Chapter Six. Leadership Training

There are some definite benefits to being a soldier-the rush of being a part of something larger than the individual, having a well-defined role that is important and vital to the success of great enterprises, the camaraderie of fellow soldiers, and the belief that if everyone performs well, victory will soon be at hand. However, the reality of a battlefield is that not all soldiers are equal. Some troops are well trained, well equipped, disciplined, and possessed of a great deal of combat experience; others are recently thrust into battle straight from civilian work, lacking knowledge, discipline, experience, and even the will to compete against hostile enemy forces. Similarly, in the software industry, there is a great degree of difference in productivity between the best and worst performers. For the most part, raw recruits in the software industry frequently have the will and a fair degree of knowledge but will need a proper environment to acquire the discipline and experience required to excel. Therefore, more experienced and disciplined developers are forced to leave their comfortable foxholes to assume the greater responsibility of leading a team of developers with diverse development experience into the greener pastures of effective software development.