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The Human Dimension of Software Engineering

The Human Dimension of Software Engineering

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11 Essential Elements to Build High-Performing Engineering Teams

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Being able to build high-performing engineering teams is a non-negotiable skill for engineering leaders. It is the difference between successful and failing technology companies.

I have been thinking about this topic for many years, studying and decoding what exceptional leaders do to create great teams. During this time, I refined a list of what I believe are 11 must-have elements. I kept it in one the many thousands of Evernote notes that organize my life, and I finally decided to share … [Read more...] about 11 Essential Elements to Build High-Performing Engineering Teams

8 Engineering Leadership Roles Explained

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Like most industries, tech doesn't have a standard for roles and titles, even in the area of engineering leadership. However, some patterns can be found replicated in most software companies. I've discussed the technical side of this equation in Software Engineering Job Titles Explained and 19 Types of Developers Explained.

In this post, I am focusing on engineering leadership roles and what they are accepted to mean. Depending on the company, some of these roles are also job titles; others … [Read more...] about 8 Engineering Leadership Roles Explained

10 Top Leadership Anti-Patterns

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What Is a Leader?

Leadership is a poorly understood concept that is often confused with position or title. The confusion is due to the expectation that someone with an influential role must be a leader. However, that expectation represents an ideal, not always a reality.

Some people who climbed the ladder end up being weak leaders at their new level. They get there because were competent in a different role and one of two things occurred: either they reached a point where the power they … [Read more...] about 10 Top Leadership Anti-Patterns

5 Reason Why I Love Being Wrong

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When I was programming 100% of my time, it was my job to write robust and maintainable code. My work needed to be well documented, designed with the proper level of abstraction and as bug-free and efficient as possible. I also had to come up with good ideas for how to resolve problems and create viable products.

As a developer, I had to be right a lot of the time. Being wrong when writing code resulted in bugs and other issues. Regardless of code reviews and testing, dumb ideas in software code … [Read more...] about 5 Reason Why I Love Being Wrong

A Programmer Burnout Story; How to Recognize it And Avoid it

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I am very interested in psychology, but I am not a psychologist. I do not have any specific or tangential formal education on the phenomenon of burnout. My experience with it is from the trenches. I have been in some nasty ones, knee deep in the mud, grasping for something solid to avoid going down and drowning. I have observed software developers burnout, and I know how bad it can get.

I got close to get burnout myself a couple of times but managed to avoid it by doing research on the topic … [Read more...] about A Programmer Burnout Story; How to Recognize it And Avoid it