The world of digital development in fintech has revolutionized traditional financial models, bringing forth new opportunities and challenges for industry players and consumers alike. In articles and blog posts, people mainly cover the technology, programming, and digital skills to solve problems, improve processes, and deliver high-quality digital products and services.
And memes, we do have a nice amount of memes 😉
The Hidden Connection Between Organizational Maturity and Developer Motivation
What I have not noticed much is discussions about the difference between maturity levels and effects. As IT professionals, we dive into this dynamic field and encounter maturity differences between different teams, units, tribes and ulitmately between IT and business stakeholders. Have you considered that these differences can significantly impact developer motivation and job satisfaction?
We run a few different surveys during the year and have an excellent ongoing dialog within the teams. We talk about politics, cars, babies, and everything in between, but at least I have yet to have that many discussions directly addressing maturity levels. It might be an illusion, but we know what we are against, thanks to continuous feedback and catch-ups. Here’s something that I have noticed during my years with IT professionals.
The Astonishing Impact of Alignment
Why did the developer bring a ladder to the meeting? Because they wanted to bridge the “gap” in understanding and reach new heights of alignment! Yeah, not that funny when you’re in the meeting…
When IT and business stakeholders have varying maturity levels in digital development, developers may need help to align their efforts with organizational goals. This might show up in your employee surveys as not believing in the company-level vision or directly to the company. This lack of alignment can create a disconnect, leaving developers feeling undervalued and demotivated.
In many cases, clear communication and a shared understanding of objectives are essential to bridge this gap and help developers see the relevance of their work within the broader context. The tricky part is when the words and deeds don’t align.
The Story of Insufficient Resources and Demotivated Developers
When you don’t know what you’re supposed to do, you will have to figure out how many people you need to do it in the time frame you expect that to be done. Ensuring adequate resources for digital development is crucial for sustaining developer motivation. Insufficient tools, technologies, and support can hinder developers’ effectiveness, resulting in demotivation and frustration. Maturity differences can impact resource allocation, with limited resources available for digital development, if the business side prioritizes investments in other areas.
The Communication Conspiracy
Someone once said that no matter how much you communicate, someone feels it’s not enough. Effective collaboration and communication are hard to reach yet vital for successful digital development. However, maturity differences can create challenges in these areas. Misalignment in understanding, language, or priorities can hinder teamwork and generate frustration among developers. Most of us can identify the situations when someone talks about BFF as a Best friend forever, even if you have just given a 10-minute monologue on how the Back end to front end setup should work. Establishing open communication channels and creating a feeling where everyone can come as they are and state they’re also, sometimes not that popular opinions, and addressing barriers can help maintain developer motivation.
Empower Your Developers with Professional Development
Developers thrive when they have opportunities for growth, learning, and enhancing skills. When developers perceive limited professional development opportunities, their motivation can wane. A significant maturity gap between IT and the business side may limit access to advanced projects or cutting-edge technologies. This might show up as an inability to give opportunities to employers not located where you thought they should be. Organizations should embrace competence and passion and actively provide avenues for skill-building, training, and exposure to new technologies to keep developers engaged and motivated regardless of the location.
Appreciation as the Fuel for Motivation
“Why didn’t they even ask this from us” or “We could tell them it won’t work in the first place” This is the comment when I call to follow up after that famous stuff hits the fan, and someone gets the call to fix it. Yes, sometimes we think we’d know it all, but sometimes asking would have been valid option.
Recognition is crucial in nurturing developer motivation. When the business side has a lower maturity level, they may not even fully understand or appreciate the value of IT’s digital development knowledge or efforts. This lack of recognition and support can leave developers feeling highly undervalued and demotivated. Think about yourself. How would you feel if someone overlooked your 10-15 years of experience? And more so, how would you feel cleaning up the mess that person made after walking over you? Organizations must foster a culture that acknowledges and appreciates developers’ contributions, reinforcing their sense of purpose and commitment.
Before Smallest Details become Big Demotivators
Bridging that maturity gap between IT and business stakeholders is essential for both short- and long-term business benefits, maintaining developer motivation, and driving successful outcomes. As the fintech landscape continues to evolve, nurturing developer motivation becomes even more critical to stay ahead and harness the full potential of digital transformation.
So , nothing new under the sky. In many ways most of us knew all those before. Yes, but at least it took me a while to figure out maturity levels and motivation had a clear connection. In the situation where your competitor is willing to sing karaoke in front of whole company or learn to stand on her head to convince your key talents they should work for her, everything matters. Your attitude matters!
Yeah, in the perfect world, would someone still say. But maybe this made someone, even one person, think, and somewhere, some developer will feel more appreciated because of this post.
