Don't wait on others to grow

Something that struck me when I joined RoleModel was the lack of pressure from management. I thought it was strange how free I really was. Coming from environments with strict management (At CFA, clocking in 1 minute late meant being written up) I did not immediately know what to make of it. I think partly it’s by design and partly it is a result of the size and culture of the company. Being a small company, RoleModel doesn’t have the bandwidth available to provide rigid, comprehensive infrastructure to a junior developer’s entire path from zero to hero. There are some things in place to help out, such as having a designated mentor or having tasks of appropriate difficulty be assigned to someone with intentions of stretching that person. There will be gaps though. It isn’t as comprehensive a system as a mega-corporation with plenty of extra time and money to go around might have in place. One can’t expect to have their hand held through every promotion and achievement, and must not shift the blame to the lack of attention they have been given or lack of performance reviews for their inability to progress.

I am convinced that this flexibility actually has more upsides than downsides. Free airspace means one can fly, if they want to. One may not have as many nets behind them to catch them if they are slacking, but they also don’t have as many barriers in front of them that will stunt real progress. If they are walking through doors, capitalizing on opportunities, being an initiator, being a doer, and not waiting on someone to nudge them for everything, they will go far. RoleModel is a place that is ripe with opportunity. The changes one makes will actually have an impact on their trajectory. Ideas will take effect (if they are good ideas) and that is something that greatly excites me. It isn’t a place where one is trapped in a cubical all day with minimal resources available to them and a boring cookie-cutter task list. The impressive list of personnel that is available to a young person seeking to dive into a software career at RoleModel seems to me to be scarcely matched and is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Seasoned veterans of web development who also happen to be fantastic individuals with strong character are ready and waiting to help the next generation flower. I think learning by example is the best way to learn, and that is how it’s done here. It is in the name, after all.