Developing software as part of a team introduces a host of challenges. A strong, motivated development team working together can marshal the strengths and specialities of each of its members to create something much larger than the sum of its parts. Teams that don’t work together can drain resources and make the workplace a miserable place to spend the day. The fact is, strong teams need strong leaders, and strong leadership is something that each of us can cultivate within ourselves. No matter your experience level or seniority, if you work as part of a team, you have the capacity to help lead your colleagues toward success. We’ll discuss strategies for dealing with conflict, ideas on how to become stronger communicators, and ways to help you and your teammates get the best from one another.
19. Growing Your Team
• The whole team should be involved in the hiring process.
• Bad first impressions happen. Be careful about dropping people after the
1st meeting
• Focus as much on social & cultural IQ as much as technical skills
26. Empathy Is…
(Wiseman’s 4 Attributes)
• The ability to take the perspective of another person.
• The ability to understand another person’s feelings.
• The ability to communicate that understanding.
• The ability to avoid judgment.
27. Empathy is Not Sympathy
• Empathy is sharing another person’s experience.
• Sympathy is acknowledging another person’s experience.
28. Empathy is a skill that can be
learned and improved.
35. Are You Listening?
• Speculating about our partner’s agenda
• Trying to remember that amazing article that refutes our partner’s argument
• Thinking about our own problems
• Thinking about that one time (times?) that our partner was a jerk
39. Proceed when…
• You understand the topic your partner is trying to address,
• You understand your partner’s key points, and…
• You understand what your partner expects from the interaction.
40. It’s OK…
• To suck at this. It takes practice!
• Pause or reschedule when you are (meaningfully) distracted
69. • Prompt - http://prompt.engineyard.com/
• Mental Health First Aid - http://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/
• Open Sourcing Mental Illness - http://funkatron.com/osmi.html