Don’t put a ‘Gandalf’ label on your newcomers!

Today, a thought unexpectedly crossed my mind, and suddenly, I realized the depth of the problem lying beneath this idea, which could essentially turn your team into the Titanic.

Picture yourself working in an average product team. You might be facing some of the following challenges:

• Lack of resources.
• Utilizing technology with which you are unfamiliar.
• Handling very complex tasks without sufficient senior expertise.
• Dealing with legacy code that barely anyone understands.

Your leadership decides to strengthen the team by hiring more people. After successfully navigating through all stages of Dante’s Circles of Hell in the interview process, the candidate accepts the offer. The management proudly announces that the team is gaining a highly skilled developer (DevOps, QA, Analyst, etc.), a God of SQL, a Hero of Kafka, and a Java Guru. Excitement fills the air as everyone eagerly awaits the new addition to the team.

Now, let’s continue the story from the point of view of the newcomer. They join a new company, most likely knowing nothing about the product, dealing with the stress of all these challenges. What they encounter first are enormous expectations, carrying the label of ‘The Boy Who Lived.’ All eyes are on them. I believe this immense pressure can significantly increase the likelihood of potential burnout, just from the pressure itself.

Also, let’s consider two scenarios. In the first one, they truly perform exceptionally and exceed expectations. If they don’t carry the ‘magic’ label, their work would be appreciated, and their knowledge would be shared, maintaining a healthy working atmosphere. However, if expectations are set as high as those for Prince William, they may sooner or later feel compelled to ‘put a crown on their head’ and behave in a more regal manner.

Shifting to another scenario: the new hire faces challenges in solving the problem they are tasked with. There could be various reasons for their struggle — perhaps they are experienced with the technology but find this problem significantly different from their previous experiences. The requirements for the problem solution may be unrealistic, or the pressure might be too high, recognizing that not everyone thrives under intense pressure (which is understandable; we’re not dealing with emergency services here). However, the result will be unpleasant: disappointment, a loss of trust, and tension among team members. All of these factors are harmful to achieving better and faster delivery, higher quality, and an increased sense of team spirit.

know what I’m talking about. I’ve been on both sides: as someone who expected Superman but got SuperMario (from memes 🥲), and as someone who had to solve a problem where a team of senior developers and DevOps experts had failed. I succeeded, but it came at a cost. I pushed so hard that a couple of months later, I couldn’t even open the IDE related to that project.

So, a quick wrap-up. Hiring passionate professionals is what we all want in the industry. However, labeling them before they even make their first commit is very tricky and should be avoided under all circumstances.