My first month as a manager I barely had time to think about how I didn’t really know what I was doing, because there was so much that clearly needed to be done. So I accepted that stuff was not writing code, and got on with it. Month two opened, and I kept getting on […]
We know technical interviewing is a problem but rather than asking interviewers to do better, a lot of suggested solutions push that problem off onto people we interview rather than those who are doing the interviewing. This comes up a lot because the hiring process is the second most popular place to improve “diversity” after […]
When I worked at The Conglomerate, I used to interview mostly women. Not slightly more. We’re talking a 2:1 or even 3:1 ratio. Why? Well The Conglomerate was (probably still is) a Pipeline Organization. They believed that the problem with diversity was that they just needed to Hire More Women. And so they would want […]
I ran a poll on Twitter this week looking for answers to a question I was curious about. I find the results interesting. On the one hand it encourages me how many people have apologised and it went well. On the other, the number of people who say “no reason to” makes me despondent. The […]
A while ago there was an article about how women got more RTs when they talk about diversity than when they talk about anything else. This wasn’t that surprising to women, I don’t think, although it may have been news to some people. Well before this was news, I had been trying to balance what […]
There’s a question that I have found myself asking a lot over the last two years: “do you know what a good environment looks like, though?” I ask it when a friend comes to me with anxiety about performance reviews. I ask it to the friend who left a bad environment only to end up in […]
I found the Truth About Burnout (Amazon) from this article, which I think gives the main takeaways from the book far more succinctly. I did find the book interesting and I’m glad I read it, but I wouldn’t necessarily encourage other people to. It’s a little dated in places (it was published in 2000), and […]
Earlier this year I withdrew from a conference because the organizer refused to implement a proper code of conduct (eventually he put up something but he refused to specify unacceptable behavior). I did not expect this to be such a contentious decision or one I would have to be reminded of nearly 6 months later. […]
My notes from @Jo_Miller‘s session at GHC. The Emerging Leaders Quandary – can’t get recognised as someone who is ready to lead a larger team. Why we get stuck – you can’t get that higher level job without the leadership experience… but you can’t get the leadership experience without the job. Do not outsource your […]
I don’t always manage all of these but I typically regret the ones I miss… If coming from any distance, arrive Monday. Stay until Sunday – and don’t make any plans for Saturday. Stock up on snacks – the keynotes start so early (830) and if you want a decent seat you won’t have time […]