Managing programmers is hard! Becoming a successful manager requires a drastic change of focus.
The transition from programmer to manager is made particularly challenging by the dramatic difference between what made us successful as programmers and what it takes to successfully manage others. In addition, programmers are an interesting management challenge. We tend to be free spirits, playful, curious, and (very) independent.
What’s management really about? What differentiates success as a manager? What's it mean to manage in the era of agile? How do you prioritize? What constitutes great management?
Presenter is Ron Lichty, who co-authored the Addison-Wesley tutorial and reference, Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams - http://www.ManagingTheUnmanageable.net. Compared by reviewers to software development classics, The Mythical Man-Month and Peopleware, the content is now also available as video training, LiveLessons: Managing Software People and Teams, http://www.ManagingTheUnmanageable.net/video.html. Ron aspires to make software development better worldwide by advancing the practice of software development management.
Ron has been alternating between consulting with and managing software development and product organizations for 25 years, almost all of those spent untangling the knots in software development and transforming chaos to clarity, the last 20 of those in the era of Agile. Originally a programmer, he earned several patents and wrote two popular programming books before being hired into his first management role by Apple Computer, which nurtured his managerial growth in both development and product management roles.
Principal and owner of Ron Lichty Consulting, Inc. (www.RonLichty.com), Ron advises business, product and engineering leaders to solve development team challenges, taking on an occasional interim vice president of engineering role, and training teams and executives in making agile more effective. He transitions teams from waterfall and iterative methodologies to agile, coaches teams already using agile to make their software development "hum", and trains managers in managing software people and teams. In his continued search for effective best practices, Ron co-authors the Study of Product Team Performance (http://www.ronlichty.com/study.html).
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What's It Take to Be a (Good!) Manager
1. What's It Take to Be a
(Good!) Manager?
Ron Lichty | Ron Lichty Consulting
Ron@RonLichty.com | www.ronlichty.com
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 1
3. • Untangling knots in software development
• Making development “hum”
• Interim VP Eng roles
Advise Business & Engineering Leaders
3Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty:
7. * Addison Wesley (Amazon, BarnesandNoble, InformIT.com, Safari)
http://ManagingTheUnmanageable.net <-----tools, excerpts, more rules of thumb
*
7Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty:
8. The Study of Product Team Performance
http://www.ronlichty.com/study.html
8Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty:
9. Consult:
Untangling the Knots; Making Things Hum
• process
• culture
• communication
• planning
• rigor
Ron@RonLichty.com 9(c) Ron Lichty:
11. Software People Managers
• Only half have had a single day of
training in management of any kind
• Less than 5% had a day of
management training prior to managing
• Even fewer had a day of training
specific to managing software people
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 11
12. Software People Managers
• Isn’t it odd...
– how long we expect programmers to have
studied the art of programming
– how little we expect managers to have
studied the art of managing?
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 12
13. Why we wrote:
* Addison Wesley published October 2012
*
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 13
14. Manager Training with Impact
• Managers and the Law
• Situational Leadership
• Reflective Listening
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 14
15. Manager Training with Impact
• Managers and the Law
• Situational Leadership
• Reflective Listening
• Managing Software People and Teams
(live classes, & now LiveLessons video)
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 15
16. Manager Training with Impact
• Managers and the Law
• Situational Leadership
• Reflective Listening
• Managing Software People and Teams
(live classes, & now LiveLessons video)
• The Agile Manager
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 16
17. What Is a Good Manager?
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 17
18. What Is a Good Manager?
• Good communicator
• Listens
• Sensitive
• Real-time feedback
• Shields the team
• Flexible
• Not biased
• Ethical
• Knows their team
members
• Maximizes strengths
• Politely honest
• Coach
• Domain expert
• Visionary
• Trustworthy
• Patient
• Kind
• Fair
• Walks the talk
• Recognizes the team
• Motivating
• Calm
• Not a micromanager
• Sympathizes
• Empathizes
• Emotional
intelligence
• Respects time
• Grows the team
• Down to earth
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 18
20. Success as a Programmer
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 20
21. Success as a Programmer
• Highly honed coding skill
• Focus
• Block out distractions
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 21
22. Success as a Manager
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 22
23. Success as a Manager
• Welcome interruptions
• Focus on enabling others
• Delegate to others what you could do better
• People skills, coaching skills, and empathy
• Too few role models
• Dramatically more managing up and out
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 23
24. Becoming Better Managers
• Training
• Books
• Mentoring
– boss
– new peers
– network
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 24
25. How we came to write:
* Addison Wesley published October 2012
*
Mentoring
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 25
26. How we came to write:
* Addison Wesley published October 2012
*
Co-mentoring
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 26
27. Becoming Better Managers
• Training
• Books
• Mentoring: boss, new peers, network
• Ask other managers
– most important lessons
– mistakes they made, and how they solved them
– surprises, both good and bad
– sources of strength and support
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 27
28. Becoming Better Managers
• Training
• Books
• Mentoring: boss, new peers, network
• Ask other managers
• Ask your reports (practice reflective listening!)
– what they want in a manager
– what they wish could change
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 28
29. Becoming Better Managers
• Training
• Books
• Mentoring: boss, new peers, network
• Ask other managers
• Ask your reports (practice reflective listening!)
• Meetups: Silicon Valley & San Francisco
Engineering Leadership Communities
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 29
30. More “Mentoring” Wisdom:
Leverage Rules of Thumb
• Pair programming for half an hour during
an interview will save everyone’s time.
– David Vydra, TestDriven.com
• Writing clean code is what you must do in order
to call yourself a professional developer.
– Uncle Bob Martin, co-author, Agile Manifesto
• Brooks’s Law: Adding manpower to a late
software project makes it later.
– Frederick P. Brooks Jr.
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 30
31. Rules of Thumb / Nuggets of Wisdom*
* 300 in the book / more at http://managingtheunmanageable.net/morerulesofthumb.html
31(c) Ron Lichty:Ron@RonLichty.com
32. Become a Great Manager
• Fairness
• Ethical, forthright, honest
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 32
33. Ethical
• Leading by example occurs whether
you like it or not.
— Jateen Parekh, Founder, CTO, Jelli Crowdsourced Radio
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 33
34. Ethical
• Leading by example occurs whether
you like it or not.
— Jateen Parekh, Founder, CTO, Jelli Crowdsourced Radio
• Example is not the most important way of
influencing other people. It’s the only way.
— Albert Schweitzer
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 34
35. Leading by Example: Nugget of Wisdom
• Nothing undermines your credibility as a
manager more completely than pounding on
your team all year to get their work done on
time and then telling them you don’t have
their reviews done because you were busy.
Whatever you were busy with likely wasn’t
managing your people, so you’ve just
proven to them that they don’t matter. Good
luck motivating them next year.
– Tim Swihart, engineering director, Apple Computer
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 35
36. Become a Great Manager
• Fairness
• Ethical, forthright, honest
• Facilitate communication
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 36
37. Communicating
• You have to communicate more
• Encourage your team to communicate
• Create a culture of communication
– at every level
– with everyone
• up, down, within and across
• “We have two ears and one mouth. Use them in
this ratio.”
— Kimberly Wiefling
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 37
39. Become a Servant Leader
• Theory Y: “enabling”, “empowering”, “developmental",
“continuous improvement” -> Servant Leadership
McGregor's X-Y Theory
39(c) Ron Lichty:
Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams , http://www.ManagingTheUnmanageable.net
Ron@RonLichty.com
41. Always Be Recruiting
• Recruiting: A manager’s most important job
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 41
42. Always Be Recruiting
• Recruiting: A manager’s most important job
• Always be recruiting
– Be out there
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 42
43. Always Be Recruiting
• Recruiting: A manager’s most important job
• Always be recruiting
– Be out there
• Why must we give it focus & attention?
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 43
44. Always Be Recruiting
• Recruiting: A manager’s most important job
• Always be recruiting
– Be out there
• Why must we give it focus & attention?
– Hiring windows
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 44
45. Always Be Recruiting
• Recruiting: A manager’s most important job
• Always be recruiting
– Be out there
• Why must we give it focus & attention?
– Hiring windows
– Getting it right is critical
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 45
46. One Bad Hire
• a plague on your team for months
• demotivate your team
• demoralize your organization
• undermine your leadership
• incite dissension and strife
• delay or derail your deliverables
• and... it’s so hard it is to get rid of bad hires!
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 46
47. Always Be Recruiting
• Recruiting: A manager’s most important job
• Always be recruiting
– Be out there
• Why must we give it focus & attention?
– Hiring windows
– Getting it right is critical
• Don’t let fear of making a bad decision rule
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 47
48. Handle Problem Employees
• Know: There’s no perfect recruiting record
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 48
49. Handle Problem Employees
• Know: There’s no perfect recruiting record
• Even if there were,
you’ll inherit a problem employee
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 49
50. Handle Problem Employees
• Know: There’s no perfect recruiting record
• even if there were, you’ll inherit a problem
• Intervention beats performance plans & firing
– Requires preparation, commitment, time
– But it’s focused on fixing the issue earlier:
• Marty Brounstein: Handling the Difficult Employee
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 50
51. Intervention Meetings
• a LOT of preparation
• stating the problem
• list every impact
• let your employee vent
• brainstorm solutions
• map out a plan
– that must include regular, structured follow-ups
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 51
52. Handle Problem Employees
• Know: There’s no perfect recruiting record
• Intervention beats performance plans & firing
– Requires preparation, commitment, time
– But it’s focused on fixing the issue earlier:
• Marty Brounstein: Handling the Difficult Employee
• One of two results:
– Turns them around
– They quit on their own
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 52
53. Handle Problem Employees
• Know: There’s no perfect recruiting record
• Intervention beats performance plans & firing
– Requires preparation, commitment, time
– But it’s focused on fixing the issue earlier:
• Marty Brounstein: Handling the Difficult Employee
• One of two results:
– Turns them around
– They quit on their own
• Handle it!Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 53
54. Programmers Aren’t All Alike!
• Programming disciplines
• Generations of programmers
• Morning people vs night people
• Employees vs Contractors
• Proximity
• Cowboys vs Farmers
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 54
55. Stay Focused on What’s Important!
In the beginning, everyone will talk about
scope, and budget, and schedule, but in
the end, nobody really cares about any
of those things. The only thing they care
about is this:
People will love your software, or they
won’t.
So that’s the only criterion to which you
should truly manage.
—Joseph Kleinschmidt, SF CTO / now CEO
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 55
58. Leaders and Delegation
Trust but verify.
-RONALD REAGAN quo3ng VLADIMIR LENIN
58Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty:
59. – imperative not to micromanage
– the essence of delegation
– setting expected outcomes for teams
Leaders and Delegation
Trust but verify.
-RONALD REAGAN quo3ng VLADIMIR LENIN
59Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty:
60. Leaders and Delegation
I inspect what I expect.
- ALAN LEFKOF, Netopia CEO, quo3ng LOU GERSTNER
60
Trust but verify.
-RONALD REAGAN quo3ng VLADIMIR LENIN
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty:
62. Motivation
• The things that Motivate are not the same as
the things that De-Motivate
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 62
63. Motivation
• Just as you actively Motivate
• You need to actively avoid De-Motivating
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 63
64. Motivation
• Just as you actively Motivate
• You need to actively avoid De-Motivating
* Frederick Herzberg, 1950s
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 64
66. Be Careful What You Reward
• “Behavior revolves around what you measure.”
--Jim Highsmith
– If you reward heroes...
• What gets measured gets manipulated.
• “Do you define “done” as “coding complete”?
– Or as features that delight customers?
• Be very careful trying to reward with cash
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 66
67. Managers Must Foster Culture
• Trust Our People
• Empower Self-Organization & Excellence
• Expect / Enable Truly Shared Leadership
• Model, Defend, Evangelize Agile Values
• Foster a Culture of Communication
• Encourage Teamwork and Collaboration
• Shield Teams from Politics & Distraction
• Take Care of Stuff! Take Care of Teams!
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 67
68. Establishing Culture
• Does your company live its values?
• Programming culture ≠ corporate culture
– Wall parts off
– Substitute and bolster more appropriate values
• Wherever you can, leverage culture & values
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 68
69. Establishing Culture
• “Publicly reward or acknowledge engineers
who act in a way that supports the culture
that you want to create.”
—Juanita Mah, engineering manager
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 69
71. Learn to Manage Up
• “The single most important leader in an
organization is your immediate supervisor.”
– Jim Kouzes
• “You can safely assume all perceptions are
real, at least to those who own them.”
– Joe Folkman
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 71
72. Managing Out & Up
• Because
– your peers increasingly are not technical
– and your boss may not be either
• …they’ll pressure you
– to micromanage your team (or let them)
– to report on / prove your team’s productivity
– to fill your team’s plates to capacity
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 72
73. Climbing the Career Ladder
The very thing that has made you
successful in your last role will get
in your way in your next role.
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 73
74. These, or...
• Your new hire’s first day
• The value of regular one-on-ones
• Managing your people
• Getting programmers to work together well
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 74
75. A Few Closing Rules of Thumb
• If you’re a people manager, your people are far more important than
anything else you’re working on.
—Tim Swihart, Engineering Director
• Projects should be run like marathons. You have to set a healthy pace
that can win the race and expect to sprint for the finish line.
—Ed Catmull, CTO, Pixar Animation Studios
• In applications with high technical debt, estimating is nearly
impossible.
—Jim Highsmith, Agile Coach and Leader
• The quality of code you demand during the first week of a project is
the quality of code you’ll get every week thereafter.
—Joseph Kleinschmidt, CTO, Leverage Software
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 75
76. Raffle!
• either
– business card
– name / email onto blank
• Focus on becoming the manager
and the leader
you always wanted to work for
Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: 76
77. Pre-Order & Save 40%*
informit.com/managing2e
• Use code EARLYMANAGING
• Available as Book and/or eBook
(eBook all-inclusive: PDF, EPUB, and MOBI)
• Free Shipping in the US
Book is also available via booksellers including Amazon and
Barnes & Noble and in O’Reilly’s Online Learning Service.
*Discount code EARLYMANAGING is only good at informit.com
and cannot be used on the already discounted book + eBook
bundle or combined with any other offer. Offer ends December 9,
2019 and is subject to change.
77
78. Management Track today...
• Applied Wisdom for the Emotionally Intelligent Manager
• The Science of Programmer Motivation
• Building Distributed Teams
• End-of-Day Panel: bring your management questions!
Tomorrow: Agile Track
• Situational Decision Making in a VUCA world!
• Intro to Test-Driven Development
• Improve Quality & Joy: Agile XP Dojos Work
• Critical Practices, Nuanced Techniques
• What to Expect from Your Agile Coach
(and What They Should Expect from You)
78Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty:
79. Ron Lichty Consulting
• Mentoring, coaching, training, consulting:
– http://ronlichty.com, Ron@RonLichty.com
• The book:
Managing the Unmanageable:
Rules, Tools & Insights for Managing Software People & Teams
– http://ManagingTheUnmanageable.net <-----tools, excerpts, more rules of thumb
• The video training:
LiveLessons: Managing Software People and Teams
– http://ManagingTheUnmanageable.net/video.html
• The study:
The Study of Product Team Performance
– http://ronlichty.com/study.html
• Training:
The Agile Manager
Managing Software People and Teams
Zero to Agile in Three Days
79Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty:
80. Pre-Order & Save 40%*
informit.com/managing2e
• Use code EARLYMANAGING
• Available as Book and/or eBook
(eBook all-inclusive: PDF, EPUB, and MOBI)
• Free Shipping in the US
Book is also available via booksellers including Amazon and
Barnes & Noble and in O’Reilly’s Online Learning Service.
*Discount code EARLYMANAGING is only good at informit.com
and cannot be used on the already discounted book + eBook
bundle or combined with any other offer. Offer ends December 9,
2019 and is subject to change.
80
81. Ron Lichty Consulting
• Mentoring, coaching, training, consulting:
– http://ronlichty.com, Ron@RonLichty.com
• The book:
Managing the Unmanageable:
Rules, Tools & Insights for Managing Software People & Teams
– http://ManagingTheUnmanageable.net <-----tools, excerpts, more rules of thumb
• The video training:
LiveLessons: Managing Software People and Teams
– http://ManagingTheUnmanageable.net/video.html
• The study:
The Study of Product Team Performance
– http://ronlichty.com/study.html
• Training:
The Agile Manager
Managing Software People and Teams
Zero to Agile in Three Days
81Ron@RonLichty.com (c) Ron Lichty: