Clicking in #05 - You Build It, You Own It

Assalamualaikum w.b.t. and Greetings.

Most of us are clueless in a new environment or situation. For example, you would be clueless when you went to a new restaurant. You would wonder where you would sit, how you would take an order. Once you have finished your food and drinks, you will wonder where the cashier is to pay, and if your debit card is accepted.

This will also be apparent in your newly joined company. And even if you are an experienced employee, there are always unknowns up ahead that will challenge what you know up to now.

But once you are familiar with that process, journey, path, or experience, it will become your comfort zone. One comfort zone I would like you to break out of is being dependent on others.

There is a difference between being dependent on others and delegating and relying on your colleagues when the time comes.

1. You Are the Owner

Recently, our Technical Lead and Product Manager have been asked what makes our team so productive and efficient. It will be a lie to say that this is a bulletproof solution that will 100% work on every organization, but the root issue lies deeper than we think it is.

This is the exact work culture that we have back in Klarna, and I believe all successful companies will have it too.

You are the owner.

Everything that you are building, you own it. But it is not enough to say and stamp the paper that you are simply the owner. You have to act like one.

When it comes to what we do, be it work, career, sports or even hobbies, we take great pride in owning what we do. A general introvert will become an extrovert if you tap into a specific topic that this person knows very well.

This is not only true for us as adults, but also for children. If you talk to a child about toys that they own, remote cars, dolls, and drawing utensils, they will take pride in them.

But sadly, as we grow and mature, this joy has seeped out of life just like an empty bottle. We are tuned to our daily routines and cycles, that everything becomes so mundane.

Because we do not own most of what is happening around us.

The salary is just what it is. We have no control over many things in our lives. The debt that we had is someone else’s fault. We are the result of our childhood upbringing, which is why we are behaving like this.

It is true that we cannot change what happened in the past. But what truly matters is now, and our potential in the future. If we risk that, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Take ownership of everything that we do, even at work.

When your manager overloads you with too much work, take a reflective second to decide whether you should accept that unimportant tasks. There is a reason why it is called ‘the art of saying no’.

You own your schedule. You own what you build. You own your life.

With software engineering, if you build that feature, it is now yours. Take pride in owning that feature, and expand your knowledge around it. Interview and speak to relevant stakeholders.

There is never a full stop when it comes to your knowledge and potential.

2. Do Not Give Excuses, Until The Result is Out

I shared in my past newsletter how I struggled with my last big project that took months and numerous teams and stakeholders to achieve the end result.

Throughout the duration of owning and developing it, at any time, it is easy for me to give excuses when things go south. Everyone knows it is a big project. I could get free pass access to many excuses.

But instead, I am dead focused on the result.

Result speaks louder than words.

The sweetest mouth politician can get away by talking his way out of any difficulties, but by the end of it, the citizen will judge based on how many actions you took.

If you have ever worked with a sweet talker in your life, we all know that there are limits to those ‘abilities’, and when they run out, no words can ever save you.

With what we do in life, work, relationships, or parenthood, what we do will have a subsequent impact on our lives.

But in all cases, actions (or inactions) speak the loudest volumes.

Even when you are struggling with your work, speak about those struggles in your actions. If a project is too dreadful and outdated, take a proactive approach by documenting why you think it is a complex project. Explore every avenue you can think of to solve a problem.

If the other team is particularly slow in communication and replying to your inquiries, take proactive measures to reach out to the manager. Perhaps think whether this now falls under your responsibility or theirs. Some of my projects delay falls under the scope of another team’s responsibility.

It is only after we stop our cadence and think about our responsibility that it becomes clear that we do not have to solve the other team’s work and responsibility. That is what delegation is for: working together as a team to achieve the same goal.

3. It’s Not Always You

It is too easy to fall into the trap that you have to build and solve everything.

I own this project, which means I have to build, communicate and solve everything A-Z, right?

That is the exact formula for burnout.

When it comes to work, I take this life lesson from my manager. Everything is a scale.

When you keep saying yes to everything, you’re tipping the scale heavier on your side, while leaving the other person’s scale empty.

Down the line, this usually leads to dissatisfaction and we all know what happens afterwards. If only you had said no and delegated some of your work long ago.

So every time you’re in a discussion and your team or manager is dumping the work on you, think of the scale.

Does your scale have extra room for more work? If not, clearly discuss with your team which other task you need to sacrifice to make room of the new one.

Think of it like thermodynamics — energy can’t be created or destroyed, only transferred.

When you take on too much, you’re trying to generate more energy than you have. You can’t just “will” more capacity into existence. Something else has to give — your rest, your focus, or your health.

Something has to go, and it definitely would not be your health or life.

Previously in the past newsletter, we talked about the 3-People Scale; how you can learn from those 3 kinds of people and judge whether you’re doing well or not.

This time, the scale will be on your capacity and limit.

It does not seem fair that everything is unloaded on you, right? But at the same time, your colleague and manager may not be aware of your limit, or if you need help, even. Be sure to voice out how you are doing.

If you are not doing well, speak out, say that you need help.

If you do not have the capacity, speak out.

Speak out.

Based on my experience working both in Malaysia and Germany, I am always surprised at how easy conflicts can be avoided if we just communicate well. Not only that, you have to communicate early. Which brings us to the next point.

4. Stay in Touch

With so many people around us, there is a limit to how many of them we can keep in mind.

Not only that, we have to remember our family and friends.

But communication gets easier when you think of your project like a relay race.

Your goal? Don’t hold the baton too long.

Let’s say you’re working on a food delivery feature, specifically the payment part. You need to coordinate with the delivery team to ensure that payment is only charged after the food is delivered.

This naturally involves back-and-forth between teams. Passing the baton from one to another.

The key is to keep each handoff smooth and quick. If you hold onto the baton too long (delayed response, unclear communication), you slow down the whole race. If the other team does the same, your timeline suffers too.

It’s a shared responsibility. The faster each handoff, the better the delivery.

We are easily overloading our minds when we are holding too many batons. We as humans have limited capacity and attention span. If we lose track of this, we end up being the ones being blamed.

Remember, we are exploring the scope of we build it, we own it. That also means if the other side is taking their sweet time not responding to your inquiries, seek out ways to ensure you get what you need in time.

Get into a quick call, sync with your manager, ping in a channel, anything to ensure the race is smooth and everyone involved feels like they are part of the race.

It is also a big risk if you are running one way, and the other team is running a different way. All your effort could be jeopardized easily. A good leader will ensure everyone is aligned on the same goal, running in the same direction. With all of those, communication will always be vital.

To wrap it up, I will conclude that winning is not a solo journey. It is a journey that you will pave together with your teammates, even the stakeholders.

No matter how much effort you put into it, the scope will grow and there will come a time when you simply cannot win alone. Surrounded by great teammates, you have the potential to boost everyone’s winning rate.

Win together.

As always, may Allah s.w.t. bless all of my readers, ease your hardship, hasten the good news that you are expecting, and save us both here and in the hereafter.