The resistance to change is an evolutionary protective mechanism. Our ancestors, who were skeptical of unfamiliar situations, avoided potentially harmful situations. They survived and passed their genes to us.
Today, the discomfort and anxiety when faced with new ideas or circumstances are nothing new but our inheritance. As a DevOps leader, it is essential to understand this to empathize with teams when they don't jump right into the cultural shift of the DevOps lifestyle.
The DevOps way is visionary but challenging. It challenges the traditional silos, hierarchies, and practices within IT organizations. Why should someone at a 9-5 job care about what the other team is doing? All they need is to get their work done and get home.
But for organizations that need to meet the demands of modern software delivery, cross-functional collaboration is essential. As a leader, it’s your job to make that happen for your company. Let's discuss how you can influence people to a mindset change that encourages a "fail-fast, learn-fast" approach.
Becoming a Transformational Leader
Leading is influencing people towards a shared objective. To get the desired results, a DevOps leader must steer the ship forward in such a way that everybody feels included in the new voyage.
It is no wonder that software delivery outcomes are significantly impacted by the team leaders. Here are five characteristics that you (as a transformational leader) require:
- Vision: Must have a crystal-clear picture of where the team is headed and where they want to be in coming years. It's not just about knowing the destination; it's about guiding the team there with purpose and direction.
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Inspirational Communication: An inspiring leader is one who brings transformation. The best way to inspire people is to effectively communicate the "why" factor. Encourage people to turn challenges into opportunities and make them feel proud to be part of the team.
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Intellectual Stimulation: Make your people curious. Let them explore, challenge the status quo, and bring new innovative solutions. Teach them to ask questions and rethink traditional practices. Create an environment where they can fail fast and learn fast.
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Supportive Leadership:
Lead with empathy and behave in a way that tells your subordinates that you do care for their well-being. Support them in their vulnerable times. Be a leader who stands for your team. -
Personal Recognition: Celebrate your team's success and recognize them individually. Most of the employee appreciation day that happens once a year goes only skin deep. Find ways to recognize people where they feel truly appreciated and valued for their efforts whenever possible.
Ask Yourself Before Choosing Service Models
Knowing your team (size, skill levels) and the goals of the organization is important before choosing the service models that can bring productive results.
Before you choose IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) with hosted network, server, storage, and development tools, ask yourself: "Does your team have the skill and time to build customizations?"
Before you choose PaaS (Platform as a Service) with pre-built development tools to speed up the process, ask yourself: "Is your primary focus just on application development without much control over the underlying infrastructure?"
Before you choose CaaS (Container as a Service) with containerized application management for scalability, ask yourself: "Is your organization ready to handle the orchestration technologies, or do they still prefer a more traditional infrastructure approach?"
Before you choose FaaS (Function as a Service) for your serverless computing needs for cost-effectiveness, ask yourself: "What pain points that you currently face can FaaS effectively address?"
Introspect More on These Aspects:
- Cost - Is saving money your priority or producing more?
- Control - Can you configure the however you like, or what are your limits?
- Support - Do professional support services have your back in case of problems?
- Simplicity - What model is simple to build and manage?
- Portability - How easy is it to adapt to new tools and new services?
- Integrations - Do you need the integrations offered, or do you wish to integrate yourself?
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Backup plan - What can you do to restore the operations if the model fails?
When you have a clear idea, communicate it to your team. Show them why this model is the right one to achieve the desired results.
The Path Ahead
The importance of leadership in software product development, especially in DevOps, is gaining more popularity and in-depth research. The mindset, skillset, and toolset are the three important pillars on which the successful adoption of DevOps relies and where you have to focus.
The current scenarios, like remote work, are further evolving the needs and presenting new demands of cognitive load (the mental effort) that is placed on the DevOps team. Keep walking forward, and the path unveils its own twists and turns. But as you move forward, you and everything around you tend to grow.