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It’s great to be right.
It feels good, of course.
But if you’re a generous person, you’ll probably also want to share whatever new wisdom you’ve discovered.
Good on you.
…but what if others can’t see what you see?
What if they take a different view, come from a different direction?
Ironically, this sort of thing may be one of the biggest challenges during the beginning phases of adopting DevOps.
In my research on DevOps adoption, one of the things frequently mentioned as “surprisingly difficult” was… getting everyone on the same page.
And it’s not just difficult, it’s also fraught with danger.
It’s so easy to lose the goodwill of coworkers if you try to convince them, talk over them.
And it’s so hard to give them and their ideas space if you’re convinced you’ve got the answers.
Being right is actually kind of selfish: it’s about you, not about the other person. And they will sense that.
If you find yourself in such a situation, remember that it’s not about being correct. It’s about creating value.
Normally we talk about value for customers; but if you’re trying to “sell” your colleagues something, you should focus on value creation for them: easier, faster, more interesting, you name it. More enjoyable, too. And few things are as enjoyable as reaching a goal by yourself.
So give them a chance to see for themselves how moving towards DevOps will benefit them personally.
Make them find their own answers.
Make the change palpable, relatable.
Make it about them.
That way, you don’t have to be right. You can just show them how to be right, too.