give them a chance to learn a new products or tools. Some give their engineers time in their day to explore new technologies that relate to their business, and most are willing to invest in new tools requested by their people.

Regardless of how it is done, technical employees will thrive when they are given the opportunity to explore and learn new technologies.

3.   Inspire Ownership.

Often times technologists stepping into a new leadership role are tempted to lead by telling rather than empowering. This rarely goes well for many reasons, but mainly because teams and individuals feel very little ownership of their work.

I know an experienced software development leader whose engineering team pressed her for project due dates. Her wise response was this, “How can I know the completion dates for this project when all of you are doing the work?” Instead of dictating an unrealistic guess at a completion date, she facilitated a discussion that pushed them to consider all aspects of the project and determine their own release dates. This caused a shift in mindset for them. They were now the owners of the dates, not the recipients of them, which increased the likelihood of success.

This shift in mindset happens with more than just deadlines and release dates. If a team is allowed to participate in the planning and execution of a project as opposed to being told what to do, they are more likely to feel ownership and motivation.

This is new behavior for many leaders who have been successful individual contributors and are used to being “the smartest person in the room.” As a technical leader, the smartest thing to do is NOT to have all the answers. Instead, it is best to draw out and facilitate brilliant, innovative ideas from the team and support them in their decisions. The leader’s job becomes less about telling people what to do and more about tapping into the strengths of the team, removing roadblocks, and helping them succeed.

4.   Delegate And Empower.

Being an effective technical leader, also means you can no longer be the “doer”. I’ve witnessed technical leaders close the door to their offices so they can code to their heart’s content. On the surface, it may seem helpful, but ultimately it sends the wrong message. Leaders that can’t let go of the “doing” are showing a lack of trust in their team and are taking valuable time that should be spent supporting their people.

Instead of being the “doer,” a technical leader needs an effective way to delegate. A great delegator clearly communicates what is needed, properly trains the person who is delegated to and provides follow-up and support to ensure a successful handoff. 

I’ve known several leaders who have opted not to delegate because it is easier and faster for them to do it themselves. This may be true in the short term, but it locks the leader into a cycle of daily work that takes away from strategic responsibilities. It also prevents someone else from learning and growing in their career.

5.   Facilitate And Model Collaboration.

I’ve personally witnessed teams who are in constant conflict and struggle to collaborate. Common behavior included blaming each other for mistakes, misunderstanding the actions of others, and constant complaining about teammates. Much of this behavior stemmed from the attitude and actions of the leader. When the leader began to change, the people followed.

Facilitating and modeling collaboration, whether it is cross-functional or within a team, takes work and often requires a mindset shift. Here are key examples.

Shift from closed ended questions to open ended. This can be as simple as building a habit of saying, “Tell me more about ABC…” Close ended questions that lead to one word answers shut down conversation. Open-ended questions spur discussion and help deepen understanding. 

Shift from protecting information to sharing information. One CTO I know has spent a significant effort building a culture of information sharing to ensure everyone on the team has access to it at any time without having to ask for it. This has required a change in how they think about information, where it is stored and even how they talk about it. It’s paying off as the team has become more transparent, collaborative and efficient.

Shift from formulating your response to listening. Active listening is hard to do, but critical to collaboration. Often we are thinking about our rebuttal or pithy response when a teammate is talking rather than seeking to understand what they are saying. Active listening is done well when the listener can play back what they hear in their own words. Doing this helps the person communicating feel heard. It also help us increase our empathy. When we truly hear what a co-worker is saying, we can more easily put ourselves in their shoes and understand their point of view.

Shift from complaining to providing straightforward feedback. All too often, I’ve seen gossip and watercooler talk prevail over healthy feedback. It is a leader’s job to set the tone for safely giving and receiving feedback so that issues can be addressed quickly. Doing this well involves plainly stating the issue, explaining how it impacts others and then discussing what new behavior will result in a better outcome.

Technical leaders play a critical role in the engagement of their people and their teams. Leaders ask yourselves – what have you done to encourage engagement today? If you are connecting with your people, encouraging creative technical solutions, inspiring ownership, empowering the team, and fostering collaboration, you will get significant results.

If you'd like to hear how the Leadership Infusion Program for technical leaders can help you engage your employees, click here to schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with me.