Software Lead Weekly Software Lead Weekly

Go Corporate or Go Home
22 minutes read.

What a powerful observation by David Manheim, in one of the best posts I've read this year: "The pace of change is one explanation, but I think a simpler one suffices: databases now store org charts. If you store the org chart in a database, the database becomes the org chart. And while databases can store arbitrary data like images, they store graph relationships really easily — which means that the storage technology, databases, actually dictates the structure of the company. In other words, the medium is the message! ... Why don’t companies stay flexible? It’s a necessary result of scaling up and the need for legibility to optimize large systems."

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2-Year Plan for Implementing GDPR
1 minutes read.

My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile on your face.

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How I Went From 33-Year-Old Museum Tour Guide to Professional Web Developer and UX Designer: My 18-Month Coding Journey
9 minutes read.

There are so many ways to start working as a software engineer. I shared this wonderful post by Vered Rekanati Mordechai as a reminder that there is no talent shortage - We just need to look deeper when interviewing others, get to know how they started, their learning framework and intrinsic motivation.

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When It Comes to Feedback, Start With Yourself
12 minutes read.

Alicia Liu with a single tip that by itself can make you x10 more valuable to your teammates and company: "Don’t be nice, be kind — Being nice is to be agreeable, to please others. Being nice is glossing over difficulties to avoid making people feel uncomfortable. Being nice could even be seen as selfish— to spare oneself the discomfort of doing something difficult, and say nothing at all." -- avoiding difficult conversation is the most common reason Senior IC and managers have limited impact.

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Your Professional Growth Questionnaire
4 minutes read.

"Chances are when you’re reading this, it’s not performance season. Lies. It’s always performance season." -- Michael Lopp with powerful questions you should ask yourself if you want to push the boundaries. Challenge your teammates to do the same, then have a discussion and try to learn from each other's perspective. Did you learn something new about them that surprised you? What did they learn about you?

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I’m Definitely Not the Manager of the Year, but Recently I’ve Felt the Urge to Share Some Experience and I’m Failing to Get Blog Posts Out. So, Here’s for a Series of Tweet That Hopefully Will Be Useful to Some 🤗 (Thread)
2 minutes read.

I'd share each tweet by Arnaud Porterie as they are so spot on I already shared it with my team. Short and to the point, highly recommended.

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Are You Being Micro-Managed? Manage Your Relationship With Your Manager Instead.
5 minutes read.

If you feel that you're being micromanaged, use Osman Ahmed Osman's "Continue the conversation" as it gives a powerful framework to discuss it effectively with your manager, and remember: "you are an equal contributor to your relationship with your manager. They should hold themselves accountable to you, and you should hold them accountable to you as well. I’m not exonerating your manager, I’m just saying you can help fix the situation."

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As I Walk Back to Coding, I See My Footprints
2 minutes read.

Going back to being an engineer, after serving as a manager for a few years, is incredibly hard. I've done it myself before and it' was a painful struggle to regain my technical edge (and confidence). If you have any tips other than the ones Marcus Blankenship shared, join our SWLW Slack community and share it with others.

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@grepory: Suggestion for managers: Instead of "one of my engineers" perhaps use "one of my colleagues". Get rid of possessives in your language when it comes to discussing people who report to you.

@garyvee: Entitlement is destroying your happiness