Somehow, I've failed to add Jeff Atwood to my blogroll before today.  That seems odd to me, since I'm a huge Scott Hanselman fan, and Scott gives mad props to Jeff all the time, jokingly referring to him as his Nemesis.  (Side note:  I don't know that Nemesis is the mythological character I would choose, Scott.  I think him being Pollux to your Castor is more appropriate, but I digress...)

So I added Jeff to my blogroll today, and the very first post to come across my reader is a discussion on Alistair Cockburn's "Software Development as a Cooperative Game" presentation.  This is not light reading, but it is fascinating.

The basic premise is that software development can be viewed as an ongoing, cooperative game, not unlike rock climbing.  Other than the obvious implications of making your work more meaningful than "I do this to get paid," I think this model provides a lot of value, not just in making your own career more rewarding, but also in building a team that can trust each other and build on each others' strengths and weaknesses.

As we've worked to build our online banking development team at Commerce, we've struggled a bit with team dynamics.  Basically, what it comes down to is, as I assert my role as a technical lead, I sometimes have a tendency to be an impatient condescending jerk.  Having identified that as my weakness, and applying the "rock climbing" metaphor, it should be easier for me to understand and curb that behavior.  We can't all climb rock walls at the same speed, or using the same tools, or over the same paths.  Condescending to someone isn't going to help them traverse the wall any quicker;  It's just going to make them want to throw me off the cliff.