One of the things most important to me when working with teams is to demonstrate constant humility. To me, you need humility in order to have courage and in order to learn. You need humility in order to have good collaboration and interactions with people.
During one of our last stand ups, I apologised in front of everyone for making the quick commit before rushing off (I had a taxi waiting). That small quick commit broke the build so I thanked the team members who fixed it for me. Everyone had a good little a laugh about it because I’m the biggest advocate for encouraging people to practice good habits (unlike what I did).
Of course I’m embarrassed for breaking the build but I’m delighted that I can say sorry in front of my team without being slapped over the wrists. It’s important to acknowledge that people make mistakes – even experienced people who have been working in this fashion for ages. It’s more important to ensure that we have a safe environment where people can make mistakes, and learn something from it, rather than being punished for it.
