Track: Beyond Being an Individual Contributor

Grokking Leadership Via Mentoring

Management and leadership are not about doing great work ourselves, but empowering others to do the same. The best leaders understand what makes their charges tick, not just as engineers, but as people. But how do we know we're ready to take that next step, and be successful in leading and inspiring others?

Mentorship is not trivial: it provides a bridge between being a practitioner and being a leader. This talk will define these nuances of leadership, and how to decide whether or not to cross that bridge. We'll outline what good mentorship is and why it's important, with the goal of scaling it into management as a leader who helps others navigate an increasingly complex tech landscape.

Speaking Up Without Freaking Out

Audiences crave authentic, bold communication, however, many presenters are uneasy speaking in public. Learn proven concepts to help reduce your anxiety and improve your connection with your audience. You will leave this session with several techniques for developing and delivering clear, confident, and compelling presentations/meetings that will make you and your communication "audience ready."

Vision & Strategy - Epiphanies of a Netflix Leader

New managers are reactive tacticians by default. Product managers drive requirements and due dates. Technical migrations, operational emergencies, and support requests form a maelstrom of distraction. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with these challenges and a common reaction is to double down on speed and efficiency. These are important tactical skills to develop but leadership (vs management) is a whole different game. Leaders are proactive, seeking out opportunities to get ahead of challenges or enable new possibilities.

Leaders think broadly and systemically - enabling them to make the right call in situations where the solution is non-obvious. Where do we apply constrained resources to maximum effect? Which infrastructure investments will yield the most benefit? How do we carve out a path that leads to transformative change?

In this session we’ll explore the concepts of vision and strategy - tools that business and technical leaders alike leverage to make tough decisions and smart bets that lead to breakout success. Using Netflix as a case study we’ll explore how these tools were used to drive bold initiatives resulting in significant business growth and competitive barriers. In addition, we’ll delve into the role of technical strategy in turning business-oriented visions into reality. Attendees will develop a deeper understanding of the formulation, implementation, and impact of vision and strategy. This is a bootstrap for those who want to make the leap from manager to leader - a journey that can last a lifetime.

Making a Bigger Impact: Important Skills to Master

It is very common for an individual contributor to think about the next challenge in their career, whether it is the role of a tech lead, an engineering manager, or a software architect. When the transition happens, the first surprise is often in the form of the implicit nature of the new role: becoming a force multiplier and making a bigger impact to the organization. The good news is, there are few simple skills which can be mastered quickly and should catapult such a motivating individual contributor to a whole new level. 

During this session, we will define, review, and explore three important skills. First, we will review the significance of tracking scopes and deliverables of a project, how to identify early on that a project is going sideways, and what kind of processes and roles need to be in place to ensure a smooth delivery. After that, we will move on to discover a few techniques which can be useful to wield influences, to invoke changes to the organization, and to nudge the strategic directions. Last but not least, we will explore a few common leverages to improving the narrative of both the verbal and written communication, everything from e-mail to functional specification, to serve the objective of amplifying the clarity, reducing ambiguities, and delivering the message. For each of these skills, we will also determine the success indicators, potential surprises, and follow-up resources for further in-depth study. 

Say It Right - The Power of Coaching

As you advance in your career, you can be more effective as a technology leader by being an effective coach. This talk will give you a basic framework on how to provide quality feedback as well as develop effective coaching techniques to help employees identify and accomplish their goals.

Beyond Being an Individual Contributor Open Space