A Geek Leader Podcast - inspiring technical and creative leaders around the world

Today on the show have Andrew May with a cameo from the one and only Brad Miller.  Andrew May, originally from Phoenix, AZ, started in computing when he was twelve years old, writing windows applications to assist in quick email responses. Throughout his scholastic endeavors, he continued to focus on computing; moving from desktop applications to web applications. Andrew attended Arizona State University where he studied Computer Science and Engineering. In 2007, Andrew's entrepreneurship grew and he patented his first major idea. He grew the project and sold it to the airline industry in 2008. Not stoping he partnered with other local developers in Tennessee and created a mobile social media aggregator. Late in 2008 Andrew founded ADM Software Consulting, LLC to focus on mobile applications on contract basis. Andrew's success has lead him to establish a downtown Knoxville, Tennessee office and work with fortune 500 companies, as well as local emerging start-ups. In 2015, Andrew merged ADM Software with Double-Apps, another successful local development company, to form CodeTank Labs. Their focus being native mobile application development, as well as AR and VR technologies. From 2012 to 2017, he accepted the lead role on the board for CodeStock, helping bring on new members, and establishing it as a 501c3 non-profit, while nearly doubling it's size. Follow: Andrew May on Twitter Brad Miller on Twitter am@codetanklabs.com Today on the show: We talk about the Andrew's beginnings in technology What it takes to build and keep a good team The importance of good community and culture How to hire affectively... i.e. dating the new hire How to build trust with your team What's new in AR and VR development The importance of trusting your gut and trusting your partners / team Codestock dates - April 12th and 13th, 2019 Important tips from Andrew: Don't get discouraged.  Make smart hires. I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Today on the show we've got Jeff Roberts.  Jeff  has more than 20 years of experience leading Information Technology for top financial services and real estate firms.  Since 2015 he has served as the first-ever Chief Information Officer of HFF (NYSE: HF), a commercial real estate capital intermediary, where he is leading a digital transformation and technology platform upgrade.  Prior to joining HFF, he served as CIO for four other companies: Carriage Services (NYSE: CSV), Situs, a private global commercial real estate firm, Saxon Mortgage, a Morgan Stanley company, and Litton Loan Servicing, a division of Goldman Sachs.  In these roles, Mr. Roberts has gained significant experience integrating strategic custom software and analytics with leading 3rd party platforms.  He focuses on enabling IT as a competitive advantage, going beyond margin efficiencies to make IT a driver of revenue.  Jeff is a graduate of the University of Tulsa, and did post-graduate business and leadership studies at the University of Houston and Rice University. When you're new to management, you need to come in and listen and learn.  Building trust with your team is key. Book Recommendations  Jim Collins Good to Great - Level 5 Leadership, Coaching high standards. 27 challenges managers face - Brian Tulgan - All about one-on-one meetings. Tips when starting a new role as a leader Listening is important. We are typically thinking about what we're going to say next, instead of listening to what is being said. Active Listening - try to summarize what is being said in your head instead of trying to respond to what is being said. Coaching is number 2.  Its a mindset and performance difference on how people think about their job and how they should think about their job. What do you think your job is?  What is your thought process?  Try to find a reason to say yes, don't just jump to no. Technical management proficiency - How to manage a project, resource portfolio, communicate, etc. Don't be defensive -  People are reluctant to give criticism to new folks. Tell folks what you're going to do with the information. What advice would I give someone wanting to become a CIO? The main thing to realize about the CIO role is that it bridges multiple differences. Infrastructure and software development, etc.  Get exposed to the other side and get Leadership skills. Another tip Jeff had for us is to really learn your business; which is why Jeff stayed with financial services. Managing up Of all of the departments, IT is different than any other group.  Managing up is critical. Be proactive to simplify the process for other members of senior management.  Trust is critical because other members of senior leadership don't understand what goes on in IT. I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Today on the show we have Arthur Doler. Arthur (or Art, take your pick) has been a software engineer for 14 years and has worked on things as exciting as analysis software for casinos and things as boring as banking websites. He is an advocate for talking openly about mental health and psychology in the technical world, and he spends a lot of time thinking about how we program and why we program, and about the tools, structures, cultures, and mental processes that both help and hinder us from our ultimate goal of writing amazing things. In this episode we talk about the following: Actor observer bias Fundamental attribution error Stereotypes Drive - Dan Pink Autonomy Mastery Purpose Google Effect on memory The Curse of Knowledge Breaking down actions into smaller chunks. Fixed vs. Growth Mindset Ways to get past the Imposter Syndrom: 1. Reflect 2. Shadow team members 3. Understand your feelings aren't grounded in facts “The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.” - Steven Furtick Follow Art on: Twitter Linkedin GitHub Arthur's website Books and Apps Mentioned: Mindset - Carol Dweck Drive - Dan Pink Punished by Rewards By Alfie Kohn Daylao - Mood tracker app I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Today on the show we have Tom Cooper.  I met Tom a few years ago while we were both speaking at a conference. Tom and I served on the board of advisors for the Interface Security Conference in Charlotte, NC last year.  During this chat, Tom and I discuss the 4 levels of thinking as a geek leader. Tom has put together some special resources, just for A Geek Leader listeners.  Check them out at brighthillgroup.com/ageekleader. There you will find a PDF describing the four levels of thinking we discussed on the show today, the eBook for finding budget dollars for leadership training that we discussed as well as a couple of bonus videos.  Please be sure to thank Tom on Twitter and LinkedIn. Tom Cooper, PMP is the founder of BrightHill Group, where he believes that "Because People Matter, We Must Lead Them Well."  Because of his deep experience in software development and enterprise IT implementation, Tom specializes in working with highly technical experts.  He says that he helps geeks communicate clearly, delegate effectively, manage conflict productively and plan well. Tom spent more than two decades as an IT leader working in startup businesses as well as at Marriott, Price Waterhouse, and the GM subsidiary Hughes Network systems.  Tom led software and IT teams to build and integrate large scale enterprise systems.  Along that path, Tom discovered that leadership is the key to project and business success and spent more than a decade specifically studying and practicing leadership skills.  Since founding BrightHill Group, he has brought his leadership experience to SC Johnson, NASDAQ, and a host of other clients. Clients and audience members have described Tom as smart, genuine, engaging, practical, funny, and inspiring. One of his clients is quoted as saying "We could hire anyone to help us with these issues, but you really understand exactly where we are.  We don't need to hire a translator to work with you."  Another said "You did an amazing job of listening to our needs."  Tom is a sought-after speaker on leadership, influence, and project management, speaking at over 130 engagements in 2012. The Four Levels of Thinking as a Geek Leader The Individual The Team Member The Team Leader The Team Builder   Again, special thanks to Tom Cooper for putting together a great show and some special resources, just for A Geek Leader listeners.  Check them out at  brighthillgroup.com/ageekleader. There you will find a PDF describing the four levels of thinking we discussed on the show today, the eBook for finding budget dollars for leadership training that we discussed as well as a couple of bonus videos.  Please be sure to thank Tom on Twitter and LinkedIn. I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Today on the show I have Daniel Argandona, Managing Director for Fortalice Solutions, LLC.  Fortalice is a boutique, white glove, cyber security services firm. In this episode we talk about Dan's journey through his career and how he got started into the cyber security and eventually found himself as the managing director for a cyber security firm in Washington D.C. While talking today, we discussed his takes on leadership, ego and management.  Dan mentions that one of his favorite quotes is from General Colin Powell:   “Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.” ― Colin Powell Daniel Argandona is a motivated, energetic, and results-focused senior leader with exceptional expertise in planning and managing the execution of strategic, cross-organizational, transformational initiatives. Argandona has 17 years of demonstrated success leading multi-disciplinary teams to execute complex initiatives; and managing C-level, senior engagement/stakeholder relationships. He also has significant experience managing initiatives which launch new business models, and/or replace legacy operations. Recently, Argandona led the stand-up of a digital organization responsible for incubating and executing strategic initiatives for a multinational client recognized as an industry leader creating innovative dining locations at airports worldwide.  As Program Director, he was responsible for planning the execution of newly established Digital Innovation initiatives across 120 airports, and 300+ unique brands.  The focus on these initiatives was to keep the client always at the forefront of the latest airport dining technology. At Fannie Mae, Argandona served as the Director of Program Management for Strategic Initiatives where he led the development and execution of five strategic initiatives across the organization, and achieved the merger of two strategic initiatives operations which transformed the existing business model.  He also led operations for an initiative which had a multi-year scope, an impact across multiple front line divisions, and a budget exceeding $140M. This initiative spanned 600+ resources, 67 cost centers and 30 workstreams. During his extensive career, Mr. Argandona has operated in multiple countries throughout Europe, South America, and North America. He co-led the program execution of a $20M multi-year, multi-phase project in Brazil and Spain with 110 practitioners representing seven countries. Mr. Argandona is a first-generation American whose family hails from both South America and Spain.  He belongs to a multinational family, with origins in Peru, Venezuela, and Bolivia, and is the proud father of four boys. To learn more about Dan and Fortalice Solutions, you can visit their website at https://fortalicesolutions.com/ or follow them on twitter @fortalicellc   I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Today on the show we're honored to have bestselling author Todd Henry on the show. Todd teaches leaders and organizations how to establish practices that lead to everyday brilliance. He is the author of four books (The Accidental Creative, Die Empty, Louder Than Words, and Herding Tigers) which have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and he speaks and consults across dozens of industries on creativity, leadership, and passion for work. His book Die Empty was named by Amazon.com as one of the best books of 2013. His latest book, Herding Tigers, is about what creative people need from their leader, and how to give it to them. In this episode, Todd and I talk about how to leaders need transition from Maker to Manager and how micro managers don't scale. Todd says that leaders need to give 2 things to their talented teams, stability and challenges.  And if we micro manage all the time, we create stability but no challenges.  And without challenges, the highly skilled team members will leave. Todd also talks about how leaders need to stay routed in their work to keep their technical chops up.  This is a way that leaders can speak meaningful and credible to their teams. We typically fall somewhere between a maker and a manager, rarely are leaders just one or the other. As leaders we need to develop our team to be better than we are.  Todd says that all managers need to be leaders and we shouldn't parse the two terms. We spend several minutes discussing how to fight well and the importance of conflict in successful teams. Todd says that highly talented people will have conflict.  Its normal and should be encouraged. We talk about the importance of respect and trust for leaders and how teams collaborate and handle conflict. People don't quit companies, they quit managers. -- Todd Henry I really enjoyed talking with Todd today, please check Todd's podcast, Accidental Creative, and pick up Herding Tigers where ever books are sold!   Below is a talk by Todd on leadership that I enjoyed and I'm sure you guys will to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQIkuFYXq1U   I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

I read, well listen to, a lot of leadership books.  Most of the leadership books I read are either very theoretical, with little practical advise, but very good theory, or very practical, with steps you can take, but not much on the "why" those steps really work.  This book, Herding Tigers, by Todd Henry is the best of both worlds.  I was telling Todd the other day that his writing seems to follow my career.  His first book, Accidental Creative, is about what to do when you find that you're accidentally in a creative field, when no one taught you how to creatively solve problems and be brilliant at a moments notice.  He talks about getting in your creative rhythm and  F.R.E.S.H. (focus relationships energy stimuli hours). In his second book, Die Empty (which is a lot like a continuation of Accidental Creative, Todd talks about how to empty yourself everyday to create your best work. He talks about leaving a legacy and how empty yourself, because tomorrow isn't guaranteed. Todd's 3rd book, Louder than Words, is all about the steps needed to harness your authentic voice...not find your voice, but mold and create it.  To learn more about this book, check out an earlier interview I had with Todd about it just after it came out. So all of that brings us to Herding Tigers. This book is about leading creative teams.  In IT, our teams are creative whether we like it or not.  We create solutions everyday, whether it involves writing code, tweaking systems or designing networks.  We must be creative, and our leaders must know how to lead creative teams. This is the book that I wish I had when I made the transition from developer to manager.  This book focuses heavily on going from "Maker to Manager."  Many things in the book may seem common sense when you read it, but there are things that you don't think about unless you've had good leaders teach you those skills in the past. There are many favorite passages from this book, and I find it to be one of the most highlighted books in my office. The chapters are very story based and theoretical at first, but they end it with "Actions," "Conversations", "Rituals" which give you actionable and practical things you can and should be doing as a good leader. This book covers making the shift from Maker to Manager better than any other leadership book that I have read.  It goes through very practical things that leaders forget about after they've been in the a leadership role for a few years, but would be very helpful for those making the shift.  This includes how do deal with confidentiality now that you're a manager, changing terminology of "my stuff" to "our stuff," building and keeping trust, creating a stable, yet challenging work environment, how to encourage your team to "fight fair" and much, much more! One of my favorite parts of the book is actually after the book is finished.  Todd lists out all of the rituals he mentions in the books and puts them in order of things a leader should do weekly, monthly, and quarterly.  This checklist format is very helpful for geeks like me. I'm not going to summarize the book here, you need to get it and read (or listen to it on Audible) for yourself.  Click here to get Herding Tigers from Amazon.       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck4syJk5Jk8   I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Today I had the opportunity to talk to Microsoft MVP, Richard Taylor. He's a super cool guy, with great leadership stories and an epic beard. We talked about his journey into leadership and the values from working on building your team for the longterm instead of writing code to fix short-term problems.  Richard brought lots of energy and great stories of his journey into leadership. Richard L. Taylor Jr. is a 25 year software development and technology professional living in Huntersville, NC. His experience includes the design and development of small to enterprise class applications. He currently serves as Vice President Of Engineering at SentryOne. Richard is a believer of using the right tools for the job and has leveraged ASP.NET (Web API, MVC), SQL Server/MongoDB, Angular, Bootstrap, JavaScript/NodeJS, KendoUI, and Xamarin (just to name a few) to deliver solutions. He has a great deal of experience but likes to explore new technologies, tools, and techniques to help create better software. Richard has a passion for the software development commevelunity. He serves as one of the organizers of the Modern Devs Charlotte meetup group and is the founding organizer of the Charlotte Xamarin Developers meetup group. Both groups try to create environments where developers of all skill levels can come together and learn about the latest technologies, tools, and techniques to create software. These groups also provide a venue to network with fellow developers in the community. In addition to serving the local software development community via meetup groups, Richard also speaks at regional, national, and international technology users groups and conferences. His speaking schedule can be found here: http://www.rightincode.com/page/speaking-schedule.  Richard recently received the Progress (Telerik) Developer Expert designation. DE’s are highly skilled, visible, and elite industry leaders who write, speak, help, and code using Progress (Telerik) products. There are 44 DE’s in 13 different countries who are ambassadors for Progress Products to the tech community. When not developing software, Richard is focused on spending time with his lovely wife Shondrecca (she gives the best hugs!!) and their five children (Richard III, Ayanna, David, Jonathan, and Stephen). You can find Richard on Twitter @rightincode and on his blog at http://rightincode.com  I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

The Leadership Journey is a book by Jim Holmes.  Jim joins me today for a great talk about his journey through leadership, his book, and some struggles and adversity he's been through and how he's working to overcome them. You can read about Jim and his writings on his blog Frazziled Dad. Jim's beginnings start from a farming background, then a time in the Air Force learning technology and leadership while in the service.  While in the service, he met his wife, who was an officer at the time, while he was enlisted.  Having a relationship was against the rules, so Jim left the Air Force and started getting IT jobs while "following his wife's career."  Thus began his technical Leadership Journey. During this interview we talk about this journey, some of Jim's biggest challenges becoming a technical leader and the hardest thing he's ever had to overcome.  I know I say this a lot, but this is a MUST listen to interview. We talked about quality of software delivery and the importance of a field trip and relationship building. Jim talks about the Imposter Syndrom and  how he deals with it along with how he deals with FUD (Fear Uncertainty Doubt).  We talked about Jim's most full-filling and rewarding part of being a leader. Also, I highly recommend Jim's book.  It's a quick and easy read full of lots of practical tips that leaders can apply immediately. I read it over a weekend on my iPad and made lots of notes of things to take back to my team. Please thank Jim on twitter @aJimHolmes and pick up a copy of The Leadership Journey: Practical tips on starting or changing your leadership journey. Also please check out this talk (see below) by Jim. It is one of the reasons I wanted him on the show. It's heartfelt and shows you how what doesn't kill you, can make you stronger. It also shows the journey it takes to make you stronger isn't easy and isn't immediate. It takes time... its a process not a project.   We've become adverse to adversity   Books Mentioned Today The Leadership Journey: Practical tips on starting or changing your leadership journey Trusted Advisor Emotional Intelligence 2.0   Makes You Stronger https://youtu.be/r5z2UqXLyWo I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

General John E. Michel I'm really stoked about our guest today.  Retired General John E. Michel, from the US Air Force is joining us to talk about the power of Positive Leadership.  Now that he's retired from the US Air Force,  John serves as the Executive Director of Skyworks Global Inc., Council Member of U.S. Council on Competitiveness, Chairman of the Board for DemandTrans, co-founder of the General Leadership Foundation and much more.  John is also the author of No More Mediocre Me and The Art of Positive Leadership. General Michel grew up in Europe, where he learned to appreciate the beauty and value of engaging with diverse people and cultures. This fascination inspired him to commit his life to studying and practicing all aspects of individual and organizational development. Throughout his career, John helped people and organizations work through the challenges associated with developing high performance cultures and actionable strategies in an ever-changing world. As a leader, instructor and mentor in the fields of complex organizational change, appreciative inquiry, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, and corporate well being, John has successfully led several multi-billion dollar transformation efforts and his work has been featured in a wide variety of articles and journals, including the Harvard Business Review, Washington Post, National Geographic, Joint Forces Quarterly & Huffington Post.  In addition to serving our nation as an active-duty USAF General Officer, John enjoys translating cutting-edge research from positive psychology and neuroscience into practical approaches to elevate satisfaction, accelerate performance and facilitate growth. John has conducted hundreds of seminars to help people discover their strengths, move beyond their fears, and learn what it truly means to flourish & thrive with confidence, courage, humility and humor. In his own words, John is married to the most patient, loving person on the planet & together, and they have two amazing sons. I encourage you to visit his website at http://www.GeneralLeadership.com and and check out his books, No More Mediocre Me and The Art of Positive Leadership. Today we talked about leadership, leadership and more leadership.  This was one of my favorite interviews so far. You'll be missing out if you don't listen to it in its entirety. John spoke a lot about passion and path. You have to not only know the possibilities, but the path to get there. John says that leaders need to pay attention to themselves and put the ego away. During this podcast we discussed the following books, you can find links to them on Amazon below: Leadership and Self Deception. Ego is the Enemy The Obstacle is the Way I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!