geek's guide to leading teams
DESCRIPTION
Patrick Kua, ThoughtWorks, From GOTO Conference Aarhus, DenmarkTRANSCRIPT
The Geek’s Guide to Leading Teams
@patkuaThoughtWorks
The Geek’s Guide to Leading Teams
@patkua@patkuaThoughtWorks
Who am I?
Who am I?
Who am I?
Programmer
Tech Lead Agile Coach
Me!
Who am I?
Programmer
Tech Lead Agile Coach
Me!
Author
http://tiny.cc/retrobook
Why do we need a Tech Lead?
?
Think this doesn’t happen in the real world?
@julianboot
Source: http://twitter.com/julianboot/status/232830267822309376
@julianboot
@thejayfields: I had ten guys on my last project, all of them had opinions and all
of them were expressed in the code base #speakerconf
A simple test for an effective Tech Lead...
Does the codebase look like it was written by a single person?
Yes
No
What does a good Tech Lead focus on?
P
P
P
Programming
P
P
Programming
People
P
Programming
People
Process
Programming
Programming
Do effective Technical Leaders need to code?
Programming
Do effective Technical Leaders need to code?
Definite
ly!
Programming
Do effective Technical Leaders need to code?
Definite
ly!
Programming
Do effective Technical Leaders need to code?
Definite
ly!
At least 30% of the time with the team
Programming
“...respect is the currency of the realm”
http://bit.ly/15Rm4z
Programming
““The amount of respect an IT pro pays someone is a measure of how tolerable that person is when it comes to getting things done...””
http://bit.ly/15Rm4z
Programming
Consistency over Cleverness
Programming
Programming
Tabs OR Spaces
2 Spaces OR 4 Spaces
CamelCase OR Underscore
Curly brace end of line OR next line
Brackets OR not
Programming
Tabs OR Spaces
2 Spaces OR 4 Spaces
CamelCase OR Underscore
Curly brace end of line OR next line
Brackets OR not
Programming
Tabs OR Spaces
2 Spaces OR 4 Spaces
CamelCase OR Underscore
Curly brace end of line OR next line
Brackets OR not
There are more important topics to spend time on...
Programming
Team Culture
Programming
Team Culture
Programming
Team CultureHow long does the build
stay broken?
Programming
Team CultureHow long does the build
stay broken?Do people avoid conflict?
Programming
Team CultureHow long does the build
stay broken?Do people avoid conflict?
Do people offer new ideas?
Programming
Team CultureHow long does the build
stay broken?Do people avoid conflict?
Do people offer new ideas?Do people flag when they
need help?
Programming
Team CultureHow long does the build
stay broken?Do people avoid conflict?
Do people offer new ideas?Do people flag when they
need help?Do people feel okay to admit being wrong?
Programming
Vision
People
People
Strength in Diversity
People
People
Analytical
Activator
Intellection
Achiever
Strategic
Input
Woo
People Source: Catalyst (2007) http://bit.ly/nEEfGX
Fortune 500 companies with 3 or more women on the Board gain a significant performance
advantage over those with the fewest
People Source: Catalyst (2007) http://bit.ly/nEEfGX
Fortune 500 companies with 3 or more women on the Board gain a significant performance
advantage over those with the fewest
Return on Sales
73% 83% 112%
Return on Equity Return on Invested Capital
People Source: Credit Suisse Research Institute (August 2012) http://bit.ly/Oozuvl
“...over the past six years, companies with at least some female board
representation outperformed those with no women on the board in terms of share price performance.”
People Source: Credit Suisse Research Institute (August 2012) http://bit.ly/Oozuvl
“...over the past six years, companies with at least some female board
representation outperformed those with no women on the board in terms of share price performance.”
Return on Equity
12%
People Source: Credit Suisse Research Institute (August 2012) http://bit.ly/Oozuvl
“...over the past six years, companies with at least some female board
representation outperformed those with no women on the board in terms of share price performance.”
16%
Return on EquityReturn on Equity
12%
People
People
Collective Accuracy = Average Accuracy +
Diversity*
People
Collective Accuracy = Average Accuracy +
Diversity*
* Requires ability to integrate
People
Trust isn’t built in one day
People
Growing People
People
Skill/Ability
Cha
lleng
eH
IGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
Source: Csikszentmihalyi, Flow (1990)
People
Skill/Ability
Cha
lleng
eH
IGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
Anxiety
Source: Csikszentmihalyi, Flow (1990)
People
Skill/Ability
Cha
lleng
eH
IGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
Anxiety
Boredom
Source: Csikszentmihalyi, Flow (1990)
People
Skill/Ability
Cha
lleng
eH
IGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
Anxiety
Boredom
Flow
Csikszentmihalyi, "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" (1990)
People
Skill/Ability
Cha
lleng
eH
IGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
Anxiety
Boredom
Flow
Csikszentmihalyi, "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" (1990)
People
Skill/Ability
Cha
lleng
eH
IGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
Anxiety
Boredom
Flow
Csikszentmihalyi, "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" (1990)
People
Skill/Ability
Cha
lleng
eH
IGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
Anxiety
Boredom
Flow
Csikszentmihalyi, "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" (1990)
People
Skill/Ability
Cha
lleng
eH
IGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
Anxiety
Boredom
Flow
Csikszentmihalyi, "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" (1990)
People
Skill/Ability
Cha
lleng
eH
IGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
Anxiety
Boredom
Flow
Csikszentmihalyi, "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" (1990)
People
Skill/Ability
Cha
lleng
eH
IGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
Anxiety
Boredom
Flow
Csikszentmihalyi, "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" (1990)
People
Skill/Ability
Cha
lleng
eH
IGH
LOW
LOW HIGH
Anxiety
Boredom
Flow
Csikszentmihalyi, "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" (1990)
People
Maximising Potential
People
People
Skills
People
Skills
Strengths
People
Skills
StrengthsGoals
People
Skills
StrengthsGoals
Interests
People
Skills
StrengthsGoals
Interests
Sweet Spot
People
Skills
StrengthsGoals
Interests
People
Skills
StrengthsGoals
Interests
People
Skills
StrengthsGoals
Interests
People
Skills
StrengthsGoals
Interests
People
Learning Activities
People
Learning Activities
Brown Bag sessions
Spike Showcases
Team code reviews
TechnicalRetrospectives
Pair Programming
Video/Book Club
People
People
Beware the bad apple
“Bad Is Stronger Than Good” (2001) Baumeister et al
Process
Process
Process
Is it okay to tell people what to do?
Situational Leadership Model
Process
Is it okay to tell people what to do?
Yes
(but only
sometim
es)
Situational Leadership Model
Process
HighDirecting BehaviourLow
High
Supp
ortin
g Be
havi
our
Situational Leadership Model
Process
HighDirecting BehaviourLow
High
Supp
ortin
g Be
havi
our
Situational Leadership Model
Process
HighDirecting BehaviourLow
High
Supp
ortin
g Be
havi
our
Directing
Situational Leadership Model
Process
HighDirecting BehaviourLow
High
Supp
ortin
g Be
havi
our
Coaching
Directing
Situational Leadership Model
Process
HighDirecting BehaviourLow
High
Supp
ortin
g Be
havi
our
Supp
ortin
g Coaching
Directing
Situational Leadership Model
Process
HighDirecting BehaviourLow
High
Supp
ortin
g Be
havi
our
Supp
ortin
g Coaching
DirectingDelegat
ing
Situational Leadership Model
Process Situational Leadership Model
Process Situational Leadership Model
Process
Development level of an individual
Situational Leadership Model
Process
Dev
elop
ing
Development level of an individual
Dev
elop
ed
Situational Leadership Model
Process
Dev
elop
ing
Development level of an individual
Dev
elop
ed Low competence
High commitment
Situational Leadership Model
Process
Dev
elop
ing
Development level of an individual
Dev
elop
ed Low competence
High commitment
Low-some competence
Low commitment
Situational Leadership Model
Process
Dev
elop
ing
Development level of an individual
Dev
elop
ed Low competence
High commitment
Low-some competence
Low commitmentVariable commitment
Moderate-high competence
Situational Leadership Model
Process
Dev
elop
ing
Development level of an individual
Dev
elop
ed Low competence
High commitment
Low-some competence
Low commitmentVariable commitment
Moderate-high competence
High commitment
High competence
Situational Leadership Model
Process
Tuckman’s Model
Process Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development
Process
Forming
Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development
Process
Forming Storming
Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development
Process
Forming Storming Norming
Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development
Process
Forming Storming Norming Performing
Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development
Process
Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning
Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development
Process
Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning
Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development
Process
“Essentially, all models are wrong, but some are useful.”
- George E. P. Box
Process
Make time for you
Process
Process
Process
9am
6pm
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Email Time Email Time
Planning Time
1:1s
Email Time
Planning Time
Email Time
Next week planning
ProcessProgramming People
Concluding Thoughts
Questions?
http://jobs.thoughtworks.com/
are hiring
@patkua
Photo Credits
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sushicam/5584789234/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/klausonline/5510455925/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbeo52/5062096969/sizes/l/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/create-learning/3676366324/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/69696287@N04/7343027064/sizes/k/