As an Engineering Manager, I’ve seen the stark contrast between high-performing teams that consistently deliver exceptional results, and those stuck in a downward spiral of underperformance and stress. The key difference isn’t technical skill or resources; it’s how individual team members respond when facing challenges. Those who accept ownership and solve problems become catalysts of growth and success, while those unwilling to get their hands dirty deny themselves and others a more conducive working environment.
(Try to) be the solution
We’ve all been in those meetings where someone points out everything that’s wrong with the codebase, the process, or the product roadmap. While identifying issues is valuable, stopping there creates a culture of complaint rather than action.
Instead of saying “The CI pipeline is too slow,” try “The CI pipeline is too slow. I’ve noticed our test suite takes 80% of the build time. I could investigate splitting our tests to run in parallel.”
This shift from problem-spotter to problem-solver changes the entire dynamic. It moves us from passive criticism to active improvement.
Sometimes you might feel you lack the experience or perspective to propose the “right” solution, especially when working with senior team members. That’s completely normal. In these cases, share your perspective, research and present options, and discuss a path forward together. Even a partial solution or a thoughtful question shows you’re taking ownership rather than just highlighting problems.
Be ready to answer: “how can I help?”
When you raise an issue to your team or manager, be prepared for them to ask “what can I do to help you solve this problem?”
Having thought through potential solutions means you can respond with specifics: “I need two days to prototype a fix,” or “I need access to the production logs,” or “I need you to prioritise this over feature X.”
This readiness demonstrates ownership and makes it much more likely your concern will be addressed rather than dropped in the backlog.
Change begins in your sphere of influence
Want to transform how your team works? Start with yourself.
Before complaining about code quality, make sure your merge requests are impeccable. Before complaining about documentation gaps, document your own work thoroughly. Before criticising the onboarding process, mentor a new team member.
Your sphere of influence is where you have the most power to create change. As you model the behaviours you want to see, you gain the credibility to expand that influence outward.
Tech is a team sport
In Engineering, we sometimes praise the lone genius engineer. But meaningful success requires collaboration and accountability from everyone involved.
When an incident occurs, the strongest teams don’t waste time assigning blame; they focus on solutions and learning. When a deadline slips, functional teams don’t point fingers; they assess what they could have done differently and adjust accordingly.
Both success and failure start with you. The next time you encounter a problem, ask yourself, “What can I do right now to move this forward?”