Endlessly Curious

I have come to the realisation that the most experienced person in a group is not usually the person getting the most benefit in terms of skills or experience gained when working on a collaborative project.  In fact the more experienced the individual the less benefit they stand to gain, the inverse is true of the less experienced individuals who due to their low levels of experience have the most to gain.

This balance can be seen in most projects involving more than a couple of participants.  A team’s experience distribution can typically be visualised as a pyramid with the most experienced individuals at the top of the pyramid and the most numerous and least experienced group of individuals at the bottom.  There is the occasional team where the experience pyramid is inverted but I have yet to have the opportunity to work with such a group.

The experience composition of a typical team usually works quite well, with the more experienced members directing those that are less experienced than them.  This helps to explain why the more experienced you become the more time you seem to spend in meetings planning, discussing and thinking about the design of the product.

The breakdown of the project tasks based on individual experience levels also means that each individual should be supplied with tasks that are mostly within their capabilities.  Some stretch tasks should also be set (with sufficient support from more experienced team members) to ensure each individual continues to develop their skills.  This should mean that the tasks you work on should be within your capabilities and as your capabilities increase so should the complexity of the tasks you are set, to prevent stagnation.

It should be noted that if an individual fails at a task then their next task should be something that is well within their capabilities. To do otherwise is to risk a loss of confidence, as multiple failures in a row can seriously undermine an individual’s confidence and ability (see negative reinforcement).  This is why most modern coaches will not allow their athletes to finish a training session with a failure.

Tasks that stretch or challenge you as an individual are a good thing but they should not be forced upon you and they should not be chained together, some respite is required between challenges.  More experienced team members are an essential resource to those undertaking stretch tasks due to the advice and moral support they can offer.