A Work Ritual That's Losing Its Taste
There are routines we all follow, often without question, things we've done for so long that they seem unquestionable. Take breakfast, for instance. How often do we question whether it's truly the most important meal of the day? Have you ever considered that it might be a bad way to start your morning?
It might be interesting to look into that breakfast question later, but my point is how easily we accept routines as the 'best' way to go. In the developer's world, the daily standup is like breakfast: we do it first thing in the morning, it seems essential, and almost everyone is doing it.
Now, I know what you might be thinking. But no, I'm not here to list '10 signs your company isn't agile,' nor do I have a solution behind a mailing list. What you'll find here are a few scattered thoughts and stories that might make you look at things a little differently.
I think it's easier to follow along knowing nothing is waiting at the bottom to tempt you into scrolling past my thoughts (or complaints) on practices like the standup, ones you've probably heard before.
Alright, back to the topic. I've always had a subtle distaste for daily standups, but like most people, I tried to ignore it. We tend to dismiss our feelings at work, aiming to be 'professional' and believing emotions have no place here. Most people think of emotions as random pop-ups that lack rationality, so I did the same. I tried to reason with myself that standups help with communication and clearing roadblocks. And honestly, after all, we assume a job isn't supposed to be enjoyable anyway.
But the feeling started to creep up on me in other ways, I'd delay joining standups, even if only by five minutes, or I'd find excuses to take a short leave just to skip them. During the meetings, I felt a unique kind of fatigue that would lift almost immediately once the standup ended.
So, I had to find a way to deal with the issue. It wasn't like I could just tell my team manager, 'I don't feel like doing standups anymore.' They, too, were caught up in the rational thinking I mentioned only on a different level. As a 'manager,' they need to keep everything in control and order, with every problem neatly traced to a cause and a process to solve it. Ironically, though, that exact attitude is often driven by their own fear and emotions. So, the chances of them taking a feeling seriously and helping you reflect on it are pretty low.
From the psychology videos I sometimes watch on YouTube, I learned that the unconscious mind, unlike the conscious mind, takes in countless variables when processing something. For example, while your conscious mind is hopefully focused on the paragraph you're reading, your unconscious mind is recording all sorts of other details you don't notice like background noise, the taste in your mouth, the way you're breathing without thinking about it, the pressure of the chair beneath you, and so on. Since the unconscious mind processes so many variables at once and our conscious mind is designed to focus on just one thing, the message about why you don't like standups doesn't pop into your brain as a simple thought like, 'hey, you don't like standups because of this.' Instead, it comes through in the form of feelings and emotions.
Based on my own probably not-so-accurate psychology hypothesis, I started reflecting and digging into my mind to see if my attitude toward the issue was valid. I mean, who knows? Maybe my distaste for standups is rooted in something from my childhood, and it only applies to me. But if it was valid, I wanted to find a way to translate it into rational reasons and present them to the manager.
Not all reasons require deep self-reflection. Some were immediately obvious like the fact that sometimes a standup could stretch beyond 20 minutes. Other reasons were trickier. I noticed I was more inclined to skip a standup on days after I'd missed a deadline or hadn't been as productive as usual.
The fact that you have to put on a show and face silent judgment from everyone, every single day, gradually increases stress levels. Now, managers might say, 'Gotcha! See, you wouldn't work if it weren't for the standup.' But the problems with stress and fear-driven management to boost productivity go far beyond this introduction and they're definitely something I'll dive into later.
You might be thinking, 'Then how can we align with others, see where we are, and clear any blockers?' Well, to be blunt, you don't need to know every minor thing that was done yesterday and probably don't even care. During standup, we usually just wait for our turn, perform our piece, and move on. Unless someone's work directly impacts yours (which could easily be handled over Slack), most of the updates don't affect us. By 'not caring,' I mean we don't need to hear about that toggle button added to the signup page. We all care about the product's overall direction, which can be discussed meaningfully on a weekly call.
As for clearing blockers, I can't think of a time when I faced an issue and thought, 'I'll just wait until tomorrow's standup to see if anyone can help me with this.' And even if I did, how practical would that be? Holding everyone up while one teammate and I discuss a specific problem isn't efficient. Instead, I'd immediately post in our Slack channel, tagging the teammates most likely to help with the issue.
By this point, I had enough reasons to propose a change. I wrote up a formal document outlining the problems with daily standups and the benefits of an alternative, then sent it over to the manager. We later jumped on a call to discuss it, and the first question I faced was, 'Then how are we supposed to know if people have started working or finished their work the day before?' I didn't say it out loud, but that's not the original purpose of standups or at least, it shouldn't be.
I kept my silence not because he'd fire me if I said something, but because I didn't see any point in arguing. Even if I countered with the best logic and a well-thought-out alternative, it would probably be brushed aside like a child showing off a drawing. I'd hear something like, 'It's a nice idea, but we don't have the time or resources to implement it,' or, 'That's a bit far-fetched.' Suggesting a self-governing approach, after all, would only undermine the very purpose of having a manager.
This is just one example of how a manager's perspective can make a practice dysfunctional, ultimately impacting developers negatively. Of course, I didn't build this website just to talk about standups, though they're a relatable example to start with. I aim to offer a new perspective on jobs and work culture, exploring where these managerial attitudes come from and how they impact the company on multiple levels not just in standups.
I'll be posting more thoughts, ideas, and stories here. If you find yourself intrigued, feel free to check back every now and then to catch up.