Red Flags🚩in Your Dev Team

Photo by RyKing Uploads on Unsplash

Nobody is perfect, the least of all The Secret Developer themselves. Yet throughout their programming career (unfortunately) they have met a good number of jerks, and a significant number of those are bad eggs who have issues that the whole team should be aware of.

Luckily these bad eggs leave clues about their identities EVERYWHERE.

Here are those clues that you’re working with a bad egg, and what you should do about it, all told with the caustic wit we associate with the author.

Messy Home == Messy Mind

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen some simply horrible bedrooms over Zoom this last couple of years. Decor that’s more 1995 than 2024 is one thing, but when I can see you don’t tidy dirty clothes you are showing something negative about your personality. 

I’ve seen used tissues (really), open wardrobes (hiding horrors), dead plants (why don’t you water them) and open doors (I wonder what is in there). This was a boss of mine, I don’t think they lasted too long after I left the company, but I recognize that their sloppy code wasn’t the only indicator of their messy mind.

The Signals:

• Cluttered backgrounds during video calls

• Disorganized workspaces that are visible on camera

Behavioral Outcomes:

• Distraction, failing to meet deadlines due to lack of focus

• Late to meetings, or missed entirely

• Poor attention to detail in their code or documentation

• Difficulty keeping track of tasks or project requirements

Solutions:

• Offer gentle suggestions for organizing their workspace

• Encourage the use of task management and time management tools

• Tell them to tidy those socks (use humor)

Angry Attitude

I experienced the company of a few angry people in my time. The developer who couldn’t reproduce a production bug and went around the office saying “I can’t reproduce it, how am I going to solve it?”. The time they asked “why do we always implement these s*** solutions”. As an angry person, they got away with it as they were considered to be a ‘good’ developer. I usually think teamwork trumps this, but not in my current company.

The Signals:

• Frequent outbursts or angry comments in meetings

• Using harsh or critical language towards colleagues

• Interrupting others or dominating conversations

• Aggressive body language, such as crossed arms or glaring

• They think they are Steve Jobs and can tell the team their work is trash

Behavioral Outcomes:

• Decreasing morale and levels of collaboration

• Increasing turnover or absenteeism among team members

• Ultimately the creation of a tense or even hostile work environment

Solutions:

• Address the behavior directly and privately (depending on your relationship to the team member)

• Encouraging stress management techniques or resources

• Try to avoid them 

Responsibility Avoidance

I start to understand why people avoid work and responsibility. In my current position getting any person to take on work is amazingly tricky, and it rubs off on you. If I want to refactor any class I need permission to do so (a specific JIRA ticket) and testing time, and time justified from my work schedule. 

The Signals:

• Rarely volunteers for new tasks or projects

• Often shifts blame or responsibility to other team members

• Frequently claims they are too busy to take on additional work

Behavioral Outcomes:

• The use of passive language to avoid commitments (“I’ll try,” “Maybe”)

• Deflects questions about their progress or contributions

• Leaves assignments incomplete

• Sometimes contribute to sinking projects

Solutions:

• Set firm deadlines and accountability measures

• Use interviews to filter out such people, contribute to the process at your company

Avoiding people

One of my colleagues is avoiding going to work. That means we never see them, and honestly at this point I don’t think I’d recognize them. 

The Signals:

• They don’t ask questions of other team members, and instead, try to “do it themselves”

• Avoiding team meetings

• Disagree abrasively with team decisions or processes

Behavioral Outcomes:

• Fails to share important information with the team

• Uses terse or unconstructive feedback during code reviews

• Rarely acknowledges or appreciates others’ contributions

• Causes delays due to lack of coordination or communication, and manifests misunderstandings and conflicts

Solutions:

• Set up team-building activities (you don’t need to be a manager to do this)

• Provide feedback on coaching on their behaviors

Conclusion

I didn’t even mention bad breath. Or that guy who sang songs in the office (miming, mouthing the words).

Yeah.