Things They Don't Tell You About Being a Tech Leader

Abstract

Engineers accustomed to cut-and-dried problem solving and communication are in for some surprises when they become leaders. They succeeded thanks to their "hard" skills and personal influence. But as the saying goes, "What got you here won't get you there." Leadership, especially senior leadership, is a different game with different--mostly unwritten--rules.

Good news! These unwritten rules are pretty much the same everywhere because people are people. Michael will share what he's learned from his variety of leadership roles: founder, senior executive, C-suite advisor, and director of engineering.

In this talk Michael will discuss those unspoken rules and hidden dynamics that can either help you achieve your goals or undermine your best efforts. You'll learn the surprising truth about communications in your organization, and about how easily you can create mixed messages and misalignment. You'll learn some things about burnout, motivation, and attention that might surprise you. And you'll hear about how the clearest requests for your decisions are probably traps that you should disarm carefully.

Format

Conference talk