June 17, 2014 at 12:15 am
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Last Line of Defense
June 17, 2014 at 2:11 am
Working freelance means that I am only the "Last Line of Defence" during office hours (which can mean staying late to continue dealing with something but I would say that that is common for all).
The long term key is to defer some of the pressure by sharing the pain points with someone else. They might complain that they can't help because they don't know how to but next time they will.
The other problem is that people see value in being this "Last Line of Defence" because those who make decisions do.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
June 17, 2014 at 3:17 am
Simple, I make very, very sure that I'm not indispensable.
I make sure that others can do the majority of what I do, doesn't have to be as efficiently or as quickly, as long as they can do it. I make sure that I teach while doing. If I set up a maintenance plan for a system, the person who is responsible for that system has to be there and has to learn. First time I'll do it, second time I'll watch it, third time you do it by yourself and call me only if there are problems.
I will teach troubleshooting methodologies, I will document solutions and the reasons why they work and the scenarios in which they are needed, and when I go on vacation I don't take a laptop and I don't check mail.
To be honest, companies/managers who allow one person to be critical are being reckless. While they may mandate that a critical person be on call over the weekend and available while on vacation, they can't stop the person resigning when they've had enough and they certainly can't do anything about the 5pm bus.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
June 17, 2014 at 4:07 am
GilaMonster (6/17/2014)
Simple, I make very, very sure that I'm not indispensable.I make sure that others can do the majority of what I do, doesn't have to be as efficiently or as quickly, as long as they can do it. I make sure that I teach while doing. If I set up a maintenance plan for a system, the person who is responsible for that system has to be there and has to learn. First time I'll do it, second time I'll watch it, third time you do it by yourself and call me only if there are problems.
I will teach troubleshooting methodologies, I will document solutions and the reasons why they work and the scenarios in which they are needed, and when I go on vacation I don't take a laptop and I don't check mail.
To be honest, companies/managers who allow one person to be critical are being reckless. While they may mandate that a critical person be on call over the weekend and available while on vacation, they can't stop the person resigning when they've had enough and they certainly can't do anything about the 5pm bus.
Spot on.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
June 17, 2014 at 4:11 am
My Senior DBA likes to be the only one that knows some stuff so (in my opinion) he actively excludes me from situations where I might be able to learn more. He seems to think it means job security for him, but I think he's wrong. Anybody can be fired.
June 17, 2014 at 4:18 am
Interesting editorial.
Failover clustering works, why not apply the same principal this issue?
Any company that has a single point of failure is asking for trouble....:-)
June 17, 2014 at 4:22 am
Beatrix Kiddo (6/17/2014)
My Senior DBA likes to be the only one that knows some stuff so (in my opinion) he actively excludes me from situations where I might be able to learn more. He seems to think it means job security for him, but I think he's wrong. Anybody can be fired.
This is usually an indicator that the "information is power" person is insecure. Perhaps he feels threatened by you.
The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
- Martin Rees
The absence of consumable DDL, sample data and desired results is, however, evidence of the absence of my response
- Phil Parkin
June 17, 2014 at 4:31 am
ronang (6/17/2014)
Interesting editorial.Failover clustering works, why not apply the same principal this issue?
Any company that has a single point of failure is asking for trouble....:-)
Absolutely true, however, individuals sometimes stop this from occurring. Some people like to be considered "heroes" even though they are jeopardising it all.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
June 17, 2014 at 5:30 am
GilaMonster (6/17/2014)
Simple, I make very, very sure that I'm not indispensable.I make sure that others can do the majority of what I do, doesn't have to be as efficiently or as quickly, as long as they can do it. I make sure that I teach while doing. If I set up a maintenance plan for a system, the person who is responsible for that system has to be there and has to learn. First time I'll do it, second time I'll watch it, third time you do it by yourself and call me only if there are problems.
I will teach troubleshooting methodologies, I will document solutions and the reasons why they work and the scenarios in which they are needed, and when I go on vacation I don't take a laptop and I don't check mail.
To be honest, companies/managers who allow one person to be critical are being reckless. While they may mandate that a critical person be on call over the weekend and available while on vacation, they can't stop the person resigning when they've had enough and they certainly can't do anything about the 5pm bus.
Gail, I couldn't agree more. Training others makes our lives easier because there are ultimately less problems for us to deal with. The hard part is getting them to actually apply what we teach. I hear "I don't have time", "I'm too busy", "I don't care about locking the table" and a litany of excuses that make it very frustrating sometimes.
The old adage "Give a man a fish and you feed him for day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for life" really applies here.
June 17, 2014 at 5:35 am
Phil Parkin (6/17/2014)
Beatrix Kiddo (6/17/2014)
My Senior DBA likes to be the only one that knows some stuff so (in my opinion) he actively excludes me from situations where I might be able to learn more. He seems to think it means job security for him, but I think he's wrong. Anybody can be fired.This is usually an indicator that the "information is power" person is insecure. Perhaps he feels threatened by you.
He is definitely very insecure. I'm a pretty long way from being able to do his job though, so he is simply jeopardising operations for no reason. Still, it's a good learning opportunity for me in terms of what not to do should I ever be in that position.
June 17, 2014 at 5:35 am
@Gaz....
Yes I know DBA's, especially really senior DBA's tend to be very "cagey", some even difficult to approach. Unfortunately, this tends to be part of the personality profile of Administrators in general. But a good senior DBA (in my opinion) is one who isn't afraid to let his/her junior make a mistake or two as part of their learning curve. There are no really good DBA's or Developers that have not messed up some system or database so badly that they had to come up with creative ways to recover. It is usually through this process that confidence in their own abilities is gained.
If you are a Junior though, instead of asking for help directly from a Senior DBA/Developer to resolve this or that issue, propose a few solutions instead and ask for their opinion. I really enjoy it when a junior gives me a set of options they think will work, instead of waiting to be spoon fed the answer. Then together we run through the pro's and cons of each via debate/argument (some will pick up that I'm attempting to give them the methodology, some will not - guess which of the two I'm going to be motivated to mentor?). Even if none of the options are viable, at the very least the Junior has shown me that they want to resolve the issue themselves, and I feel more comfortable letting them try the more critical stuff...over time I have my "failover Node"...prepped and ready to go:cool:
My very first mentor told me something that has stuck with me throughout my career:
"If I did not teach you, you would not know. You therefore have the duty to pass on what you know"
June 17, 2014 at 5:53 am
Paradoxically you make yourself indispensable by making yourself dispensable.
Set out to architect and build systems that will not cause you 2am calls. If you have problem systems make sure you have the means to know about the problems ahead of everyone else and deal with them. Teach, teach, teach good practice and total focus on root cause analysis. Fix the root causes to leave systems robust. You build successful and confident teams around you by sharing experience and enthusing colleagues with the desire to fix problems. Make continuous learning and troubleshooting fun 🙂 Fun, hard work, enthusiasm and an open nature are what you demonstrate and engender in others.
If you can work to these goals you will help to build teams and an ethos that would allow you to be removed without too much impact.....Wrong career move ???? No, it's the correct one, because this approach builds trust and respect and human relationships and it is these that will keep you employed when you could be let go. If the worst then happens and you find yourself looking for a new position, you have a great story to take to your next position.
Mart
June 17, 2014 at 7:08 am
I've been "the guy" for over 15 years....and I took great pride in it. To quote "the replacements"....."Winners want the ball". It took it's toll.... and about 1 year ago I spent a month in a coma after having a hemorrhagic (brain bleed) stroke. Total of 3 months in a hospital. They told my Wife there was an 80% chance of mortality...and an 80% chance that if I survived I would be permanently disabled. And I came to realize nothing was more important than going home to my Wife. And a year later...I am fine....watching my diet...riding my bike....and most importantly taking things in stride.
In my absence my team figured things out....projects kept moving...support was being taken care of etc etc. A wise man once told me in my first week on the job (40 years ago) that everybody is replaceable. Even if you think "you're the guy"...when you drop dead, there will be a warm body sitting in your seat within a week....learning your job. They may not be quite as good as you at first....but the process goes on.Nobody is irreplaceable. And he was right.
We all think we are invincible....part of being "the guy" or "The gal" is a feeling of pride and invincibility. Thinking you can be everywhere for everything. Yes "Winners want the ball". But sometimes it's better to pass the ball...it's better for your team's development and continuity (especially small teams like mine). All those years of watching Larry Bird (who always wanted the ball) and I forgot how much he elevated the team with his passing (everybody involved).
None of us live forever.... take care of your health and families.
June 17, 2014 at 7:46 am
Ah, geez... If only my current workplace could have a less-indispensable view of its programmers :-P.
We work with a vendor software package that has... Interesting... Coding quirks. We have one programmer for in-house work, one programmer for web-deployed work, and me as a DBA. Nobody else in the building knows how to do these jobs.
As a result, all three of us aren't allowed vacation time (because the business's entire income depends on the programming; without one of the programmers, we literally lose half our income), and the programmers are always given just a little more work than they can reasonably get done in a single day, so there's never enough time for training other people to learn these things. Even if time allowed for it, nobody else in the building has enough time allotted to them to learn this, anyhow. Well, I was supposed to be learning the web side of things, but it's been more than a year and I haven't been trained yet. Probably has something to do with the web guy having 60 hours of work in a 40-hour week.
Naturally, the entire business would fold in on itself and die if either of the other programmers left. If I left, well... No big deal. Their data management would go to shambles immediately, but they'd still be operational.
Management has the "it's working fine now, so why change it?" mentality, though, but the weak points in this situation are horribly obvious. Both of the other programmers have repeatedly informed management that something has to change, or the business will be in peril should anything in their situation change drastically, but, as usual, their warnings are going unheeded.
- 😀
June 17, 2014 at 8:15 am
I'm with GilaMonster. I have a backup guy who knows a little so I have made sure that all of my processes are documented, and all the DR processes are documented in the even of an emergency. I used to get calls when on vacation for little stuff but now I just let everyone I'm out of contact. They haven't sufferered once. They merely use the procedures are good to go.
I consider myself pretty organized so having all of the documentation in place helps immensely. I also work remote so I have to make sure the correct docs on the share are always available... no problem.
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