Things to remember while working in a software company

I have a few points which I came across and would like to share; other individuals may have their own perspective to look at things.

Once you get into a company, you will come across many different people with different attitudes and passions.
In the same project, you may have competitors / the more lazy / one who neither wants to move ahead and can't even see you moving or the one who falls for you, irrespective of your position.
Well, these may make you worry and if you are mature enough, you can make others worry by ignoring them (which is the toughest part to do, after all we are humans with emotions).

Let me turn to a developer who is working hard to prove how dedicated/strong he is and becomes disappointed after the review/rating/appraisal. The most important thing is not to just work hard, but let your superior know what you are doing. What is the risk you are taking/have taken, the amount of time you are spending in the organization. That way, he will always have the visibility of what you are doing and can guide you as and when required. It’s always better to shadow someone as you may not be best at the very initial stage, but his/her experience will help you to grow better. There are people who might want to surprise everyone/superior with something extra, they hide what they are doing and only if they succeed, they come up or sometimes being lazy they go back, and this most of the time, puzzles the superior, but it's important to note that the project and your superior are not your family members. They can’t read you until you convey to them.

It is also noticed that the developer wants to do better in projects than what the client expects (the design/development) but it's always better to have a clear communication and visibility before you do something because sometimes, the line you have changed may have its own significance to the client/project, and they may fire back.

One thing which we should accept is that predicting someone’s mind is always risky than to commit/ understand and work on what we hear/ what has been said. There might be very simple mantras to get flick in the organization.
What I would say is to first make yourself simple, be dedicated towards the assigned work, before that do analysis and evaluate the timeline, try to be a bit committed, also give some time for regular improvement (upgrade), have a cup of coffee with co-workers and turn to a helping hand as and when required.

Let me add about the quality of work... which is always better to provide, but check out the timeline. You shouldn't try to be perfect when you know you are working on a tight schedule. You can take up all the points to your superior with clear and polite communication. There is no harm in using shortcuts as and when really required.

Let me go back and pick the used terms. When we say helping hand, it should be help and not to take the whole credit/steal from someone's mouth and eat fully, grow and let others grow, so people will remember you. When we say committed, you should check for the possibility of achievement and try out if you can't achieve within a given time, no need to feel low, no one is perfect but giving prior intimation to superior is always better.
About upgrading, yeah there should be some hours of time you give for yourself; you shouldn’t be puzzled after years of work as you don't know what the current market demands, also accept the truth... Perfection is always important, but knowledge is wealth.

Well, the other thing is coffee with co-worker, yeah it's important, grooming with co-workers sometimes brings people closer and gives an opportunity to understand each other, creates an emotional touch. It also gives an opportunity to share ideas and get knowledge. You shouldn't drag your colleague if he/she is really busy; make it casual rather than a very important task. Your tea time shouldn’t be so long that your superior is really getting disappointed, and it shouldn’t be a sort of tension for her/him. Keep track of your activity, we shouldn't forget that the company pays us on an hourly basis and we should be worth the money. Everyone will have their own way to track the daily activity, but it's better you draft your day's schedule on paper as soon as you reach the office and check and work if you have some priority task to finish (In short, list out your priorities).

Now let’s step into a role where if a person is managing a team, obviously which can't be a simple job, as the job of a junior because if a junior is noticed by one superior then the lead will be surrounded with many eyes, a team, his superior and other stockholders, it’s not just managing one but managing many stockholders of a project with the project.
When in IT, the most important quality is to adapt your leadership style according to the situation and/or the state of the team - an example is to be a supervisory leader when a team is forming but to be a participative leader when a team is performing. A leader must play with the individual strengths rather point to weaknesses. People love the one who supports, guides and gives room for growth, rather than ignores. Honesty, patience and confidence are key qualities. The other thing that a leader must have is vision.

When we talk about a manager, he/she should be a leader and with better planning quality. A perfect planning gets half of the work done. This comes only with experience, sometimes after failing several times, you may not be perfect, and need not worry about it, and we are not here to succeed always. It’s better to have people in control as much as the project, which surely helps in progressing.

We will see the other way around, in IT few situations which often happen in small scale industry. The scarcity of the project, the scarcity of resources/expert resources, which sometimes may bring the tough time for an individual. Most of the time, this leads to competition/ worry to upgrade/ make resources to quit the job. A simple tip is to keep updating yourself. It is often noticed that if a person gets into completion would always love to win and sometimes can go to any extent to make others lose or show down and sometimes, a person really doesn't think about where the path leads to. He/she shouldn’t forget that people are watching them. It is recommended not to get into such situations. Live and let others live. The world is round and every individual has his/her own strengths. Never work to please someone in the organization, just look for your individual strength and the organization benefits. Your individual growth is directly/indirectly the growth of the organization. Remember the resume should build slowly. Try to make sure that you have a strong foundation. Avoid comparison.

Also your stability in the organization always makes a lot of difference in your organization and resume, it will make you stronger but you should not stay back for the sake of the resume, your everyday leaning and growth is most important. Remember it’s not family planning to plan for minimum 3/5 or 10 years stability. Place yourself where you are learning and growing and always share ideas.

Last but not the least statement for IT and non IT folks, try to be happy with whatever you do, you shouldn’t lose self-respect and peace of mind... Being happy is not just what we meant to be, we are here to do a little more. Even tough “successful or the richest person is weaker in front of the happiest person”. Don't die to live and be happy!!
Good luck!!