Working with team members

Question

We are a team of 5 guys. I am newest one among the team and a starter (been with them for about a year already)

I have two issues here:

1. Whenever I try to voice my ideas/opinions during meetings they are abandoned/ignored. The team is dominated two senior people who just discuss among themselves wok which is to be done while the other two are dormant. That makes the situation very demoralizing.

2. We have the most senior member of the team, who often ends up writing all code himself and has no idea on how to handle pair programming. At the same time our manager always wants us to work in pairs. Whenever it ends up that I need to work with him, he just asks me to work on something else and shows no interest.

What should be the best course of action I could take to resolve these issues?

Answer 1

Team dynamics are the result of the culture and environment in which a group of individuals are placed. In other words, what you are experiencing is the direct result of what the organization has created, nurtured, rewarded, and reinforced. So while the personalities of the two senior folks are a major contributor, the organization and the boss--knowingly or otherwise--are enabling the behavior and, in some way you may not recognize, find it valuable.

Going to your boss is certainly an alternative you have. Keep in mind, however, that as you talk with him/her, informing him/her about the behavior of these two senior folks, you are also putting him/her on notice of your disagreement with the way the team is being managed. Conscious or unconscious, (s)he will feel that sting.

I think your best alternative, besides finding a new job, is to continue to find ways to add value to the team in its current form.

Answer 2

Looks like you got into really toxic environment.

On one hand I can understand that it takes time to gain respect from senior team members however on another hand simply ignoring junior team members is not a way to go.

There seems to be also communication issue over there since it seems like senior team members don't understand why company asks them to pair-program.

I would recommend discussing both issues first with these senior team members in some informal meeting (over lunch or coffee break) just to get better understanding of why they work in this way. Perhaps all they need is more awareness of your ambitions to become really valuable team member.

If that won't help, I would recommend sharing your concerns with your manager because otherwise it doesn't seem like you're going to get too far in this job.