Leadership Wednesday | Hello Tech Pros

What software developers say and what they mean are sometimes two different things. Or to put it another way, what software developers say and what you hear are two different things. In this episode we discuss common statements from software developers and parse them for clues into their true intention.   Learn how to improve the communication between developers and non-developers, go to hellotechpros.com/manage. 

Radiance Harris is the founder and managing attorney of Radiance IP Law.  She provides outside general counsel services to startups with an emphasis on trademark law, copyright law, advertising law, and business contracts.  She takes care of the day-to-day legal matters for startups so that they can focus on doing what they love and have peace of mind about the rest. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/radiance-harris-leadership/ What You Will Learn in This Episode The ABCs of business and why you need to put a team in place to address them. What it means to be a proactive leader. The vulnerabilities and risks of not talking to an attorney. How to determine the type of attorney you need for your tech or media business. The legal basics you need to put in place to protect your website, podcast or videos.   Resources Mentioned U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Copyright Office Federal Trade Commission Business Center   Sponsors HelloUglySite.com AnxietyNerd.com

This is episode 5 in the series: The Five Dysfunctions of a Software Development Team, modeled after the book by Patrick Lencioni. Access the full series at hellotechpros.com/team.   What You Will Learn in This Episode Why falling in love with technology can actually be a detriment to a technology professional. Why you need to spend more time learning about the industry and business objectives than you do about the newest technology. Free resources to learn about your business industry. Why you should be asking dumb questions at work if you want to get a promotion.   Resources Mentioned The Five Dysfunctions of a Software Team The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni (audio book) 9 Critical Attributes for Assessing Personal Performance Career Hyperdrive Course Start Your First Business Course   Sponsors HelloUglySite.com - Get a free website makeover consultation. AnxietyNerd.com - Resources on social anxiety for software developers. Sponsor this podcast on Patreon

This is episode 4 in the series: The Five Dysfunctions of a Software Development Team, modeled after the book by Patrick Lencioni. Access the full series at hellotechpros.com/team.   What You Will Learn in This Episode An overview of Patrick Lencioni's fourth dysfunction of a team: avoidance of accountability. The excuses developers use to avoid leadership. The 3 real issues that being a leadership introduces into our lives. Seven easy ways to start being a leader without being a manager.   Resources Mentioned The Five Dysfunctions of a Software Team The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni (audio book) 9 Critical Attributes for Assessing Personal Performance Career Hyperdrive Course Start Your First Business Course   Sponsors HelloUglySite.com - Get a free website makeover consultation. AnxietyNerd.com - Resources on social anxiety for software developers. Sponsor this podcast on Patreon

This is episode 2 in the series: The Five Dysfunctions of a Software Development team, modeled after the book by Patrick Lencioni. Access the full series at hellotechpros.com/team. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/social-anxiety-leadership/ What You Will Learn in This Episode An overview of Patrick Lencioni's second dysfunction of a team: fear of conflict. Why software developers want to think, work and socialize like Commander Spock. How a technical lead or architect can derail a healthy debate by stating their position. Why we need to combine empathy and love with a fierce desire to get our message across. How to foster an environment of healthy conflict in your software development team.   Resources Mentioned The Five Dysfunctions of a Software Team The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni (audio book) 9 Critical Attributes for Assessing Personal Performance Career Hyperdrive Course Start Your First Business Course   Sponsors HelloUglySite.com - Get a free website makeover consultation. AnxietyNerd.com - Resources on social anxiety for software developers.

This is episode 1 in the series: The Five Dysfunctions of a Software Development team, modeled after the book by Patrick Lencioni. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/cowboy-coding-leadership/ What You Will Learn in This Episode An overview of Patrick Lencioni's 5 Dysfunctions of a Team. The kinds of mess that Cowboy Coders create. The similarities between Cowboy Coders and Rockstars that make you want to love them. Why some developers don't want to work in a team. What you should do instead of being or supporting a Cowboy Coder.   Resources Mentioned The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni (audio book) 9 Critical Attributes for Assessing Personal Performance Career Hyperdrive Course Start Your First Business Course   Sponsors HelloUglySite.com - Get a free website makeover consultation. AnxietyNerd.com - Resources on social anxiety for software developers.

This is Part 3 of the free 7-day audio and email course Start Your First Business.   What You Will Learn In This Episode How to make the decision to either bootstrap or find investors. Why you need to build as much value in your company as possible before bringing in an outsider. How to use your customer avatar to identify the most important tasks that need to get accomplished. An easy 5-step process to determine which tasks you do, which you outsource and which you should forget altogether. How to think like a CEO instead of a tech pro.   Resources Mentioned Start Your First Business Course

Corey Grusden has been programming computers for 25 years, and has built software for government, education, and numerous companies. A few years ago he decided to cofound a software development consultancy to build web and mobile apps. They have been profitable since day 1. Corey's entire team works remotely, and through a dedicated process, build applications and platforms as efficiently as possible.   Corey started programming at eight years old. He's been working on growing a software agency that builds web and iphone applications. He also recently moved to Philadelphia! Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/corey-grusden-leadership/ What You Will Learn In This Episode Why leaders need to stop thinking about competing with the other division leads and start collaborating across silos. What happens to the company culture when you don't listen to your employees. How a team lead should respond when presented a crazy idea that you don't believe will work. How to make calculated risks on innovation. The emotion that destroys people's ability to lead. What you can do today to improve morale in your team.

Tom Cooper, father of 7, started out his career as a computer geek. Along his journey he worked in big and small companies building teams, running projects, and building software products. Today Tom is a speaker, trainer and coach. He says he gets really excited when he works with people who want to become better leaders by getting better at planning, communicating and connecting with others. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/tom-cooper-leadership/ What You Will Learn in This Episode What causes projects to fail when the teams consist of really smart people. The things a leader should be focused on (hint: it isn't the tasks). The difference between the success that come from geeky knowledge and the success that come from people knowledge. The 4 levels of thinking as a Geek Leader: how to self-assess and climb the ranks. What Uber Geeks need to focus on in order to get recognized. Why geeks are rarely self-aware and how it can kill their career. The issues our business customers want to talk about (hint: it isn't the technology).

Career Hyperdrive Course: Day 3   The Career Hyperdrive Course is a free 7 day email and audio course for technical professionals to help launch your career into hyperspace. Each module in this course is designed to help you overcome a major barrier to your career growth. Here's what you're going to get out of the course. The motivation you need to overcome your biggest career obstacles and navigate asteroids. Productivity tips to help you crush it at work without killing your personal life (leaving more time at the cantina). Jedi mind tricks that will build your respect and influence across the organization without needing to move into a management track. A droid masterclass that’s going to guide you through the process of selecting the right technology for the right problem, every time. Social engineering hacks to break into the elite inner circles and get a seat at the Jedi Council. A strategy that will raise your value (and salary) within your organization and increase your reputation and negotiation power across the galaxy. The peace of mind to unplug from the job without the guilt of leaving your friends to fight the Death Star on their own, or the fear and anxiety of being pursued by bounty hunters.   The audio lessons are available to everyone, but the action items and homework are exclusive to the students who subscribe to the email version of the course. (Hint: If you don't take action and do the homework, you're probably not going to change anything.)   Click here to enroll in the full course. It's completely free.   Module 3 How to Influence Your Colleagues Into Action (Using Jedi Mind Tricks) Without Moving Into Management   Here's what you're going to learn in the third module of the Career Hyperdrive Course. The key to connecting to everyone at work. How to leverage your colleagues' goals to get what you want. The conversations that will get and hold your boss' attention (in an awesome way). The personal story of the time I talked 12 different developers to work on a bunch of new projects in their spare time without me having a Lead or Manager title.

Kevin Jean-Charles is the Founder of Transparency Financial Technology Corp which owns and operates Finslide brand, a personal cashflow technology that services families and individuals. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/kevin-jean-charles-leadership/ Key Takeaways What is the #1 priority to your brand? Are you enabling your employees to be successful in that area? Support your employees but don't be a "helicopter boss." No hovering. Don't count the hours, count the moments and conversations. Your life can change after one conversation. Make sure each conversation will have a positive impact on the people around you. Make each day a masterpiece. To engage an audience, whether it be with technology or conversation, you have to make it relevant to them. Helping youth understand personal finance and cash flow means you need to engage them using the user interfaces that help them the best. Think before you speak - you don't have to be an abusive boss.

Maggie Georgopoulos is the Leading Global authority on career development for women in male dominated industries. She is the author of the upcoming book, Up the Ladder in a Skirt, which is hailed as the book for women in challenging roles globally. A mechanical engineer who climbed to the top of the leadership ladder, Maggie was the executive chairman of a large agricultural company, responsible for the 75% increase in the retention of staff through career development pathways, by the age of 32. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/maggie-georgopoulos-leadership/ Key Takeaways Bad managers turn into bullies when they feel their job is threatened that an employee is after his job. Managers do the day-to-day tasks. Leaders step out and think about how to help the team accomplish the goals. Be open and watch how your interactions affect those around you. Are you too busy to look to see how people react? Are people pretending this is ok or are they genuinely fine? How do you come across to people when you are busy and stressed? Set office hours for visiting. Let everyone know when there is a good time to follow up. Follow through on your actions and promises. When you are task-oriented, people can take that as unfriendly. When people realize it is okay to talk then they became more open and honest. People feet satisfied when leaders show they actually care. Your mental health and the mental health of others is the most important thing in the office. Be aware.

Eric Fisher is the .NET Content Author for Code School. He also has over 10 years of experience as a software developer. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/eric-fisher-leadership/ Key Takeaways Are you recognizing the extra effort and overtime that your salaried employees are putting in, or are you just docking them for taking time off? From a Total Cost of Ownership perspective, it's important to track time on projects and support, but not to belittle good employees. Problem solvers and digital workers tend to put in extra work when they are "in the zone." It doesn't make sense to start something deep and involved when there is only 15 minutes left in the day. The team members who speak up and challenge the status quo tend to grow into the spokesperson or team lead for the group. Some companies make you feel like your individual voice doesn't matter. Soft deadlines can be moved, hard deadlines have dire consequenses. Be upfront and communicate the expectations clearly to everyone involved. If you need more people, resource or time, find more people, resource or time. Don't put your employees under undue stress for no reason. Some people do not like conflict and find it difficult to speak up for themselves. We have to look out for everyone, not just those who are more vocal. To get a group to buy into a new idea, discuss it with individuals one-on-one before the group meeting. Get their ideas and concerns out in the open in a non-threatening environment. Bring up your concerns and escalate appropriately with upper management. The employees are going to treat the company the same way the company treats the employees.

Patrick Kua is a Technical Principal Consultant for ThoughtWorks in London. He is a conference speaker and author of "The Retrospective Handbook" and "Talking with Tech Leads" and is passionate about bringing a balanced focus on people, organization and technology. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/patrick-kua-leadership/ Key Takeaways Horrible bosses don't have to be managers, they can be more senior people on the team. Personal issues should be taken offline, after calming down. If you are a junior colleague trying to resolve an issue with a more senior colleague, find another senior individual to act as a mediator. Developer to tech lead is a huge jump and changes the expectations. When you are a dev your workload consists of code, working with fellow devs and solving tech problems. When you are a team lead your workload consists of people issues, planning and whole system architecture. When moving to a tech lead role, it can feel lonely. Your focus is on the broader view, not tech issues. You're not working on the same issues with your old friends. You're starting to spend more time in meetings with people outside the department. However, you have a broader impact on the organization. You set the culture. Instead of having really deep relationships with a small group of people that you pair with every day, you need to invest time with the broader team. You must get outside of your comfort zone and spend time with people with different styles. Your emotional range and capacity to connect with people will grow as your career grows.

Chris Surdak is an award winning author, futurist, technologist and former rocket scientist.  Chris writes about technology disruption and help companies navigate the accelerating changes around us. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/chris-surdak-leadership/  Key Takeaways Set a longterm goal with meticulous planning, be flexible to change in the future, monitor along the way, and be open to frequent fast failure. Don’t be afraid to be wrong or make a mistake. Look at the bigger picture and outcomes that employees generate before nitpicking the operational metrics. We need destructive, disruptive innovation, but it’s harder to implement than incremental change. If you want to start innovating, you have to stop improving. You can assume that your ability to improve your business is good. Identify the exceptions and outliers and focus on improving them. In what circumstances do you want your employees to make a judgment call and “break” the rules for the betterment of the organization? We have transitioned through 2 trinities of power. The Analog Trinity was about bureaucracy, process and rules. It was about growing capital. The Digital Trinity now consists of mobility, social media and analytics. It is about growing information. The millennial generation naturally understands the Digital Trinity but the Analog generations need to learn to adapt. Everything that we’ve done to be successful in our past careers is now “wrong.” In an age of disruption, if you’re comfortable you’re getting something wrong. You have a 98% of getting it wrong and a 2% chance of getting it right.

Dennis Green-Lieber is a product/business developer at Founders, a startup studio based in Copenhagen, Denmark and the co-founder of duuoo.io. Dennis is a veteran in the marketing technology space in the agency world and turned into a startup kid as Head of R&D at Falcon.io, where he grew the team from 2 to 50 over 2.5 yr with $23M investment. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/dennis-green-lieber-leadership/

Rennie Cook is an executive coach, trainer and speaker. He specializes in working with executives who are frustrated with their own performance, or their team's, and offers leadership, management and team development solutions.   Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/rennie-cook-leadership/

Scott Jancy has worn several hats over the course of his career: historian, architect, Naval Officer, planner, and most recently, as a consultant working globally on small and large scale infrastructure development projects. He works closely with leadership teams to help them set vision and strategy, create new sources of value, and adapt to continuous change. Trained as an historian and an architect, Scott has a background that gives him an understanding of how systems evolve and the role that design can play in effecting cultural, economic, and social change. A systems thinker, he views every organization from the perspective of a system in balance. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/scott-jancy-leadership/ Resources Mentioned Leadership By Design: Creating an Architecture of Trust by Richard Swett   Sponsors Minio Cloud Server - Written in Go for developers and devops. Burdene - The bot that remembers where you parked your car.

Zach Hughes is the Director of Technical Services at CHS, Inc. He has 17 years of experience in enterprise IT infrastructure in a variety of disciplines including cloud computing, application hosting, data centers, converged infrastructure, security, and IT leadership. He is passionate about innovating infrastructure technology solutions that create a competitive advantage for business. Prior to CHS, Zach held various IT leadership and Sr. Engineering positions at Wells Fargo and GMAC Financial Services. Zach earned his MA in Organizational Leadership from Bethel University. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/zach-hughes-leadership/ Sponsors Minio Cloud Services Burdene - The bot that remembers where you parked your car.

Leadership and sales is similar. It's about influencing and getting buy-in. Your audience has to have confidence in you to embrace your idea. Mike Crandall is a Speaker, Consultant, Coach and Trainer focused on Proactive Business Growth. He is brought in by Business Owners and Executives to work on the Behaviors, Attitudes, Techniques, and Guts needed to be more Successful in Business Improvement, Sales Growth, and Employee Development. His firm specializes in helping identify the Blind Spots and Obstacles that are holding you back and then implementing Systems, Behaviors, and Guts to become more Successful. Clients ultimately develop new Habits that lead to Proactive Growth Professionally and Personally. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/mike-crandall-leadership/ Sponsors Minio.io - Cloud storage written in Go with an awesome user community.

A product of the University of Oklahoma, Tarek Dina is an accomplished entrepreneur, boasting a highly-skilled 19-year career reflecting a clear leadership style of identifying, developing, and implementing business solutions for a wide variety of clientele. He started a web design firm, Levant Technologies, in 2003. It has grown to be one of the leading companies in the Oklahoma City metro area, winning best web design firm for four consecutive years. His outstanding management skills have allowed him to lead geographically-varied groups and clientele across the USA to successful implementation. Most recently, Mr. Dina was involved in the development and release of the widely used school district application SchoolWay, which is the communication solution for over 700 school districts. SchoolWay was acquired by Jostens, Inc. in July of 2012. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/tarek-dina-leadership/ Sponsors Minio Cloud Storage - Simple. Reliable. Fast.    

Carson Heady is a published author of two sales books and numerous articles on selling and leadership who has served at multiple levels of sales management in his career. He has worked in technology, advertising and telecommunications. Carson lives in St. Louis, MO with his wife and daughter. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/carson-heady-leadership/ Sponsors Burdene - The bot that remembers where you parked your car. Levant Technologies - Voted Oklahoma's #1 website design and development company.

Jason Burt learned many leadership lessons while working with Toyota including being intimately connected with the problems that trouble the team. Jason Burt owns Evolve Holdings LLC and has over 20 years of leadership and cultural change experience based on learnings from working with Toyota (TPS/Lean).  Jason has worked in many industries and has been able to use his learning to help guide many companies to increased profitability through implementation of the Toyota philosophies.  Jason has worked in hundreds of companies and industries ranging from Aerospace (Metal Fabricators) to Commercial Farming (Farm & Distribution). Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/jason-burt-leadership/ Sponsors Burdene - The bot who remembers all your stuff and reminds you when you forget. HelloTechBook.com - Free audio book from Audible.  

If the Command and Control management style is like the British Armada then do dev managers need to be a lot more like pirate ship captains? Jeff Maxwell is an application architect with experience in Fortune 100 corporations, a longtime software developer and lifelong Oklahoma State Cowboy alumnus. Jeff was a prior guest of Hello Tech Pros on episode 2 where we discussed Productivity and how Jeff took a $1 million project and reduced the team size from 25 to 4 people by restructuring the requirements document into bite-sized tasks. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/jeff-maxwell-leadership/ Key Takeaways You're not a leader if you're not listening to your team. Leaders who are very non-technical in a very technical field can be challenging to work with if they are command and control driven and don't solicit feedback from the team. Developers are really good problem solvers. Leadership needs to identify those who are great problem solvers and empower them to make creative solutions. Managing developers is like herding cats being a captain on a pirate ship. Developers crave adventure. They don't want to follow rules that have no purpose or add value to the current situation. They respect leaders who have hands-on experience and lead from the front lines. Each ship and each captain had their own set of rules or Pirate Code. Can't light a candle after 9pm at night. If you're going to smoke or drink you must do it above deck after 8pm. Each man gets a vote. You must keep your pistols and cutlass (skills) ready for war. The person who forsees the first sail gets the best weapons. The captain is elected by the majority of the crew. The musicians get to rest on Sunday but have to take requests on all other days by the crew. The captain has to understand every aspect of the ship and what each role entails. Each dev team should create their own Pirate Code and swear an oath. Coding standards. SDLC process. Culture standards.   Resources Mentioned HTP-2 Scaling Down a Team to Get Results — Productivity Tuesday with Jeff Maxwell It's Your Ship: Management Techniques From the Best Damn Ship in the Navy by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff (Listen on Audible)   Sponsors Burdene.com - SMS text-based bot for taking notes and getting reminders. HelloTechBook.com - Get a free audio book from Audible.  

This is part three in a three part series, focused on the 3 business-focused attributes that build a connection and value to the business. Part 1: Getting Personal Part 2: Teamwork Download the Performance Feedback Cheatsheet Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/performance-feedback-business-leadership/ Key Takeaways The Personal-Centric Attributes are Integrity, Energy, Accountability. Listen to Part 1. Integrity is the basis for trust. Listen to Part 2. Passion is about connecting with your customer's needs and providing products and services that meet those needs. Focus is all about prioritization and working on the tasks that will help achieve business objectives. Precision means consistently delivering results with the expected quality of your job role, seniority and experience. Examples: Download my Performance Assessment Cheatsheet Resources Mentioned Download my Performance Assessment Cheatsheet Sponsors Transource Media - Podcast audio editing services. These are the guys I use for every episode of Hello Tech Pros. HelloTechBook.com - Free audio book and a 30-day trial to Audible.

This is part two in a three part series, focused on the 3 team-centric attributes that help get you on more critical projects, have more input on the process and increase demand for your work. Part One: Personal-Centric Attributes Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/performance-feedback-team-leadership/ Key Takeaways Hello Tech Pros new mission is to help you Build Your Career, Build your Product and Build Your Business. It's critical to assess your personal or your team's performance at least once or twice a year. Determine where we are vs where we want to be and use as a catalyst for growth. The assessments are context sensitive. The attributes are the same for everyone, but how we measure them depends on the individual's experience level, their role and the expectations for them. Personal-centric attributes are 100% in your control. Integrity is the basis for trust. Energy levels are infectious, so it's important to squash negativity and foster confidence and motivation. Accountability means being responsible, showing blamelessness and taking ownership of situations. Team-centric attributes reflect how you interact with other people. It's more than just "play nicely with others". If you do these right, you will be put on more critical projects, allow you to have a voice at the table and increase the demand on your work because people will want to work with you. Doing these wrong will keep you out of the loop, put you on low-priority work and lead to a dead-end career. Teamwork is commonly stated but uncommonly practiced. Help out others outside of assigned responsibilities. Ask others what their pain points are and try to solve them. How does your work impact others upstream or downstream? Examples: Download my Performance Assessment Cheatsheet Communication breakdowns are one of the most common reported issues in individuals and team. Provide excellent and actionable feedback to others. Think about your audience and how they want to receive information and in what detail. Examples: Download my Performance Assessment Cheatsheet Adaptability is critical because we don't have complete control over most of the changes that impact us at work. The only consistency is that everything changes all the time. We need to be learning and applying new skills to keep up with the market and competition. Business priorities are always shifting, so we need to help the company adapt. Examples: Download my Performance Assessment Cheatsheet Resources Mentioned Part One: Personal-Centric Attributes Download my Performance Assessment Cheatsheet Sponsors Levant Technologies - Voted Oklahoma's #1 website design and development company.

This is part one in a three part series, focused on the 3 personal attributes that help build trust, respect and likability in the workplace. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/performance-feedback-personal-leadership/ Key Takeaways Hello Tech Pros new mission is to help you Build Your Career, Build your Product and Build Your Business. It's critical to assess your personal or your team's performance at least once or twice a year. Determine where we are vs where we want to be and use as a catalyst for growth. The assessments are context sensitive. The attributes are the same for everyone, but how we measure them depends on the individual's experience level, their role and the expectations for them. Technical Performance are KPIs that can be defined and measured very concretely such as # of bugs, uptime of servers, # of units sold, etc. Non-Technical Performance attributes are more difficult to understand, evaluate and communicate. "He's a great guy with a good work ethic but has kind of low energy." "She's definitely a team player but needs to work on her communication skills." "They just aren't showing the passion we're looking for." The non-technical performance attributes have the biggest impact on your career. It's not just about the quality of product you build or service you deliver, it's about whether or not you're trusted, how well you work in group settings and how in-touch you are with the business. The Personal-Centric Attributes are Integrity, Energy, Accountability. You have complete control and ownership of the personal-centric attributes. Displaying good behaviors will help us build respect, trust and likability. Displaying negative behaviors will erode trust and may cause you to get on a PIP (personal improvement plan) or fired. When we assess these attributes we look for consistent behaviors or patterns, not just one-off instances (everyone has a bad day). Integrity is the basis for trust. Without trust, you have to work 10x-100x harder just to keep up (and you career will be filled with drama). Integrity is not a boolean, it's not black and white, there are different aspects. Examples: Expense Reports Estimates to Actuals Following through on commitments Keeping confidences Energy could mean mental, emotional or physical energy. When assessing personal performance, we usually assess mental and emotional energy. It's about the attitude, initiative, persistence, resilience and confidence in the individual. We want to see a can-do attitudes (Tigger) not hum-hum-woe-is-me attitudes (Eeyore) Energy levels are infectious, so it's important to squash negativity and foster confidence and motivation. Examples: Download my Performance Assessment Cheatsheet Accountability means being responsible, showing blamelessness and taking ownership of situations. We need to follow through and not drop the ball. If we do drop the ball we need to own up to our mistakes and work to solve them. Communicate status early and often. Don't play the blame game. Examples: Download my Performance Assessment Cheatsheet Resources Mentioned Download my Performance Assessment Cheatsheet Sponsors Levant Technologies - Voted Oklahoma's #1 website design and development company.

Bryan Sherlock encourages leaders to build trust with their team and understand what they most value. Bryan Sherlock has been an Information Technology Leader for over 18 years. He’s held numerous leadership positions focused on the varied aspects software development teams, including Solution Design, Data Design, Application Development, SAP ABAP, System Integration, Data Development, Database Administration, and Platform Administration. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/bryan-sherlock-leadership/ Key Takeaways Leading people is the same regardless of the team or roles of individuals People all have desires and motivators, we need to connect with them at that level Software development environment is different today than 15-20 years ago In the past, a leader was expected to slide a pizza box under the door of technical professionals and just "let them work" Today we want technical professionals to be highly engaged, to communicate and to be part of a team A leader's role is about building and growing the team for the future Everyone makes mistakes, we must allow employees to try new things without fear of retribution Leaders must understand the individuals on the team, learn about them and learn what's important to them Trust is essential - once you get people to trust you and you trust them, then forward progress can be made Help employees understand how the work they do maps to the corporate value and goals There's a time to work on strategy and a time to step up and get things done Decompose complex problems into smaller tasks and take action to continue to move the ball forward The key to estimating is understanding the expected outcomes People are the most important assets, treat them with respect, challenge them and provide them with feedback in a timely manner

After working for an insecure boss that constantly belittled employees for their lack of a college degree, Leon recalled sage words from his father. It was this point in his career that he began to appreciate the work ethic and servitude instilled into him by Leon Senior. Leon II now lives and works under the guiding question, "Is there anything else I can do for you?" Leon Fowler II over the past 10 years has worked for a Fortune 100 company in web development as well as supporting vendor software in a System Analyst role. He has been an Entrepreneur since starting his first business at the age of 12. He is currently building his startup as the Founder and CEO of Resume Righter. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/leon-fowler-leadership/ Key Takeaways Accolades mean nothing It's about the service you provide Don't be afraid of humiliation if your intentions are good Do the most menial jobs Resources Mentioned Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck--Why Some Thrive Despite Them All by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen (Listen on Audible) From Bubblegum Machines to Mobile Apps - Entrepreneurship Satursday with Leon Fowler Sponsors BookMoreNights.com - You've got the best vacation rental property, show it off! About Hello Tech Pros Hello Tech Pros is the daily podcast that interviews business professionals who work with technology and discuss Motivation, Productivity, Leadership, Technology, People, Entrepreneurship and Being Unplugged.

Brian Freid breaks down the difference between upward management and servant-leadership by discussing examples of both during his years in software development. He also takes the time to explain the similarities and differences between various management roles. Since 2001 Brian Freid has held several management positions from Resource Manager to Program and Project manager. Brian has worked in several industries from Games Development to Hospitality, Resorts, Telecom and Hospitals. While the industries vary, the people, management and challenges within those industries have many commonalities. Being adept in any of these roles provide Bryan insight across these industries and team structures. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/brian-freid-leadership/ Key Takeaways Resource manager is ultimately responsible for your career path within the organization Project manager is responsible for the delivery of a project and focused on timelines, deliverables, resources required Program manager is responsible for multiple projects Some managers have multiple roles Upward management is focused on your boss' expectations and concerns A good boss empowers their team and protects them from outside impacts, including upper management Executives want to acknowledgement of an issue and that there is a plan in place, not all the details A good leader must participate at whatever level they are currently working at Great leaders support the manager above them as well as the team itself Leaders want to help others, they coach, teach and mentor To be a good leader you must first be a good servant

In her past, Shelli Austin had to endure a horrible boss who used demeaning language and fear tactics to intimidate their staff. Now as a technical recruiter, Shelli advises consultants to research the position and the hiring manager before accepting a job. When you spend more time with the people you work with rather than the people you live with, Shelli wants her clients to be as happy as possible in their position. Shelli Austin has been working in I.T. Staffing for close to 20 years.  Her goal is to be an advocate for both her clients and her candidates. Shelli values attention to detail, identifying quality candidates for her customers, and follow through.  Developing, building and maintaining solid, long-term client relationships that are mutually beneficial is her #1 priority. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/shelli-austin-leadership/ Key Takeaways To be happy in life you have to enjoy what you're doing at work Don't micromanage, instead give employees ownership of their role Your co-workers is like your second family, you spend more time with them during the work week than your 1st family When interviewing, look for red flags that may indicate a mis-alignment to your personal goals that may lead to unhappiness After the first or second round of interviews, ask the hiring manager for references on their leadership style The interview process is a process and takes time, be patient Ask your employees what they need to be successful Resources Mentioned OakTree Sponsors ScrumBrawl Transource Media About Hello Tech Pros Hello Tech Pros is the daily podcast that interviews business professionals who work with technology and discuss Motivation, Productivity, Leadership, Technology, People, Entrepreneurship and Being Unplugged.

After a surfing buddy talked him into moving away from philosophy and into computer science, Edward Skrod pursued the opportunity with gusto. Now with only a year and a half experience in the industry, he is transitioning into his first software leadership role. Regrets from his past are ensuring he won't make the same mistakes as he did in a former career. Edward Skrod, is a software engineer, philosopher, surfer and Grateful “Deadhead” from Melbourne, Florida, working for Thales, USA in the Business Applications division for Commercial Airline, In-Flight Television and Connectivity.  He graduated from Florida State University, Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Computer Science in 2014.  He enjoys speaking at .NET code camps on the topic of Unit Testing. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/edward-skrod-leadership/ Key Takeaways Surf when the waves are out, the work will always be there Listen to the experienced team members regardless of their position and your own Life is a succession of successes and failures and it's our responsibility to figure out why Create a calendar reminder to do the things you hate doing, copy everyone else it can help Host get-togethers and invite co-workers and their families Recruit a co-evangelist and spread the idea to get buy-in Throw an internal hack-a-thon and team senior developers with juniors Leadership isn't reserved for outgoing people, introverted people need to push themselves out of their comfort zone Resources Mentioned The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni (Listen on Audible) hackerrank.com

In this episode, Joe Vallone explains the alphabet soup of Scrum and agile certifications, the differences between scrum teams and enterprise scrum teams and the approaches leaders can take to shift the culture of their organizations to be agile-ready. Joe Vallone is an experienced Agile “Coach and Trainer” at Scaled Agile Inc and has been involved in Lean and Agile communities since 2002. Mr. Vallone has helped coach several large-scale Agile transformations at Zynga, Apple, Microsoft, VCE, Nokia, AT&T and American Airlines. Joe is an effective leader and speaker with over 20 years of software development and coaching experience with certifications as a Certified Scrum Master, Certified Scrum Professional, and Certified SAFE Program Consultant Trainer.   Key Takeaways Agile Certifications - small teams Certified Scrum Master -  requires 2 day course and passed a test Certified Scrum Professional - requires proven practical experience in coaching and leading teams with Scrum-specific SAFE (Scaled Agile for the Enterprise) Certifications - framework for implementing agile across the enterprise SA (SAFE Agilist) - requires 2 day course SPC (SAFE Program Consultant) - involved in coaching and implementing SAFE agile programs SPCT (SAFE Program Consultant Trainer) - Can train the other SAFE practitioners Trust but check and verify A leader has vision and focus but keeps the people first in their mind Very intelligent people tend to have unique motivators, not just the carrot and stick Knowledge workers require leaders to trust them Team members need to be held accountable to one another Shift the culture away from blame to accountability Resources Mentioned Our Iceberg is Melting by Dr. John Kotter (Listen on Audible) scaledagile.com scaledagileframework.com This episode is sponsored by: Hello Tech Pros. Want to be a guest on the show? Chad Bostick here, and I’m helping professionals who work with technology build a personal brand and get connected to an audience of thousands of technologists, entrepreneurs, business leaders and investors. Download my cheat-sheet of interview questions and apply to be a guest today by texting HELLOPODCAST to 44222 or visiting hellotechpros.com/guest Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/joe-vallone-leadership/ Hello Tech Pros is the daily podcast that interviews business professionals who work with technology and discuss Motivation, Productivity, Leadership, Technology, People, Entrepreneurship and Being Unplugged.

Getting the vision right and effectively communicating that vision to the team is tough to get right. Tyler Thompson has seen both good and bad examples in nearly two decades of video game development. Though this experience he's learned that as a leader, you are responsible for a lot of people's overall happiness. With that responsibility in mind, Tyler and his cofounders have put together a team and are currently developing a new video game. For 19 years Tyler Thompson has been helping craft games than entertain millions of people. He’s been lucky enough to work on big titles in both small startups and large studios, including Diablo 2, Diablo 3, Hellgate: London, The Sims 4, SimCity, a new Maxis IP and Battle.net. This episode sponsored by Audible. Get a free 30 day trial and a free audio book at HelloTechBook.com. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/tyler-thompson-leadership/ Hello Tech Pros is the daily podcast that interviews business professionals who work with technology and discuss Motivation, Productivity, Leadership, Technology, People, Entrepreneurship and Being Unplugged.

Have you ever had a boss that acted like they wanted to hear your thoughts and opinions yet consistently ignored the feedback? Sarah Baca advises leaders to think of themselves more of a coach than a boss. Be curious and ask questions. She believes issues will work out if you know what questions to ask to bring the details to transparency. Sarah Baca is an Agile Coach at The Topps Company, where she works as a servant leader for their software development team. She is passionate about creating workplaces where people love their work, and has been working to grow resilient teams for over a decade. She specializes in creating workshop-style training for teams who want to be more agile, courageous, and resilient. This episode of Hello Tech Pros is sponsored by… ME, Chad Bostick. As an enterprise IT leader I’ve gotten the opportunity to solve a number of different business problems including field worker productivity, back-office process efficiencies, enterprise system integrations, big data analysis, resource management, and IT complexity reduction. Each project comes with it’s own unique challenge whether it be distributed teams, change management, stakeholder buy-in, availability of subject matter experts or just getting one technology to play nice with others. Let me know what business problem is keeping you up at night, and how you’d like me to help. Go to chadbostick.com and click the CONTACT button, or text HELLOCHAD to 44222. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/sarah-baca-leadership/ Hello Tech Pros is the daily podcast that interviews business professionals who work with technology and discuss Motivation, Productivity, Leadership, Technology, People, Entrepreneurship and Being Unplugged.

While an airman in the U.S. Air Force, Jake Schilling witnessed both positive and negative leadership styles. Today he brings those lessons learned to the teams he serves, while encouraging others to find their own leadership style. Jake Schilling is an innovative and forward-thinking leader with a wide array of experience in relationship management, negotiation, strategic planning and project management. He is a United States Air Force veteran and has experience in the energy and engineering industries. He is currently an IT Manager and Senior Strategist at the University of Oklahoma. This episode is sponsored by: Hello Tech Pros. Want to be a guest on the show? Chad Bostick here, and I’m helping professionals who work with technology build a personal brand and get connected to an audience of thousands of technologists, entrepreneurs, business leaders and investors. Download my cheat-sheet of interview questions and apply to be a guest today by texting HELLOPODCAST to 44222 or visiting hellotechpros.com/guest Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/jake-schilling-leadership/ Hello Tech Pros is the daily podcast that interviews business professionals who work with technology and discuss Motivation, Productivity, Leadership, Technology, People, Entrepreneurship and Being Unplugged.