Continuous improvement isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a vital part of any thriving engineering culture.
Why it matters: Embracing continuous improvement transforms teams and organizations by enhancing productivity, quality, engagement, and adaptability.
Here’s how to foster a culture of continuous improvement:
Learn
Lead by example. Share your learning experiences. Normalize sharing and imperfection from the top down.
Foster curiosity. Encourage questions and exploration. Ask questions, and avoid starting with “I have a dumb question”.
Create a safe space. Allow room for mistakes and learning. Discuss as a group to normalize retros on personal mistakes.
Give feedback
Conduct regular reviews. This could be a code review or a general check-in.
Keep an open communication channel. Maintain a feedback-friendly environment. If everyone feels comfortable providing feedback, you’ll all learn from each other much faster.
Iterate on processes. Make incremental cultural changes. What works now may not work later. Gather feedback, test, and adjust.
Recognize effort
Celebrate successes. Acknowledge achievements, big and small.
Bottom line: Cultural changes have to be incremental. If you try to change too much at once, your team will push back. This is why continuous improvement is so important; it’s an ongoing journey.
SOMETHING EXTRA:
🧠 Redefine your use of “technical skills”. Sasha Laundy wrote a fantastic essay on this topic that’s well worth the read.
📺 Full cycle: what is old is new again. Gergely Orosz’s monthly free newsletter zooms out on global markets to understand the engineering landscape today.
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