Egoless Programming #5: Treat people who know less than you with respect, deference, and patience.
In 2001, Lamont Adams of TechRepublic chiseled what would become ten commandments of Gerald M. Weinberg’s timeless wisdom: Egoless Programming. Today we’re going to learn its fifth commandment:
Treat people who know less than you with respect, deference, and patience.
We can extend this to all people. They are human. They deserve it. You need no further reason.
Having considered that, lets assume we’re offering commentary on the classism of the technical vs. the non-technical. Spend a few days on Tech Twitter, and you’ll see it everywhere. It’s really not ok.
Enough justification. How should we treat others?
Treat people with respect.
Respect is providing due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others.
People who know less than you are going to piss you off. Rather than attacking the human, respectfully address their ignorance. Provide guidance rather than gall.
Treat people with deference.
Deference is humble submission to another.
You’re having an argument, and you know you’re right. Ask yourself: is this a hill I’m willing to die on? Or is the relationship more important? (NARRATOR: it almost certainly is!) Yield more often than you resist.
Treat people with patience.
Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
You may believe meeting with non-technical colleagues is a waste of your time. You just want to get back to coding! Relax. Take a breath. Listen. You just might learn something valuable.
Remember the Golden Rule.
Treat others as you want to be treated.
Take a moment and reflect on the times that others have treated you with respect, deference, and patience - despite your ignorance. Now think about how it would have felt had they done the opposite. Now go and do the one that feels better.
Check yourself.
Do you have any weaknesses here? If so, start working on them today.
(Definitions sourced from Oxford Languages via Google)
