Make Your Team Special!

Dawid Ostręga

Building a team in a IT Delivery Centre is relatively straightforward.  You receive some staff requisitions, they list out exactly what skills and bands each team member is supposed to possess, send that to recruitment, receive some CVs, do an interview, ensure that the candidate is at the right level technically, make an offer and job done... right?  Not quite.

In my opinion, and I underline that this is my opinion, because of course everyone is free to disagree, and begin a dialogue in the comments section, the culture in the team is THE most important factor in its success.  The very first step, to creating a suitable team culture is the recruitment of correct individuals.

It is very important to remember that even within one project, each team is different.  The aims and tasks of the team will dictate the type of culture you create.  Some teams need to be very disciplined and meticulously stick to the pathway laid out in every task, others need to creative and find new innovative solutions.  The culture you set from the very beginning, will be critical in long term success of the team.  
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This nicely brings me on the next point: Think Long Term! Don't just quickly fill gaps, no matter how much the client pressures you into it, because if you do then ultimately the delivery will suffer.  When interviewing a candidate, think about how they will fit into the culture you're creating, and how they will develop long term in your team, don't wait with this until the first yearly review, it will be too late.
 
What prompted me to write this entry?  Well, and interesting internet article got me thinking:http://deliveringhappiness.com/how-to-do-a-culture-due-diligence/  and although the article talks about startup companies, this applies to every team.  After all, each time we build a team, we have the potential to create something special.  Make your team special!

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​Autor: Dawid Ostręga - wykładowca na studiach podyplomowych AGH Talent Management in Tech Companies - kurs: Budowanie i prowadzenie zespołów.
Obecnie jest Prezesem firmy SKK w Krakowie. Posiada prawie 20 letni staż managerski, po obu stronach Atlantyku. Karierę rozpoczynał w Nowym Jorku na Wall Street, po czym spędził wiele lat w NJ na Pharma Alley.  
Po powrocie do Polski, zajął się otwieraniem lokalnych oddziałów globalnych firm z branży IT (EPAM Systems i SolarWinds) oraz przeprowadził największy europejski projekt dla IBM.