The Best Way To Become A Developer In A Self Managed Team

Start acting like one.

There are many tech shops out there that place developers in the center of their universe. The developers in those places deserve that respect. They have the trust to do what ever it takes to build sustainable value end to end.

But they earned it.

For those of you in IT land who would like to be in a similar situation, I have one question.

Are you ready?

Is your code largely bug free by the time it gets to QA? Are you willing to stick around long to support the code you write? Do you take the time to learn from your mistakes and make sure you don't repeat them? Do you know what business you are in and why you are writing the code you do? Are you able to listen to your customers and respond to their feedback at a pace that keeps them happy? Do you take that collaboration, experimentation, and communication form the core of your job?

In stead of waiting for your culture to change from on high, bootstrap yourself with the skills it takes to deserve being part of that culture. Don't wait to long to start mentoring some peers into fast followers. I've never seen more local and free resources available to those who want to escape software mediocrity.

Before you know it you will be working in the environment you want to be, it just might not be the same place you are at now.