DPC16: Things I was unprepared for as a lead developer

Tthis is the story of how I became a lead developer and all the things I did wrong. It's about delegating, culture building, mentoring, planning, meetings (oh dreadful meetings), upper management and all the other stuff that a leader has to go through. It's also about all the fun I had and the things I learned. Next to that, I'm going to hand out some tips that can prepare you for the job a little better. And hopefully, it will inspire you to be the greatest leader of all.

Given at DPC '16

Transcript

1. Who here is a
   developer?
   (Keep your hand raised!)
   

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2. Who does not intend to
   be a developer forever?
   

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3. Who thinks she/he is
   ready to lead a team?
   

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4. Who’s arm is tired?
   

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5. Pascal de Vink
   @pascaldevink
   Things I was unprepared
   for as a lead developer
   

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6. Alexander the Great
   

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7. How do we get to be
   the great leader?
   

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8. Mid Dev
   Keynote
   Speaker
   Sr. Dev Chief
   Architect
   Distinguished
   Dev
   Dev
   Evangelist
   Author/
   Speaker
   Junior Dev
   Dev Manager
   Project
   Manager
   Freelance Dev Solopreneur
   Startup
   Founder
   Small
   Business CEO
   Founder, 3rd
   company
   Chairperson
   of the Board
   Director of
   Product
   Engineering/
   Team Lead
   VP of
   Product
   Director/VP
   Engineering
   CTO
   Developer
   Manager
   Entrepreneur
   Founder, 2nd
   company
   Brandon Hays
   

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9. The story…
   

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10. It didn’t go so well…
    

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11. Why were these tasks
    distracting me?
    

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12. I wasn’t prepared!
    

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13. Go home with this
    Lesson #1
    Expectation management
    

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15. Make sure you still get
    enough code time
    

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16. Agenda management
    

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17. Say NO more often
    

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18. Delegating
    

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19. C. VanHook - Flickr
    

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20. Culture (building)
    

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21. –Gruenter and Whitaker
    “The culture of any organisation is shaped by
    the worst behaviour the leader is willing to
    tolerate”
    

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23. Culture is shaped by the best behaviour a
    leader is willing to promote
    

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24. • Mentoring
    • Giving and receiving feedback
    • Motivating
    • Hiring (and firing) people
    • Sickness / personal problems
    • Lead by example
    

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26. Financial management
    

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27. That day the boss
    came up to me…
    

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29. Public speaking
    

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31. Talk to others
    

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32. –Susan Gale
    “We all have something in common. It’s just a
    matter of taking the time to find out what it is.”
    

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33. Things you can do right now
    • Start mentoring
    • Ask for help
    • Feedback
    • Public speaking
    • Take an interest

    

    PHPMentoring.org
    

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34. Questions?
    • https://speakerdeck.com/tehviking/hacking-spacetime-
    for-a-successful-career
    • https://phpmentoring.org
    • http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Asking-Learned-
    Worrying/dp/1455581089
    • https://leanpub.com/talking-with-tech-leads
    • http://simpleprogrammer.com/2015/05/25/some-
    advice-on-becoming-a-lead-developer/
    

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