Red Squirrel Reflections Dave Hoover explores the psychology of software development

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The End of an Illusion
Monday, September 29, 2003

I just wrapped up my first season at the helm of a PeeWee soccer team. My four-year-old daughter wanted to play soccer this year. After agreeing to be an assistant coach, I found myself with a whistle dangling around my neck surrounded by twelve pre-schoolers throwing grass at each other, the lone head coach. It ended up being a great experience, very tiring at times, but mostly a lot of fun.

There was one particularly not-so-fun experience, though. One practice, for whatever reason, the kids would just not respond to me. No matter how loud I blew my whistle, no matter how much I yelled, redirected, or encouraged, no matter how silly I made the drills, the kids seemed unreachable. After practice was over and my blood pressure had settled, I thought about the experience.

How had I lost control?

A nugget of vintage Jerry Weinberg wisdom came to mind: "It may look like a crisis, but it's only the end of an illusion." I was never in control of those kids, they were allowing me to lead them. They were giving me their attention because they felt like it. I had deluded myself into thinking that I was in control of the team.

How often do software development coaches fall under this same delusion?

Replies: 1 Comment

It depends, the good ones less often than the bad ones.

Posted by Darrell on 10/13/2003

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