DEV Community: Michael Rice

Tech Lead Squad 💪 - What's on Tap This Week (Dec. 2, 2019) - PLUS MORE free training coming up on Saturday

Michael Rice — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 05:09:17 +0000

Let's start the last month of the year with a plan to finish 2019 strong!

For me, I'm going heavy on my plan to finish the second, more powerful and (hopefully) more impactful revision of my book, How To Be a Tech Lead, by the end of the year. We've had so many unexpected downloads on it, so it's a little embarassing how much needs to be done.

In addition to the book revisions, I've been running through my live training sessions--think it's a virtuous cycle to work on both the training and the book at the same time. Something about speaking it out loud in real time while still producing a written, more thorough product is pretty helpful.

Before I forget, for those of you in the States with me (most of you on the subscription list), hope you had a great Thanksgiving week. 🦃

What happened last Saturday

As I mentioned, I ran through a live training session on YouTube (notice I'm not linking to it because it's a little cringy). It was my first time doing it, so I wasn't really sure how to get the content or the technology quite right.

Sure, I could have practiced and rehearsed, and getting something like that right is super important when you're giving a talk for another community or group. But when it's my own forum and platform, I like to fail forward. Played around with a lot of new ideas, like swapping listening for showing up.

Anyway, was super fun and felt impactful even though almost nobody showed up. We've got another one coming up this Saturday, so I hope you'll sign up and participate. Should be at least 2x better than last week!

What we're going to do this week

Since most of my free cycles (remember, this isn't even a side project; it's just a hobby for me) are going to be taken up with the book and this weekend's trainings, I think we'll draft off of other peoples' content this week.

Quite a bit happened over the past few weeks in the world of tech lead writing and thinking. It's good to share it.

On Monday's podcast and mailing list, I'm going to review some of the most interesting Tweets over the past few days.

We'll also dive into two substantive articles. One from Strategy+Business arguing that listening is a leader's "secret weapon," which you know I'm down with because listening is one of the Four Core tech lead capabilities. We're so bad at listening in this industry and it creates so much havoc--definitely want to dive into this article.

And then another one from a writer on the Pragmatic Engineer blog where he used some learnings from a fantastic book called Turn the Ship Around to create an engineering team where "everyone is a leader."

On Wednesday, we'll see if there are any new Tweets or LinkedIn posts to explore (probably will be). Then we'll dive into a few more posts.

First will be from Dvir Segal on the differences between being a tech lead and a senior engineer. And then another post from SafetyCulture about the tech lead role.

Got some ideas about Friday already, but let's see how the week unfolds. Software moves fast and people are talking a lot about the tech lead role. Let's see what they have to say.

Keep in touch tech leads!

Gonna be a great week tech leads! Get subscribed to the mailing list, follow me here on dev.to, or tune in to the podcast!

-michael

Tech Lead Squad 💪 - What's on Tap This Week (11/18) - PLUS free training coming up on Saturday

Michael Rice — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 03:20:18 +0000

Hey DEV tech leads!

So sorry--it's been a few weeks since I posted here at Dev.to, which is easily my most favorite community (besides the Tech Lead Coaching Network, of course).

This week, I'm going to continue with the format I've had for the past few months: three posts on the tech lead coaching mailing list and three podcasts.

But we're going to do something shiny and new this week: on Saturday, I'm going to run a free, live training session on How To Be a Tech Lead. Just register to get on the list. I'll try to record it if I can get all the technology together. Hope you'll be the first to attend our first of, hopefully, many sessions.

So this week's episodes are going to be focused on pulling everything together and making sure I've got the material ready for Saturday.

On Monday, we're going to focus on summarizing some of the main points about what tech leads do, how technical you should be, and why we need the tech lead role.

On Wednesday, we're going to explore the Four Core. We'll start with the first two: listening and defining technical visions. This is going to be a little new, because I'm going to go a little more technical than I have in the past.

On Friday, we'll round out a discussion of the other two of the Four Core, having a high engagement level and tracking and adjusting. Both of these go pretty close together.

Going to be a fun week and funner weekend!

Tech Lead Squad 💪 - What's on Tap This Week (10/28)

Michael Rice — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 02:06:20 +0000

Hey tech leads,

Hope you’re having a fun weekend and that, if you’re in one of the twenty or so countries celebrating Halloween, you got to do some of the preparty events. Is it me, or does Halloween seem like a bigger and bigger deal each year?

More importantly, if you have kids, I strongly urge you to brace for the inevitable sugar crash coming as you try to get your kids to school on Friday morning.

We're going to talk about impact as a tech lead this week!

Getting back to business. For the past two weeks, I’ve been pretty focused on your self identity as a leader. I’ve been challenging you to both focus on the habits that support that identity actually developing that identity from the outside in instead of the inside out.

This week I’m going to pivot from YOU to your IMPACT. I like thinking about impact first because I think it helps to clarify a lot about what you should be doing as a tech lead.

Focusing on impact forces you to lead with your intentions, whether those intentions are about having a strong technical impact on the product or those intentions are about improving your team’s capabilities.

“If you aren’t intentional about your impact, you can’t complain about where your life takes you. If you want to drive the bus of your life, you must be own your impact.” Forbes

So on Monday, we’ll start with an overview of what impact means, why it matters, and why, really, you’re having an impact whether you mean to or not.

Then on Wednesday and Friday, we’ll talk about scaling up that impact on both your team and your technology, respectively.

Get on the list!

The 👆👆👆 articles will hit inboxes (and podcasts) on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I may post some of the content here, but may not.

Get on the list to have the posts delivered straight to your inbox.

I promise to bring certainty, clarity, and confidence to you in your tech lead role.

Tech Lead Squad 💪 - What's on Tap This Week (10/21)

Michael Rice — Mon, 21 Oct 2019 02:07:42 +0000

Tech leads,

Hope you had a great weekend. For me, I spent the weekend doing beach things here in sunny Los Angeles. 🚲🏄‍♂️🏊‍♂️

Last week on my email list and podcast, we covered some of the ideas from James Clear's Atomic Habits (as applied to the tech lead role, natch), but I'm afraid I might have butchered it a bit.

Let's try for better this week.

This week, I'm going to focus our discussion on this question: how do you begin to see yourself as a tech lead?

On Monday, I'm going to rely a bit on one of my favorite leadership books: Act Like a Leader Think Like a Leader by Herminia Ibarra. Ibarra's core idea is that you can't think your way into leadership.

I think the best analogy is that it's like riding a bike. If you know how to ride one, how on earth can you explain it? You can't. There's all kinds of tiny little experiences, from the feel of bike seat to the discomfort of falling off and scraping your knee. You have to get a feel for it.

On Wednesday, we're going to dig a little further into what Ibarra calls "outsight." Ibarra has three main areas to focus on: how you see your job, how you develop your network, and how you see yourself. For Wednesday, I think we'll focus on the first two.

On Friday, we'll dig into the last topic and pull it all together.

I think it’s going to be a pretty interesting week. Glad I’m on the journey with you!

Get on the list!

I post public summaries of what the email list here on dev.to from time to time because it's such an awesome community. But to get the full content, get on my email list!

Subscribe to Get the Full Letters

Tech Lead Squad 💪 - What's on Tap This Week (9/30)

Michael Rice — Mon, 30 Sep 2019 02:12:57 +0000

Hey Tech Leads,

Hope you’re having an awesome weekend. Last week we did a kind of grab bag of topics on the email list (reminder: it's now free).

Let’s review. On Monday (No. 57), we talked about the idea that you just need to plan for the fact that everything takes 10 times more effort than you expect. And it’s ok. It’s called work for a reason. On Wednesday (No. 59), we explored the question of how technical you should be as a tech lead or EM. Came up with the earth shattering answer: it depends. Then I left you hanging on Friday—there was no No. 59. 👎 Sorry.

Thinking about what tech leaders do and why they exist is endlessly interesting. I never get tired of thinking or talking about it.

And it’s what we’re going to talk about this week: not really how to do it—more about giving you some context for the role. It’s a foundational issue for you and everyone reading this, so I think it makes sense to come back to it again and again.

Why do we need tech leads, or even managers?

A lot of tech companies cling to the idea that we should just hire really smart people and let them have at it. That actually works for very small, focused companies. But everyone knows that if you scale to any size at all, the company or organization is going to need to divide some people into the doers, that managers, and the quasi doer/manager called the tech lead.

But why?

In 1954’s The Practice of Management, Peter Drucker, the so-called father of management, said

The manager is the dynamic, life-giving element in every business. Without his leadership the “resources of production” remain resources and never become production. In a competitive economy, above all, the quality and performance of the managers determine the success of a business, indeed they determine its survival. For the quality and performance of its managers is the only effective advantage an enterprise in a competitive economy can have.

Being a tech lead or manager is NOT a natural evolution from a tech role. It’s a whole new job, a whole new career. So I want you to take another glance 👆 at what Drucker said. It’s dated in its terminology, but it’s still 100% accurate. This is your job now.

Don’t sweat it though. I’ll break it down and make it practical for your EM or TL role in three parts this week.

First, on Monday, we’re going to step back from the leadership and people stuff that I normally talk about and explore what management does. Managers, and tech leads by proxy, run a business by doing three things:

understanding what’s happening in the market and trying to see into the future,
making decisions what where to go and what to do both today and in the future,
and, finally, assembling all the available resources—technology, physical resources, time, and human (even though I hate that term)—what’s the right mix of technology and people right now.

On Wednesday, we’ll dive deeper into number three, which is probably what most people on the list will be interested in anyway. It’s where “rubber meets the road” on the first two.

On Friday, we’ll get into more details on the first two and think about what your role as a first line manager might be. Sure—you don’t get to make big strategic decisions about the whole company, but you can still make a lot of strategic and tactical decisions about your team and your work and the resources available to you. If you work in highly political, big companies, strategy for your team becomes even more important.

I think it’s going to be a pretty interesting week. Glad I’m on the journey with you!

Get on the list!

I public summaries of what the email list here on dev.to from time to time because it's such an awesome community.

Subscribe to Get the Full Letters

The Tech Lead Coaching email list is now free!

Michael Rice — Sat, 28 Sep 2019 22:45:25 +0000

Hey Tech Leads,

Yesterday was my birthday, so as my gift to you, I'm making the Tech Lead Coaching email list free (again).

It was an interesting experiment to create a paid newsletter. I think it's a great idea and Substack seems to be nailing it. I even think it could make a ton of sense for a nichy, valuable area, like making more of your career as a tech lead.

That said, my goal isn't to make a ton of money off my ideas or insight. My goal is--truly--to try to make your life as a tech lead a little bit better and more effective.

Having worked for lots of terrible tech leads and been one myself, I honestly believe our tech industry would be a whole lot better if we had better leads.

So I hope you'll join me on this journey! Gratis.

Get on the list for $0/month

Tech Lead Squad 💪 - What's on Tap This Week (9/23)

Michael Rice — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 14:05:06 +0000

Hey Tech Leads,

Last week we did a deep dive into the mysterious topic of influence as a tech lead. Hopefully I dispelled the notion that only some gifted folks have it. It's actually pretty easy to define and an easy skill to develop, if very hard to execute day to day.

This week we're going to do something a bit less focused but hopefully no less impactful for you. I hope, at the end of the week, some of the themes will come together.

On Monday, we're going to explore the idea that everything as a tech lead takes ten times as much effort as you think it is. It's not the code--that's the easy part. It's all the other stuff: the coordination, the follow ups, the miscommunications. But it's OK! This is real, important work.

On Wednesday, I'm going to dive into a sensitive topic, for me anyway. Having interviewed for many engineering manager and tech lead roles at very large and very small companies (and everything in between), I have ideas that might run a little contrary to some of the common guidance out there.

On Friday, I may flip the script on what I'm going to say on Wednesday so we cover both ends of the spectrum. Despite what I'm planning to say on Wednesday, the famous college basketball coach, John Wooden's favorite quote was this:

No written word, no spoken plea can teach our youth what they should be, nor all the books on all the shelves, it’s what the teachers are themselves.

How's that for cryptic? It's going to be an interesting week, so join us and it should all come clear!

Join the Tech Lead Squad

You can always follow me here on dev.to - I try to post some tidbits and useful stuff from time to time.

But I think my best work is on Substack, which is a paid list (only $7/month), but I often publish a few free letters each month so make sure you sign up for at least the free issues.

Tech lead squad: what's on tap this week (9/16)

Michael Rice — Sun, 15 Sep 2019 19:12:34 +0000

Hey tech leads,

I've never claimed to be the final, definitive source of how to be a great tech lead. I believe I've had some solid, proven initial thoughts, but I continue to evolve, just like you. We're on this journey together.

Over the past year, I've hammered on the Four Core capabilities that will not only give you more certainty, clarity, and confidence as a tech lead but also ensure that you're actually able to follow through in your leadership. (The Four Core is my model for effective tech leads.)

This week, I'm going back (again) to first principles.

Leadership == influence

John Maxwell says, roughly, that leadership is followership and followership comes from influence. So this week we're going to talk about influence. We're going to get detailed.

What is influence in the context of being a tech lead? Why is influence necessary? How do you operationalize something so squishy in your day to day work? How does it work with the Four Core and how is it independent of it?

On Monday (9/16), I'm going go into a little deeper discussion about influence and why it's so important. We'll also talk about some of the some well known personalities to think about how they wield influence. Remember the format: I record the podcasts (usually on the weekend) to talk through the topic, and then I hit publish on a more polished version the next day. What happened → Newsletter ● Podcast

On Wednesday (9/18), we're going to explore a proven model of influence that has nothing to do with Four Core. I'm going to try to really adapt the model to being a tech lead and point out how it works for those tech leaders that have clearly never read my book or know of the Four Core! What happened → Newsletter ● Podcast

On Friday (9/20), I'll pull the intro topic together and integrate the model I introduce on Wednesday with the Four Core so you can really operationalize this thing called influence. What happened → Newsletter ● Podcast

It's going to be a great week.

Join the Tech Lead Squad

You can always follow me here on dev.to - I try to post some tidbits and useful stuff from time to time.

But I think my best work is on Substack, which is a paid list (only $7/month), but I often publish a few free letters each month so make sure you sign up for at least the free issues.

What's on deck for my tech leads this week - September 2, 2019

Michael Rice — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 02:17:38 +0000

Hey Tech Leads,

For those of you coming off the three day weekend here in the States with me, I hope you had a good one. You can see I managed to walk away with a light (and somewhat cliche) sunburn--but I guess that's the price you pay for hanging out in the pools and on the beach for four days straight!

Anyway, this week, here on Dev.to and on my email list, I'm going to focus on intentions. By that I mean, I want to try to shift your thinking away from goals to your broader intentions for your tech leadership.

I'm doing it on the podcast and the tech lead mailing list. The podcast is a forum where I riff on some issues, but the real content shows up in the writings.

Monday's issue (No. 49) already went out along with its companion podcast. In it, I explain in more detail what I mean by intentions and why I think they're more important than goals, even though goals are so critical to making our work world work.

On Wednesday, I'm going to focus on a few specific intentions that I tend to gravitate towards, especially commitment and follow through, which I think are good things to focus on mid week. Results: Podcast No. 50 is up, and so is the letter, Commitment is a great type of intention.

On Friday, we're going to finish strong with some ideas about intentions and reflect on the week.

Follow me here on dev.to or, even better, subscribe to my three times a week email blast!

Micromanaging, trust, and transparency - Letter No. 9

Michael Rice — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 21:57:12 +0000

Hey folks,

Letter No. 9 hit inboxes yesterday.

In it, I did a deep dive (for a daily letter, anyway) on how you can navigate between being a hands on manager and a micromanager.

And this particular letter is free, so give it a read, but as promised, here's a quick summary here on dev.to!

At the outset, of course everyone hates being micromanaged. It destroys trust with your team, so obviously you want to stay away from it.

However, being hands on as a tech lead, engineering manager, or startup founder is inevitable and in some instances desirable. Every manager, sooner or later, will need to dive into the details, whether it's because he or she is managing a high profile project, under time pressure, or something has gone off the rails. Moreover, a lot of EMs at software companies spend a lot of their time writing code.

So the most important question is not whether you are managing details, but how the folks on your team are reacting to your fine grained management. "Micromanagement" is less of a process and more of a feeling by the one being micromanaged!

So, in the letter, I suggest two approaches to minimize the micromanagement effect. First is to check our motivations: if you're feeling the need to control your team for a variety of reasons, that could be a red flag.

Second, make sure you have a solid understanding of your team. If you don't, then use this as an opportunity to gain that understanding and gain trust with your team.

Then later in the letter, I mention that--for better or worse--there's no law against micromanagement. There are, however, some really important trust issues that we need to consider as leaders at our companies.

Without trust, your engineers can't do their best, creative work.

Bringing it together: leadership, law, and code

Michael Rice — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 03:18:34 +0000

I've been a little quiet here for the past few months!

Basically, I've been trying to figure out what to do.

On being pulled in three directions at once

As you know, if you follow me, I'm really into tech leadership topics, especially for new tech leads, hands on engineering managers, and CTOs or VPEs of startups. I even self published a book called How To Be A Tech Lead ($0).

But what I didn't mention here is that somewhere along the way of my 20+ year career tech is that I went to law school. Hey, write code in the early 2000s was anything but cool, and it was a nice break. I did really well, clerked for a federal judge, and passed the California bar exam.

And I still love writing and leading sessions teaching people about law, especially law for software engineers.

Bringing it all together

Finally, I still write a lot of code for a living. So I get kind of confused on what to focus on: Tech leadership? Law? Code?

Screw it.

Why not just start writing about all three???

There's a ton to talk about. In some places they'll intersect: like being a great tech lead and employment law issues. In others, the might just be kind of interesting: like the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

In all cases, I think I'll be able to continue (and enhance) my mission of making you a more effective, in the trenches tech leader.

So I started a (paid - $7/mo) email list on Substack called Leadership, Law, Code that I hope you'll subscribe to.

But I'll keep posting here from time to time--this is a great community and I'd love to engage you here!

Stand before the whiteboard and rule the world!

Michael Rice — Fri, 17 May 2019 05:33:20 +0000

I always say, he or she who stands at the whiteboard rules the world. Here’s how and why to break out of meeting mediocrity, even remotely.

As much as everyone dreads a boring meeting, meetings are actually a tech leader’s best friend. Humans were probably calling meetings at least as far back as when cavemen elders dealt with weighty issues of caveman days. Today, we still use meetings (or should) when we need to talk in real time about something important (hopefully important to everyone, not just a few 🙄).

As mystified as our caveman ancestors would be by our asynchronous tools like Slack (and associated Giphy and Emoji), there is something solemn about physically (or, virtually) being in someone’s presence and the ceremony of “calling a meeting” to focus everyone’s attention.

I have a lot more to say on why meetings are (or, can be) valuable, but I’ll spare you. For now, I want to suggest one hack for making an impact in meetings, including virtual meetings.

Own the Meeting With a Dry-Erase Marker

Imagine yourself in a meeting room. Folks are seated around a conference table. It’s boring. A few are trying to talk through some technical issue and making noises that sound like “blah blah blah blah blah blah.” Half (or more) of the conversation is spent trying clarify confusion, correct misunderstandings, or simply struggling to keep the meeting on topic. Half (or more) of the people in the room aren’t even paying attention and they’re on their laptops or phones (hopefully, reading this post on dev.to 👀).

If you’re one of my tech leads who I write to a lot, or even if you’re not, I beg you, please: rise up against this mediocrity!

Rise up, er, stand up. Grab a Dry Erase marker (pro tip: carry your own markers because they invariably don’t work in most meeting rooms), and start drawing some boxes or writing some bullet points on the whiteboard.

Even if you’re feeling shy or nervous, do it anyway! The more you feel that way, the more important it is for you to do it!

Even if you aren’t a visual learner or communicator, do it anyway because there is something magical about standing up and going to the whiteboard.

First, it’s a physical act of leadership. You’re self selecting yourself as a leader, and by doing something physically dominant relative to everyone else (who are probably slouching in their chairs with glazed looks in their eyes) you’re communicating with your whole body that you’re taking leadership. I’m not a scientist, but there’s something about the physicality that seems tap into our primal lizard brains.

Second, by doing this, you increase the energy level in the room quite a bit because you’re physically moving around now. You'll increase your own energy just by standing up and opening yourself up. The meeting suddenly becomes more interesting, engaging, and even (somewhat) entertaining because things will feel like they’re happening. (Another pro tip: move back and forth across the whiteboard, even around the room, if you really want to amp up this effect.)

Third, now you control the conversation. Partly it’s because you’re physically bigger than the folks in the room when you’re standing and they’re sitting, partly it’s because your voice is literally projecting over them, and partly it’s because you’re drawing (literally, with your Dry Erase marker) their visual attention to you.

But mostly, through your diagrams or by writing key words from the conversation, you have control or at least a lot more influence on where the conversation is going and what the important points are, even among those in the room with more authority or influence than you have.

It’s truly an amazing hack, it’s so easy to do, and not enough of us do it.

And besides, someone put that whiteboard in the room for a reason. Use it!

What Happens If You're Remote?

Owning the whiteboard is a power move, to be sure, but for the past few years, I’ve been on remote teams, so I haven’t had as many whiteboard moments as I would like. But I found a hack I want to share with you. It’s not quite as effective as the physical act of moving to the whiteboard, but it does give you some of the same influence and control.

First, go out and buy yourself a little pen tablet, like a Wacom tablet, or even, I suppose a good pen for your normal Apple or Android tablet. I use a $59 Bluetooth-enabled Wacom Intuos tablet that I carry around with me in my backpack. Trying to whiteboard without a handwriting instrument is really hard and/or slow in my opinion.

Second, on your next Slack or Zoom call, when the meeting starts going off the rails and/or descending into mediocrity, take out that Wacom tablet and start a screen share. Some technologies, like Zoom, have whiteboard support build right in. Slack lets people write on each other’s screen.

In a pinch though, you can just turn on a screen share and use the “draw” feature of Microsoft Powerpoint or a free drawing app like Tayasui Sketches for the Mac. Powerpoint looks like more like a whiteboard, in my mind, but I’ve used drawing apps too.

The Technique Doesn’t Always Work

There are some problems with my technique of course, but usually it’s manageable.

Some examples, and possible solutions, include:

The most dreaded thing, to me, is when someone else stands up and asks to “borrow” your precious Dry Erase marker and is now using your own technique - this has happened to me on occasion, sometimes the only option is to try just stand there longer, or maybe the other person has better ideas and you can just sit down and let them drive.
There’s no whiteboard or paper - you’re kind of screwed, sorry; next time, find a room with a whiteboard.
There are no pens, or they’re all out of ink - ugh, remember, a true professional brings their own Dry-Erase markers :-)
The whiteboard is BEHIND the key people in the meeting - this can be a problem because they will physically have to turn around to look at it, and can sometimes dismissively ignore your bold, physical act of leadership (you might have to ask them to move, which may or may not work).
Sometimes the room is small and you have climb over chairs to get to the whiteboard or it's physically hard to move around - just take a moment to have people move around a little.
If you have people dialed in to the meeting or you don’t have video technology set up, then the effectiveness of this hack can be reduced a bit.
Likewise, if it’s a virtual meeting, some people might be dialed in and won’t be able to see the whiteboard.
In a long meeting, you can get a little physically tired moving around so much.

What do you think? Do you already use this hack in meetings? Why do you think it works or doesn’t work? Do you have any other tech tips for remote meetings?

A Little Plug

I love writing ideas and getting stuff out there to help tech leads, hands on engineering managers, startup CTOs/VPEs, and even consultants make their leadership more impactful. But more importantly, I want you to be part of a community that helps each other. I call it Sidewalk Training and we do a combination of a lot of free events and a few paid trainings to help. Hope you'll join us or start with a free mini course on being a tech lead.