There’s No "I" in a Great System Administration Team

[ Thanks to An Anonymous Reader for this link. ]

"A great team of system administrators starts with proficiency. Notice that I didn't say technical proficiency. Of course, technical skills are very important and serve as the basis for hiring, assignments, and promotion. However, not every member of a system administration team need be an expert in Linux, Solaris, or what have you.There is a enormous value in having team members who are subject matter experts in something only incidentally related to the pursuit of system administration.

"For example, I once had a great team that included four very different personas: a Unix expert, a great intermediate system administrator with experience in varied environments, a guy who used to raid drug boats for the United States Coast Guard, and a former Apple Genius. The team worked because it "did things right" and drew on varied expertise in some pretty cool areas. The Unix expert served as an architect, while our all-purpose administrator would tackle any and every weird request thrown at him (and there were plenty) with great aplomb. The drug boat raider was able to work quickly and efficiently under absurd levels of pressure and whining from users, while our former Apple Genius wowed the users with amazing customer service."

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