In Search of the Mythical 10x Developers …
@August 27, 2024
If you’ve been in the business long enough, you might have heard about 10x Developers. Do you know one and do they even exist? If so, is it really someone that performs ten times as well as others?
The concept of a 10x Developer suggests that some developers are exceptionally skilled and can contribute far more value to a team or project than others.
Key Characteristics of 10x Developers:
- High Productivity: A 10x developer is able to complete tasks much faster than their peers, often working through complex problems quickly and efficiently. [In the same available time]
- Deep Technical Knowledge: They have a strong understanding of a broad selection of topics: programming languages, frameworks, tools, and best practices, allowing them to tackle a wide range of challenges effectively.
- Problem-Solving Skills: 10x developers excel at breaking down complex problems into manageable parts and finding innovative solutions.
- Quality and Precision: They write clean, efficient, and maintainable code, which often leads to fewer bugs and easier collaboration.
- Quick Learning and Adaptability: They can rapidly learn new technologies or adapt to different coding environments and challenges.
- Strong Focus and Self-Motivation: 10x developers are often highly focused and driven, capable of working independently and in teams with minimal oversight.
- Collaborative and Influential: great team players who mentor others, contribute to discussions, and help elevate the performance of their entire team.
Seven is the number of completion and particularly the last 7th point, the team skills of an individual is my absolute qualifying test on any developer. If a developer fulfills all other criteria but is not a team player, he’s not worth much at all since a single person will never scale and anytime he’s out of office, I’m stuck.
A Testimony of a 10x Developer
Sure enough, I’ve had the honor of working with a specific developer who matches most of the criteria above. He clearly and consistently outperforms peers by about twice the output on any random task and not only on a few select specialty tasks. He clearly knows this too. Yet, he would never claim that over himself but instead even takes time to boost others and that’s what made him all the more valuable to me! He not only fit the team but he enabled the team, he coached the team and his opinion counted. He definitely fits my expectations of a 10x developer and he’s indeed a rare breed. The trifecta: humility, empathy and performance seems to make the perfect developer for my needs.
A Great Team is Worth More than a Great Individual
While it’s great to have such people around, they rarely come in packs.
Overall, I have been part of teams where the overall delivered output was twice or three times as high as in other good teams. What I saw in those teams is that they acted together, as a team, and had been established and fairly stable over years, yet welcoming to new members. They overcame issues, celebrated victories together but also were able to take time time for an honest and open look at challenges and failures.
Over the course of my career, it has become clear that assembling a great team is much easier than finding even one loyal 10x developer. Since time is always of essence, this is the strategy I pursue with the intent to still attract those special people and create a breeding ground for excellence.
Do you need a power-team of developers you can trust or are you looking for advice on developing your developers and dev mangers to foster a 10x environment?
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