Digest: You've got two jobs, write good code and be easy to work with.
Smart Asses.
Being easy to work with doesn’t mean being a sycophant or a pushover. It doesn’t mean not having and expressing strong opinions. In fact, some of the people I find easiest to work with are people who consistently disagree with me! “Easy to work with” means that you act professionally at all times. You disagree respectfully. You seek to understand before looking to be understood. You communicate clearly. You value your commitments.
Mostly, it means that you understand the value of relationships, and build them as carefully and intentionally as you build frameworks and libraries. Strong relationships with your colleagues will make you – and them – more effective. It’ll give you both common ground to build on when you don’t agree on something, and ensure that you can resolve conflict professionally.
One of the most effective engineers I worked with spent her first month here very intentionally taking every single one of her new co-workers out to coffee, listening carefully to what they did, what they struggled with, and what they hoped she’d do in her new role. That was a great investment for her and us: it meant that she could join any team and instantly be productive, because she had a relationship to build on. She quickly became a key “fixer”, someone we relied on help solve our hardest problems. Part of this was her technical skill, of course, but her relationship power played an even greater role in her success.
You don’t have to copy this specific tactic. Just like there are many ways to write good code, there are many ways to be an excellent co-worker. I expect you to be effective at both of your jobs, in whatever way that works best for you.
Most of the hardest problems we face have both technical and human components, and the best engineers know how to solve both.
