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Confessions of a not-so-accidental leader
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Chris Hartjes
February 08, 2019
Technology
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Confessions of a not-so-accidental leader
Slides from my opening talk at SunshinePHP 2019
Chris Hartjes
February 08, 2019
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Transcript
Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"We would replace your talk with a Muppet re-run" --
Adam Culp Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
The year is 2003 I think Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental
Leader
"I think you should take a leadership course." -- my
co-worker Peter, head of customer service at a cheat-on-your- partner dating web site Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
L O L Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"No, really. Why are you laughing?" -- same person Confessions
of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
L O L Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
So what if he was actually right? Confessions of a
Not-So-Accidental Leader
What if I had leadership qualities but were in denial?
Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
What does leadership actually mean? Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Let's roll the clock back to the late 1970's and
early 1980's Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"Hey, I want to play baseball in the park?" Confessions
of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"Is anybody else playing baseball in the park?" Confessions of
a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"Grab your gloves and a bat, we're going to go
play '2 Against The North'" Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Let it roll further to the mid-to-late 1990's Confessions of
a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"Hey, I want to play dice-and-paper role playing games" Confessions
of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"Is anyone else out there wanting to play?" Confessions of
a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"Great, make up your characters and come and play at
my place. I have room in my computer room upstairs!" Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Roll it all the way up to 2012... Confessions of
a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"Hey, there are no PHP-centric conferences where I live" Confessions
of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"Who wants to help me organize one? I'll be the
hype man and take care of the speakers!" Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"Thank you all for coming to the 5th and final
year of TrueNorthPHP!!!" Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
So what was the common thing? Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental
Leader
Scary parallels to product development Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
I found a pain point I had Confessions of a
Not-So-Accidental Leader
I wondered what it would take to solve that pain
point Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
I created a solution Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Does that mean I had "leadership skills"? Confessions of a
Not-So-Accidental Leader
(snicker) Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
I believe my old co-worker was correct Confessions of a
Not-So-Accidental Leader
Are you a potential leader without knowing it? Confessions of
a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Uncomfortable assumptions about leadership Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Many folks would have you believe that tech leaders are:
• young • aggressively overconfident • always working long hours Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Maybe that is people who sell you seminars on leadership?
Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Maybe this is people who know their ideas won't make
money and want to cash out before anyone figures it out? Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
I am only one of those things Confessions of a
Not-So-Accidental Leader
Except I have a beard (which conveys MASSIVE authority in
tech) Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Outcomes matter more then my awesome beard Confessions of a
Not-So-Accidental Leader
The people I know who are best at leadership do
not all look the same Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
What they have in common is a process Confessions of
a Not-So-Accidental Leader
1. Articulate ideas clearly Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
1. Describe goals and directions Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
1. Convince others of the values of 1 and 2
Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
If you've ever done that... Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE A LEADER Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
So back to the title of this talk... Confessions of
a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Most of my career had been pretty deliberate Confessions of
a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Jobs provided opportunities to build skills and network Confessions of
a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Conferences provided opportunities to build different skills...and network Confessions of
a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Social media provided opportunities to express ideas and attract cultists,
er, followers Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
All of them together helped me realize that leadership was
something I was willing to do Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Except manage people for money Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
The same thing might be true for you Confessions of
a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Think about the "Grumpy Tripod Of Leadership" $1 to me
via PayPal to use in your own talks Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
1. Identify a pain point you are having and find
fellow sufferers Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
1. Identify a pain point you are having and find
fellow sufferers 2. Come up with solutions and invite others to join you Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
1. Identify a pain point you are having and find
fellow sufferers 2. Come up with solutions and invite others to join you 3. Execute a plan to implement that solution Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"But Chris, how does this work in the real world?
Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Open Source! Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
(Comes with a massive amount of privilege to have the
time to work on it) Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
OpenCFP Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"Hey, I need to build something to collect talks for
TrueNorthPHP because what we used the first time wasn't doing it for me" Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"I'll open-source this so we can other people to help
build it out because it's more than enough work for one person..." Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"I can't believe so many people use this now! Let
me take a look at those pull requests..." Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
That is leadership. Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Find a group and keep them all moving in the
same direction Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Mentoring Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"Hey, I wonder if there are folks struggling to figure
out how to advance their career..." Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"Is there a centralized place I can go and offer
to help?" Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
"Hey, is Skype good for you? Talk to you at
9pm once my kids are in bed?" Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
That is leadership Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Welcome to not-so-accidental leadership! Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental Leader
Thank you and enjoy the conference Confessions of a Not-So-Accidental
Leader