Tactics for Tech Leadership (TTL)

Tactics for Tech Leadership (TTL)

By Andrew Parker and Mon-Chaio LoBusinessManagement
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Tactics for Tech Leadership (TTL) episodes

  • Toward a Better Culture (Culture Series - Part 2 of 3)

    In part two of this three-part series on Culture, Andy and Mon-Chaio wrangle with the question "Is there 'better culture' to aim for?" Along the way they delve into bad culture, focusing on values or on outcomes, differences between what people say and what people do, burnout, and pillars of a good tech culture.


    Opening quote from "A Strong Market Culture Drives Organizational Performance and Success".


    References:

    • Joy at Work: https://dennisbakke.com/joy-at-work/
    • Espoused Theory and Theory in Use: http://www.aral.com.au/resources/argyris.html
    • Maslach Burnout Inventory: https://www.mindgarden.com/117-maslach-burnout-inventory-mbi
    • Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4911781/
    • Compassion and Curiosity values: https://cdn.csu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/917018/Eight-Behaviors-for-Smarter-Teams-2.pdf
    • A Strong Market Culture Drives Organizational Performance and Success: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227995656_A_strong_market_culture_drives_organizational_performance_and_success
    • Squeezing the Orange Podcast "When Time is Money": https://squeezingtheorange.podbean.com/e/when-time-is-money/
    • GLOBE Project Cultural Dimensions: https://globeproject.com/study_2004_2007
      • 49 min
    • Demystifying Corporate Culture (Culture Series - Part 1 of 3)

       In part one of this three-part series, Andy and Mon-Chaio attempt to provide a research-supported answer on whether culture is important for your tech organization. They also dig into the details of whether a company should hire for cultural fit.


      Opening quote from "A Review Paper on Organizational Culture and Organizational Performance".


      References:

      • A Review Paper on Organizational Culture and Organizational Performance - https://ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol._1_No._3_December_2010/4.pdf
        • Some Social and Psychological Consequences of the Longwall Method of Coal-Getting - https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675100400101
          • Kurt Lewin's Force Field Analysis - https://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/research/dstools/force-field-analysis/
            • Extreme Programming (XP) - https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/xp/
              • Organizational culture, person-culture fit, and turnover: a replication in the health care industry - https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(199903)20:2<175::AID-JOB882>3.0.CO;2-E
                • London School of Economics: Should you hire for culture fit? - https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2022/05/05/should-you-hire-for-culture-fit/
                  • American Psychological Association: What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? - https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral
                    • 39 min
                  • Setting Challenging Goals

                    Goals. We all have them, but should we? Mon-Chaio and Andy examine the literature on goal setting and discuss how to set good, challenging goals.


                    Opening quote from "Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey".


                    References:

                    • Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey: https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705
                      • The High Performance Cycle: Standing the Test of Time: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/0470013419.ch10
                        • Participative Goal Setting in Self-Directed Global Virtual Teams: The Role of Virtual Team Efficacy in Goal Setting Effectiveness and Performance: https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2013.442
                          • 52 min
                        • Navigating the Challenges of Building Trust

                          Mon-Chaio and Andy explore the research on trust and how to translate that into successful tactics for building trust in technical organizations ... including situations when strong trust may not be necessary for high-performing teams.


                          References

                          •  Harvard Buisness Review's trust articles - https://hbr.org/topic/subject/trustworthiness
                            • Indian Matchmaking on Netflix - https://www.netflix.com/title/80244565
                              • Trust and distrust as separate entities - https://www.jstor.org/stable/259288
                                • Calculus-based trust vs. identification-based trust - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285976980_Trust_trust_development_and_trust_repair
                                  • Dunbar's number - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number
                                    • Agile Conversations book - https://agileconversations.com/
                                      • Team charters - https://asana.com/resources/team-charter-template
                                        • 43 min
                                      • Untangling the Metrics Request

                                        Andy and Mon-Chaio talk about the dreaded request for team performance metrics. Rather than simply agreeing to start measuring, we explore a different approach.


                                        Opening quote from "Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Compassion"


                                        References

                                        • Explore, Expand, Extract - https://medium.com/@kentbeck_7670/fast-slow-in-3x-explore-expand-extract-6d4c94a7539
                                          • Commandos, Infantry, Police - https://blog.codinghorror.com/commandos-infantry-and-police/
                                            • SPACE Metrics - https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3454124
                                              • DevEx metrics - https://www.infoq.com/articles/devex-metrics-framework/
                                                • NVC - https://www.cnvc.org/training/resource/book-chapter-1
                                                  • 49 min
                                                • The Why and How of Delegation

                                                  We explore delegation: why to do it and how to do it. The discussion ranges widely between the approaches the Prussian military used to command its forces to the ideas of the situational leadership model.


                                                  Opening quote from page 189 of the book "The Art of Action" by Stephen Bungay.


                                                  References


                                                  • The Art of Action - https://www.stephenbungay.com/Books.ink
                                                  • Briefing and Backbriefing - https://availagility.co.uk/2021/03/10/what-is-backbriefing/ also the book "The Art of Action"
                                                  • Curse of Knowledge - https://availagility.co.uk/2021/06/09/backbriefing-and-the-curse-of-knowledge/
                                                  • Situational Leadership - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situational_leadership_theory
                                                  • Doug Forcett - https://thegoodplace.fandom.com/wiki/Doug_Forcett
                                                    • 47 min
                                                  • Organizing to Learn

                                                    In this episode, we explore the ideas from the book Teaming about how to organise to learn. Organising to learn takes framing to learn, psychological safety, learning from failure, and crossing boundaries.


                                                    The opening quote is from chapter one of the book "Teaming" by Amy Edmonson.


                                                    References:


                                                    • Google 20% time - https://builtin.com/software-engineering-perspectives/20-percent-time
                                                    • Praiseworthy/blameworthty chart - https://hbr.org/2011/04/strategies-for-learning-from-failure
                                                    • Teaming - https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/Teaming%3A+How+Organizations+Learn%2C+Innovate%2C+and+Compete+in+the+Knowledge+Economy-p-9780787970932
                                                      • 52 min
                                                    • Longevity of Team Boundaries

                                                      Andy and Mon-Chaio contemplate how often team boundaries should change, what impacts changing boundaries has, and some tactics for making boundary changes easier.


                                                      References

                                                      • Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckman's_stages_of_group_development
                                                      • Amy Edmundson, Teaming - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Teaming-Organizations-Innovate-Compete-Knowledge-ebook/dp/B007MF3BRA
                                                      • Dunbar’s number - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number
                                                      • Matrix management - https://www.liveabout.com/matrix-management-2276122
                                                      • XP central tenant - https://martinfowler.com/bliki/FrequencyReducesDifficulty.html
                                                      • Gore - https://www.fastcompany.com/51733/fabric-creativity
                                                        • 51 min
                                                      • Analysing a team situation using BART

                                                        In this inaugural episode of the Tactics for Technical Leadership (TTL) podcast, Mon-Chaio and Andy discuss the BART (Boundary, Authority, Role Task) framework for analysing group dynamics and apply it to a situation that Mon-Chaio encountered with two teams.


                                                        Referenced materials:

                                                        • The BART System of Group and Organisational Analysis: https://www.it.uu.se/edu/course/homepage/projektDV/ht09/BART_Green_Molenkamp.pdf
                                                          • 42 min

                                                        About Tactics for Tech Leadership (TTL)

                                                        From the publisher's feed

                                                        The TTL Podcast is a podcast dedicated to empowering managers and leaders in software companies with practical strategies and insights to navigate the dynamic world of technology. Join us as we explore a wide range of topics, from effective team management and agile leadership practices to fostering innovation and driving organizational change. Each episode dives deep into a specific technique, model, or theory of management and leadership, offering valuable perspectives and actionable tactics tailored to the unique challenges of the tech industry.