Software Lead Weekly Software Lead Weekly

New Managers: The Complete Guide
12 minutes read.

"Leadership training needs to start before the role even begins." -- an incredible guide for new managers who seek to better understand their new role. I'd take the "New Manager Preparation Checklist" and follow up with your current manager, making sure you're getting the support you need (this path can feel lonely sometimes) while you set clear and explicit expectations from the get-go.

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The Way We Programmers Explain What We've Written
1 minutes read.

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

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How to Lead When You Have No Authority
13 minutes read.

This post by Matt Russell is now one of the posts I'm going to recommend others to read when they'll ask me "How can I increase my impact on the team and company without the title or authority". I gave a talk specifically about this subject before, where the biggest takeaway I tried to convey was to "figure out the hat you're putting when talking with others" (may it be the owner, the consultant or the preacher). Being consistent with how you help is important as people learn to rely on you without any fear of you overriding their ownership.

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My Advice for Getting a Job at a Startup
2 minutes read.

Risk management is what you're trying to optimize for. The biggest risk someone takes when they hire you is that you won't fit in terms of your skills or your attitude (some may call it "culture fit" or "culture add"). By investing a few hours into proving these two elements up front, you're actually putting yourself in a position where not hiring you would be a risk to the company.

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Putting the "Engineering" in "Engineering Management" (Video)
59 minutes read.

Listened to this talk by Camille Fournier on my commute to work this week (It's 30 minutes talk and then 30 minutes of Q&A), and as always - the content and style of how Camille delivers will be well worth your time!

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How My Role as CTO Has Changed as We've Grown to 100 Engineers
5 minutes read.

Edward Kim, the CTO of Gusto, shares his path while the company grew from 1 engineer to over a hundred. Edward took the managerial path, putting his system design skills to optimize the organization - figuring out how to get people to work effectively together at scale.

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8 Tips for Being a Good Tech Lead
7 minutes read.

Tash Postolovski with great tips for tech leads. The one I've seen contributing the most is "Integrate your team with the broader business" but that requires a mind shift. It means you need to spend more time reading books about product and business, so you could help your teammates connect the dots between technical requirements, their personal growth and the business requirements.

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Engineering Leadership and Minecraft: Surviving Your First Night
5 minutes read.

Jean Hsu's story reminds me of how well most games are when it comes to onboarding: they tell you where to click, making sure you have an amazing first experience, and a few minutes after you start - you already feel productive and ready to conquer the world. I see it when I play, and I see it when my 4 years old plays. There are a lot of lessons to take from Minecraft, or any game you play when it comes to human behaviors.

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@pembleton: 2m before my 50m commute ended, I managed to finally make something (that I worked on for 4d) work. Getting off the train I felt like Superman.

@dhh: Cognitive pyramid of needs: 1) Full sleep! 2) Fresh air. 3) Healthy diet. 4) Adequate exercise. ... 137) Pump-me-up YOU CAN DO IT inspirational slogans. Nail the basics.