Many modern problems must be solved in teams, so healthy organizations must prioritize social issues to the fore. Yet sometimes, it seems that modern culture has done worse, not better, at limiting stress and anxiety. These problems are heightened in technical fields where workers often address scientific issues, rather than people issues. To answer these troubling questions, Gretchen Anderson, a Harvard-educated Silicon Valley executive, lends her voice from decades of experience leading teams to develop great products.
As a book published by O’Reilly, this work clearly centers on technical audiences, especially those involved in producing software, and Anderson’s career experience involves various forms of software. Nonetheless, the broad theme of collaboration involves human factors that aren’t specific to IT. With a liberal arts background, she focuses on how certain leadership traits and communication skills can advance projects towards successful deployment more quickly.
The book is divided into four sections and covers team dynamics, planning, solutions, and communication – all key components of a managing a product’s development. While she does break down central ideas, each chapter’s focus is heavy on practicalities and potential pitfalls. She’s clearly pragmatic, not theoretical, in her approach. She also includes basic illustrations to bring the concepts from text to life.
This book’s most direct audience includes those involved in the people side of software. Executives, product managers, technical leaders, and even marketers can benefit from enhancing their collaborative skills. I’m a software developer mostly involved in writing code, but I find learning some about the people side has helped me significantly engage my teammates and users without complicating elements of a multi-disciplinary team. Therefore, Anderson’s management-driven view helps me focus on small refinements in lateral thinking that can set my projects up for success.
Mastering Collaboration: Make Working Together Less Painful and More Productive
By Gretchen Anderson
Copyright (c) 2019
O’Reilly
ISBN13 9781492041733
Page Count: 201
Genre: Management, Technology
www.amazon.com