Seven technology leadership lessons from TV show writing - Daniel Jarjoura, TLT21

This resource first appeared in issue #42 on 19 Sep 2020 and has tags Managing A Team: Other

Seven technology leadership lessons from TV show writing - Daniel Jarjoura, TLT21

The community has built a lot of analogies between software development and engineering, but engineering isn’t the only discipline where people have to work together to build complex and intricate stuff under tight deadlines and shifting requirements. Jarjoura tells us seven lessons from successful show runners that he believes carry over to computer systems or software development teams

1. They know their show and tell everyone what it is - there’s a common, shared, and continuously communicated vision.
2. They create a safe space - show runners need to create an environment where everyone feels safe to share so the best ideas can surface, even in an environment where dozens and dozens of ideas will get knocked down before one or two are chosen to work with
3. They make writers pitch - no episode gets written just because “it’s Joe’s turn” or “because Jessica said so”
4. They give everyone a chance to talk - along with 2, show runners make sure everyone speaks and has their voice heard
5. They combine creative thinking and passion
6. They rotate writers and make them work collaboratively - well before “pair programming” was a thing
7. They write and rewrite quickly

The same analogies over and over again can be limiting, and I like the idea of borrowing from other successful industries