ANTIPATTERN: TURF

PROBLEM

When getting results is difficult, you focus on “role definition.”

When things are uncertain or difficult, you often find safety in your predefined role. Your Turf is your castle, and you are master there. When facing the stress of interacting with neighboring castle owners, you usually become more explicit about what you “own.” The more difficult the situation becomes, the more you take refuge in role definitions—both yours and theirs. You want to know what you're supposed to do, what they are supposed to do, and that everybody else knows.

When facing the stress of interacting with neighboring castle owners, you usually become more explicit about what you “own.”

Role definitions act as personal boundaries.[1] They ...

Get Software for Your Head now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.