Bullies

This is a tough subject for me.  As kids we always remember those kids that bullied the rest of us kids.  Some worse than others but we will always remember them.  We thought it was just part of growing up.

My viewpoint on this has changed.  Being a bully is more than just part of growing up but a window into the life perspective of the bully.  It's not a sign of being a kids but something that should be addressed as young as possible, not with punishment but with help so the person can understand how this behavior is detrimental to themselves and others.

How does this related to software development?  People are people and this field has no special filter to prevent employing bullies.   The worst placement for a bully is that in management.  Their activities are cloaked under the name of management style and their very existence at this level ensures that it continues, both at this level and below.

The flip side is where management understands the effect of bulling in the work place and does not allow it.  This is the best of all worlds as this not only prevents it at the management level but also at the lower levels.  I praise companies that adopt this perspective.  It shows they care about staff as people and not just tools to produce products.

The middle ground is where management knows about bulling but does understand it's large effects.  This allows them to ignore the problem but not the effects.  The effects are low moral, higher turnover and infighting on the engineering effort.

If bulling is not addressed in a company then walls start to form to isolate the bully if possible and non-techinal issue arise to be address that have very little to do with the project at hand.  It can turn into more work managing the staff instead of managing the project.