As a developer in a corporate environment I always seem to be dealing with blockers. My definition comes from the popular video game of my childhood: Lemmings.

“Blockers” will reverse the direction of all lemmings that hit them, and cannot be reassigned unless first the ground under their feet is removed.

A blocker is another type of Software Super Villain - just like the Big “A” Architect and the Scope Creep. It is something that prevents you from Getting Things Done and moving forward.

This is the definition of a “can’t do-er” (aka blocker) from Cubicle Commando:

They will always look at the negative side of every-thing, and are driven by fear and resentment. They may initially seem to be thoughtful and cautious planners. But soon it becomes clear that they have a great aversion to any risk and any change.

Sometimes blockers are also motivated by jealousy of you and your ideas. They would rather trash yours than spend the time and energy coming up with their own.

Some blockers even try to befriend you in order to prevent you from going through with your ideas. Their mating call is usually “I’m only trying to help”, and they just want you to reconsider, before you do anything silly that might jeopardise your career.

Examples

Now a blocker doesn’t necessarily have to be a person. It could also be a policy, rule, process or procedure. Here’s some of the blockers that I’ve come across in the last few years:

• “That doesn’t conform to our standards/branding”
• “That doesn’t integrate with our existing systems”
• You don’t have the ability to elevate to Administrator on your workstation. (Yes! It’s possible to develop without being an Administrator all the time)
• You can’t/not allowed to install software on your workstation.
• Virus scanners. One example I’ve seen is that a virus scanner was configured to perform a full system scan every day at 11am on everybody’s workstation (!!).
• No/Limited Internet access.
• No Hardware/storage and/or no data centre capacity to host it.
• People with authority won’t make a decision.
• Proposals fall on dead ears. No responses for or against.
• Meeting invites aren’t accepted or rejected.
• No scope for change. “This is the way we’ve always done it, why change?”

Understanding blockers

Lisa Messenger & Zern Liew sum it up well again in Cubicle Commando:

Hard as it may seem, try to genuinely listen to everything they say, but don’t automatically buy into their arguments. Try to help them see the positives of your project if given the opportunity. Are there real lessons for you in the points they’re making?

Develop a healthy “blocker radar”, so when you encounter one, you don’t let them push your buttons or take up too much of your time. Be aware of their agenda, and resist the temptation to react out of spite or vindictiveness, no matter what they do or say. Just smile, be nice, and walk away.

Dealing with blockers

Since I’m a member of Generation Y (born between 1980-1995), I don’t like being blocked. However I enjoy the challenge of overcoming them - it would be all too easy to just give up. Embrace your constraints and see how resourceful you can be with the resources around you. Limitations guide you to creative solutions. Constraints are often advantages in disguise.

Generation Y: “They’re after a sense of purpose, work-life balance, fun, variety, respect, and the opportunity to do ‘real’ work that makes a difference. Arguably everyone wants these things from a job but the difference with Generation Y is they’ll talk with their feet when their needs are not fulfilled.”

The first step to dealing with blockers is to identify the boundaries - this helps carve out a way forward. Some blockers are “hard” blockers and bad things will happen if you subvert them. Most blockers are only “soft” blockers and you can work through (or around) them easily.

The approach that should be tried first is a positive and engaging one:

• Work with the blocker. Engage with them, try and understand what the real issues are and address them one by one. Compromise if you need to (but not too much).

If that one fails, you need to revert to guerilla tactics:

1. “It’s easier to beg for forgiveness than to seek permission”. “Fly under the radar”. Take the Nike attitude and “Just Do It”. This is very liberating and often you’ll find that nothing bad will happen.
2. Make it easy for people to make a decision. Instead of “What do you think about this?” use phrases that extract a specific outcome. e.g. “Is it OK if I do this?”. Decisions are temporary, so make the call and move on.
3. Go over the top. If you’re having troubles getting a decision, take it to the next person in the chain of command.
4. Instead of working towards a decision - Start with the decision, then work back from there. e.g. “This is the way we’re going forward. If you have any problems with this, let me know”
5. “It’s only temporary/pilot/trial”. People are less likely to oppose something if it’s not the real thing. But the reality is that it will probably end up being the real thing.
6. Don’t have meetings. If you know that nobody will accept/reject an invite and that a meeting won’t end in a decision, don’t bother having one at all.

Of course, you do so at your own risk But given the choice between “staying blocked” and “doing something about it” - I’ll always do whatever it takes to do the latter.