Leadership Wednesday | Hello Tech Pros

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.

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.