Respect a good solution rather than the best one, when you are not the one who builds it.

Work never ends, and there are only a limited number of things you can focus on at any given time.

There are times you know the best way to accomplish the task, but never get the time – likely not your highest priority, other tasks take precedence. Great that you have colleagues who can help to finish more tasks faster.

You may be directly responsible for finishing those tasks (e.g., as a Lead, or as a Senior), or you may feel that you are the one accountable.

Difficulty is that your colleagues may not have required context, or the necessary skillset, or the right motivation.

Provide as much guidance, instructions and support as you able to. And still, the proposed or the implemented solution may be good, but is not the imaginary ideal result you have dreamt of.

And that’s okay.

Most of the time.

There are certain areas where you need to strive for the best possible outcome, but there are also areas that don’t need as much attention. Trying to push every execution to align with your solutions will likely require your frequent feedback or other handholding, but how does it help when you are short of time already?

Not every decision or task requires the same level of attention or concern.

For example, mission-critical processes that can cause significant financial losses, or sensitive information handling, it is about decisions and systems that require careful consideration and attention to detail. In these situations, it’s important to prioritise the best possible solution, even if it requires more time and effort.

On the other side, when it comes to coding styles, some may be passionate whether you need to use tabs or spaces, or whether to use semicolons. But these details don’t make a significant impact on the overall outcome. Automate the process with whatever decision is or provide flexible guidelines that allow for individual preferences.

Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide which tasks require greater attention and which ones can be delegated or simplified, so, good luck