On the DIsadvantages of Being a Lead Developer
There are a lot of things to like about being a lead developer - you get to have a significant hand in the design of the work you're doing. You get to pick what you want to do, and farm out the rest to others. But there's a dark, ugly side as well - people. Yes, those devices that can't be debugged no matter how long you use gdb - people. And I'm reminded of it today in a very unpleasant way.
The lead on a project is expected to help the junior guys along. Help them learn the craft as it were. They will pick up habits, the goal is that they pick up the good habits of the lead, and then they are able to be self-sufficient in the workplace. Kind of like kids. Being in the middle of that cycle at home gives me keen insight into what's happening to me here at work.
I've got a clingy 5-year old. At home we called it "the five-foot rule". The kids would never be more than five linear feet from us no matter what we were doing, where we were doing it, no matter how big the house was. They were right there. Always. In their early years we were everything - playmate, audience, judge, everything. The same is true at work, it seems.
He's telling me about the status of his work. He's telling me he'll be done soon. When he's done. That he needs to be busy. It's like a clingy 5-year old. I can appreciate that he's trying very hard to be productive and contribute, but he also doesn't realize - like a 5-year old doesn't realize, that there are completely different expectations for him than for me. He's supposed to learn, listen, and if he's really doing his job, be as light a load on me as possible.
But that's not how it's working out.
I'm going to have to slug through this for a while longer. I'm not sure how much longer, but a while at least. If he doesn't get better, then he's the learning disabled kid, and will continue to be a burden on me as long as he's here. That's not going to fly. But assuming he's going to get better, I just have to give him time. It's tough some times.