How To Be a Boss Without The B-S
Jessie Link
Railsconf 2014
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Things I’ll Talk About
Why you should consider management
Who makes a good boss
What skills you need
When/How to transition into the management track
Where you can find resources
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Things I Won’t Talk About
How to found a start up
How to get VC financing
How to make your employees obey you
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Why am I qualified to
talk to you about
being a boss?
A little bit about me
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Jessie Link
Former U.S. Air Force officer
Software developer since 2000
Officially a boss since 2010
Studied leadership principles for over 18 years
Director of Engineering
Certified Scrum Master
PMP
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Why be a boss?
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Don't worry…
It's not all TPS reports
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Reasons to do it
If you’re a founder….
If you’ve hit your ceiling in the technical track……
New, different challenge
Be in the driver’s seat
Have an impact on the careers of your employees
See the business from a new perspective
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As a boss you are responsible for:
People
Schedule
Budget
Scope
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Who Makes a good boss?
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You should…
Like people
Not fear conflict
Be adaptable
Be confident
Be humble
Be empathetic
Have integrity
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Skills You Need
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Communication
This is the most important ability you must have - you cannot execute the other
skills without it
Tune your message to your audience
Communication is a two way street
Be an active listener
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Delegation
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Delegation
Your job is to make sure the team gets the work done, not to do it yourself
Set direction, communicate what needs to be done
This requires trust
You have to know when to let your employees fail on their own
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Coaching
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Coaching
It is your job to make sure your people continue to grow
Inspire and motivate those underneath you
Build up, don’t tear down
Set the plan, empower the team to execute on it
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– General Dwight Eisenhower
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else
to do something you want done because he
wants to do it. ”
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Courage
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Courage
The buck stops with you
Saying “No” is hard
Have vision and believe in it
Change is scary!
Always embrace the truth, even when it’s unpleasant
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Project Management
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Project Management
Track the work
Manage risk
Report status
Like process… but don’t love it
Pick the right tool for the job
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Administrative/Financial
Budgeting
“Colors of money”
Salary
Hiring, Firing and Retention
TPS reports and other mandatory documents
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Ready to Make the Leap?
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When/How to transition into
the management track
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Moving into Management
Find a mentor
“Try before you buy”
Think company-wide
Have an idea what kind of leadership style you have
Practice the skills needed to do it
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The Big Questions
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Do I Still Get to Write code?
Yes. Sort of.
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Can I Be Friends With My
Employees?
Yes. Sort of.
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Do I Need To Have a PMP
certification or something like
that?
Nope.
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A few final thoughts….
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Leaders eat last
Lead from the front
It’s not your employees’ job to feel your pain
A high performing team will always be greater than
the sum of its parts
You’re never done learning
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–Rear Admiral Grace Hopper
“You manage things. You lead people.”
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Resources
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Company provided training
TED Talks and other videos
PMI
History
Books
“Drive” by Daniel Pink
“How to Make Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
“The Agile Samurai” by Jonathan Rasmusson