Programming Leadership

Programming Leadership

By Marcus BlankenshipBusinessTechnologyCareersManagement
Download on the App Store

Programming Leadership episodes

  • From Engineer to Executive: An Interview with Eric Muntz of MailChimp

    If you’ve ever wondered about what it could look like to go from being an engineer to the senior executive level of your company, you won’t want to miss this episode. This week on the Programming Leadership podcast, Marcus interviews Eric Muntz, the Senior Vice President of Engineering at MailChimp. They discuss Eric’s career shifts as well as the challenges and lessons he’s learned along the way.

    Show Notes

    • One of the first lessons Eric learned in management was how to listen well. It’s about waiting to jump in before you speak and being intentional about when you do.
  • When Eric began moving up in leadership, he asked himself, “What types of things do I need to do to go in and actually be perceived that way from people who don't know me at all?” One step he made was going through the employees’ training and asking them how he could help them do their jobs better.
  • If you’re looking for a promotion, know that managers are looking for who is helping and who understands the big picture.
  • Address burnout. Talk about it. Especially with those who are prone to care ‘too much.’
  • Eric shares that MailChimp’s company motto is, "Listen hard, change fast,” which gives you permission to be wrong — and fosters growth among all involved.

    • Links:

    • Book reference: Radical Candor
  • Thanks to this episode’s sponsor, GitPrime!
  • Book a group workshop with Marcus!
  • Email your questions to [email protected]
    • 39 min
  • Getting to Know You - The Key to Successful Leadership

    Good leadership looks like a flock of birds. That doesn’t mean everyone on the team has to dress in feathers, rather it means leadership is dynamic, shifting, and also tight-knit. In this episode of Programming Leadership, Marcus talks about what it takes to be a good leader and provides real solutions on how to build trust and gain feedback from your team.

    Show Notes

    • Being a young leader over a team with more experience requires emotional intelligence and collaboration in order to build trust and confidence.
  • Truly get to know your employees. It helps build trust and reduces negative impressions.
  • “Preconceptions are relationships based on past interactions with people that remind us of someone else.” - Marcus
  • Followership is not inferior to leadership.
  • One-on-one meetings should be frequent, consistent and not cancelled.
  • One-on-one meetings are important for building trust and gaining real feedback.

    • Links:

    • GitPrime.com
    25 min
  • Communication 101: Be Clear and Direct
    Episode Description

    Have you ever wondered why people can't just be clear and direct? In this episode of the Programming Leadership podcast, we're going to discuss this problem, identify some possible root causes, and learn how we can be more simple and clear in our communications.

     

    Show Notes

    • When you become a manager, you may find yourself using jargon without much forethought. Don't let yourself go there. You're only puffing yourself up and making your communications less clear.
  • In conflict, incongruence tends to occur. This is when our insides don't match our outsides. As a solution, communicate clearly with your team what you are processing internally. Talk about what you really mean and use simple language. The other person absolutely deserves it.
  • When navigating how to break down a work problem for your team, don't just break it up into chunks for them. Together, try a decomposition exercise where you each sit down to talk about the strategy and ways to decompose the problem, then let them solve it. This allows your team to learn, trust you more and take pride in their work.

    • Links:

    • Sponsor: GitPrime
  • Book a group workshop with Marcus!
  • Email your questions to [email protected]
    • 32 min
  • Transitioning to Management with Confidence

    This week, we’re talking about the programmer to manager to leader transition. What makes this transition hard? Is it possible to become a manager if you’re lacking good role models? How do you really become the leader you want to be proud of? Tune in to find answers to these questions and more.

    Show Notes

    • Why is the programmer to manager to leader transition hard? For starters, you’re no longer “just” coding, so it feels like you’re leaving something you love. It’s also difficult to envision the transition, especially if you haven't had good role models.
  • Marcus: “We learn to be a leader, a manager, by being led and being managed.” 
  • Marcus: “...it is very hard to ask yourself, ‘Have I fallen into the habits of doing this in a way that is never what I wanted to be?’ Instead, become the leader you want 
  • Marcus: “...join those of us who want to revolutionize what engineering management and leadership looks like, who believe that leadership is what happens when people of all ranks get together, problem solve, and empower each other.” 
  • Help your boss establish a growth mindset by changing your language. Insist on talking about growth and learning and change. Ask, “Where did you learn that?”

    • Links:

    • Sponsor: GitPrime
  • Book a group workshop with Marcus!
  • Email your questions to [email protected]
    • 26 min
  • A Star is Learned

    Tiger Woods wasn’t born golfing.  He did spend time, lots of time, practicing and he became good at it. People have inherent traits but being good at something takes time, effort, and practice. In this episode of Programming Leadership, Marcus talks about the importance of not solely focusing on things that people are naturally good at. It’s important to branch out of our comfort zones and learn new skills and is it only with practice and learning that we become better at those skills. And through trials and tribulations we ultimately find what we like to do and what we want to do.

    Show Notes

    • If you only focus on things you are good at, you’ll never know what you could be capable of doing.
  • Get out of the mindset that you only have to do what you’re naturally good at.
  • Success and failure both give opportunities for people to learn.
  • Imposter syndrome is feeling like a fake in the role that you already possess.
  • Laws of relationships should be focused on rather than laws of power.

    • Links:

    • GitPrime
  • Marcusblankenship.com
    • 21 min
  • Getting Real. Establishing Realistic Expectations for Yourself and Your Team

    It’s a fact of life that people are imperfect, so why do we try as coders to be perfect in our jobs? It’s just not feasible nor rational. This episode of Programming Leadership sheds light on the unrealistic expectations that clients, bosses and ourselves set because we strive to be perfect in an imperfect world. Programmers need to set realistic goals with their bosses, teams and with themselves. It’s only when we get real, do real results happen.

    Show Notes

    • Leadership is creating an environment where everyone can contribute.
  • We can’t say yes to something until we can truly say no to something.
  • Look for the good and the bad in the retrospective of a project.  Document lessons learned.
  • Stop trying to be perfect in front of your boss and colleagues.  It’s okay to not know the answer and to be imperfect.

    • Links:

    • GitPrime
  • Chats with Jerry
  • marcusblankenship.com
    • 26 min
  • So, What Is Leadership, Really?

    This week on the Programming Leadership podcast, we’re diving into the theories and definitions of what leadership means and looks like (and even what it doesn’t look like)! Even if you wouldn’t call yourself a “natural born” leader, Marcus encourages you to remember that leadership is a process, requires learned skills and everyone has the building blocks to become a great leader. So, what are you waiting for? Tune in to find out how you can start building your leadership skills today.

    Show Notes

    • Leadership is a process, something we can improve over time as there’s no ultimate goal or right/wrong way to do it.
  • Leadership outcomes is not about controlling people, it's about creating an environment that affords everyone the ability to work on solving the most important problem at hand, because we all want to work on solving these problems.
  • Leader’s don’t have to have the title, “Manager.” They’re often those people on your team who care; who believe that it's better when everyone contributes and that the job gets done smoother.
  • Marcus breaks down the two camps of leadership theories: entity theories and dyadic theories.
    • The entity theory asks, makes a leader so great? “It’s the idea that we look up to these leaders, admire them, and if we ever find ourselves in a leadership or management role, let's try and become like them. Let's model them.” [00:13:19 to 00:13:30]
  • Dyadic theories study the relationship between the leader and the follower. “The quality of relationship that people have with their boss is a predictor of how good their performance is and how satisfied they are.” [00:16:59 to 00:17:07]
  • Everyone has the building blocks to be a great leader.
  • If you’re new to a leadership/management role, Marcus suggests to reduce your coding time and increase your people time. In other words, start delegating more.
  • Time management is one of the most difficult things in the transition from programmer to manager.

    • Links:

    • Book recommendation: Becoming a Technical Leader by Gerald Weinberg
  • Book recommendation: The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
  • Herzberg's two-factor theory of motivation
  • Hackman's job control [characteristic] theory
  • Sponsor: GitPrime
    • 30 min
  • Managing vs. Leading: What’s the Difference?

    This week on the Programming Leadership podcast, host Marcus Blankenship shares his core beliefs about what it truly means to be a manager. He discusses the differences between the management and leadership and highlights key aspects of leadership that inspires anyone, regardless of job title or natural born talents, to step up and lead with confidence.

    Show Notes

    • It’s important to find out what it takes to be a great leader, even if you never get promoted to manager. And that’s exactly what the the Programming Leadership podcast will help you figure out.
  • Management is about things and processes, whereas leadership focuses on people — empowering and unleashing others to help them reach their highest potential.
  • Author Gerald Weinberg describes leadership as, “creating an environment where everyone can participate in solving the most important problems.” Read more from his book, Becoming a Technical Leader.
  • Two important things to remember about leadership: 1) Leadership is a skill that can be learned and 2) Leadership is about building (high-quality) relationships.

    • Links:

    • Book recommendation: Becoming a Technical Leader by Gerald Weinberg
  • Book recommendation: Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
  • Sponsor: GitPrime
    • 18 min
  • Me, a Manager?

    Welcome to the Programming Leadership podcast! In this episode, you’ll meet the host, Marcus Blankenship, as he introduces his passion for helping programmers navigate transitions. After all, most engineers don’t plan on becoming managers. So whether you’re a new programmer, you’re on the management track, or if you’ve been a manager for years, be sure to tune in as Marcus will help prepare you to not become just a manager, but how to truly become a great leader.

    Show Notes

    • For Marcus, his steps of going from programmer to manager, manager to leader, leader to executive and business owner was the hardest journey of his life.
  • Making the transition from computer-person interaction to person-person interaction is what the Programming Leadership podcast is all about.
  • Leadership is about developing a set of skills where everyone can contribute to problem-solving.

    • Links:

    • Marcus’ Website: https://marcusblankenship.com/
    8 min

About Programming Leadership

From the publisher's feed

A podcast to help great coders become skilled leaders, and build happy, high-performing software teams.