A common problem in any field is seeing a talented team performing less well than you know they are capable.

A common mistake is to beat up the team for underperforming, increase performance reviews, and otherwise shift the blame entirely to the individual team members without considering how the design and the approach to the design may have created the issue.

Prior to working as a solutions architect consultant, my undergrad had been in biomedical engineering. If you are scratching your head wondering how this is related, the first few years in the industry, this was the conversation every hiring manager and I would have. To succeed in this industry, I had to accept my own handicap and break down my tasks from being monumental and insurmountable into being a series of accomplishable tasks that would lead me to the next step.

Over the years, as I progressed from entry to mid, mid to senior, senior to lead, and lead to architect, I have kept the same approach both in designing systems and in delegating the work to be done by my team. For sure, no one likes a hovercopter boss or architect. If my team knows what to do, they need and deserve the freedom to explore the right solutions.

Often times, however, my teams are comprised of entry level developers fresh out of college. There is a lot of zeal and raw potential, and all that potential needs is a little guidance to help them generate momentum.

As it turns out, the human brain rewards learning done in this way with a series of related activities that build little by little to a grand design. A big picture with no steps is an exciting sales pitch...but it burns out a talented team fast, let alone a junior or entry level team.

Creating dopamine rewarding designs takes thoughtful examination both of the goals of a project but also of the talent and capabilities of the team. Dice up the tasks too finely for a veteran team, and they will fall asleep. Fail to create progressive chunks, and your junior team members will choke on the expectation to figure it out on their own.

By creating a design and plan that fits well into the way the reward center of the brain functions, your team comes to work excited to see how far they can get; and they leave for the day feeling energized for what wonders tomorrow will bring.

What new life is waiting to be breathed into your project with a well-engineered architectural design?