Managing Smartly Podcast

Today I’m interviewing Josh Doody and boy what a great interview. Josh has some excellent advice across a whole range of topics. In particular keep an ear out for his 2 step process to getting promoted. I really loved this interview with Josh. He had some great thoughts around gaining trust with your team, career advancement and creating your own competitive advantage. Josh is a former Electrical Engineer, Project Manager and Consultant in the Software Industry. He’s the author of the book “Mastering Business Email” and has recently released another book titled “Fearless Salary Negotiation”.   Topics covered in the show: Why he left the safety of a government job Empathy, the secret soft skill Managers need to facilitate the profitability of the business (keep your team happy) Going overboard with your team to improve communication flow Gaining trust with your team Stopping one-on-one's turning into status updates The 2 step process for getting promoted Looking for your competitive advantage when it comes to your career Josh's entrepreneurial journey and the two books he has written Logically doing things to set yourself up for a win Biggest joy comes from helping staff advance their career and personal goals Advice for new managers: Do the 2 step process for getting promoted Find a mentor and ask for input Immediately start building rapport with your team Links and resources mentioned in the show:  JoshDoody.com The Mastering Business Email Book The Fearless Salary Negotiation Book and Video The Two Step Process for Getting Promoted  Subscribe to MSP!   The post MSP 006 : Career Advancement Hacking with Josh Doody appeared first on Managing Smartly.

Today I’m interviewing Rebecca Murphey. At the time of the recording Rebecca had recently transitioned from a developer into a technical lead.  Since then Rebecca has moved to another position as a developer but you'll still get some useful insight on what the initial stages are like. Rebecca is now a software engineer at Indeed, where she works on the front-end technology behind the world's #1 job site. She has spoken at dozens of conferences around the globe on front-end development and is also the host of the TTL podcast.   Topics covered in the show: Changing careers from desktop publishing to front end development Thoughts around whether one is still a legitimate software engineer if they no longer contribute code Difficulty of knowing when to step away and trusting things will get sorted The five questions to ask to better understand something You should be making your bosses job easier, not harder Having frank conversations with mentors Benefits of raising one's profile in the community Hosting the TTL Podcast Advice for new managers: You have to really want it. Don't do it because someone else thought it was a good idea. Find a mentor and talk to them a lot Fix problems. Listen a lot. Take action. Links and resources mentioned in the show: RMurphey.com @rmurphey Five Questions Blog Post TTL Podcast  Subscribe to MSP!     The post MSP 005 : Being Hands On vs Being Strategic with Rebecca Murphey appeared first on Managing Smartly.

Today I'm interviewing Kate Matsudaira who has had a lot of experience in big corporates, through startups and crowdfunding. Kate Matsudaira specializes in building and operating large-scale web applications/sites and has extensive experience building and managing high performance teams that create really amazing technology to solve important problems. Kate has also created a little notebook all about setting goals and achieving your dreams, called The Spark Notebook, funded via KickStarter.   Topics covered in the show: Alternatives to formal performance reviews The story behind The Spark Notebook Why one-on-ones are so important and how they build trust with your team Management is helping others be successful, grow, and develop Benefits of inserting oneself into new situations and taking charge Presenting a balanced view of your staff to your manager Parlaying the position you are in now for your next position Advice for new managers: Talk to your manager about your goals and ways to get that experience Even if it's not your job put your hand up when something needs doing Make sure you are knocking the ball out of the park Links and resources mentioned in the show: KateMats.com The Spark Notebook Urban Influence  Subscribe to MSP!     The post MSP 004 : Taking Charge of One’s Destiny with Kate Matsudaira appeared first on Managing Smartly.

Today I'm interviewing Jurgen Appelo and he has some very interesting ideas around activities one can do to help better manage teams. Jurgen Appelo is pioneering management to help creative organizations survive and thrive in the 21st century. He offers concrete games, tools, and practices, so you can introduce better management, with fewer managers.   Topics covered in the show: How he fell into the "don't micromanage" camp How sitting with his team was better than having his own office Why the job of management will always exist How personal maps improve team relationships Using kudos as a peer review 'praise system' Why one would consider removing salary negotiations Setting bonuses by peer review Advice for new managers: Manage systems, not people Links and resources mentioned in the show: JurgenAppelo.com HappyMelly.com Management 3.0: Leading Agile Developers, Developing Agile Leaders (Addison-Wesley Signature Series (Cohn)) How to Change the World: Change Management 3.0 #Workout 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Good to Great  Subscribe to MSP!     The post MSP 003 : Practical Ideas for the Creative Manager with Jurgen Appelo appeared first on Managing Smartly.

Today I’m excited to be interviewing Johanna Rothman. Her book "Behind Closed Doors: Secrets to Great Management" was pivotal when I first began my management career. Johanna helps leaders and teams see problems and resolve risks in their product development. She's the author of close to a dozen books and writes a blog on her web site JRothman.com.   Topics covered in the show: Don't micromanage As a manager you may no longer have the technical experience required to make informed decisions Managers should manage strategy, coaching and feedback Providing feedback is extremely important as are private conversations Traditional performance reviews are becoming obsolete Manage your weaknesses and build on your strengths Management by walking around Advice for new managers: Establish great rapport with your team have one-on-ones get to know them as individuals help them achieve their career goals Understand the risks your team faces Define what kind of manager you want to be Links and resources mentioned in the show: JRothman.com Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management Pragmatic Manager Newsletter Create an Adaptable Life  Subscribe to MSP!     The post MSP 002 : The Importance of Feedback and Coaching with Johanna Rothman appeared first on Managing Smartly.

Today I’m excited to be introducing The Managing Smartly Podcast! This is the first show of what I’m hoping will be many more to come. Seeing as this is the first show there’s four things I want to cover: Why I’m creating this podcast Who the ideal audience is What you can expect Who am I   So why am I creating this podcast?   There are tons of resources out there for software developers and they are typically focussed around the technical side of software development because sotfware development is very technical.  By in large all of this material covers the majority of developers. There is a segment of developers though who will progress onto being a team leader or manager. (even though most of us think of these roles as “the dark side!”) Now whether they deliberately pursue this or it just happens to get thrust upon them they are going to find management a completely different ball game. The previous technical skills, that have been built up over years, will not be the primary skillset required.  Instead soft skills and people skills are needed. Unfortunately no-one is really talking about this stuff from a software development industry context. At least that is what I found when I made the transition. So that’s why I created this podcast. To help software developers become managers. The ideal audience So I really have two types of people in mind. One is the software developer with aspirations of being a team leader or in management. The other is someone has is already a team leader or manager but has no idea what they are doing! If you fit into one of those two categories then welcome aboard!  If you’ve been a manager for 10+ years then this podcast probably isn’t for you. What you can expect I don’t want this podcast to be all boring and theoretical. I believe learning from others is one of the best ways to learn.  So I’m going to be interviewing software developers who have already made the leap into management. I’m going to get them on the show, go through the mistakes and successes they’ve had, find out what they’d do differently and what they think makes a great manager. I reackon we’re going to have a lot of fun and learn a bunch of things along the way as well. Who am I? So who I am and why should you bother listening to me? Well I have over 14 years experience in the software development industry and have extensive business analysis, software development and project delivery experience in the education, retail, finance and public sector industries. I’ve been involved in the design, development and implementation of enterprise grade solutions across Australia, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand and South Africa. For the last three years of my career I’ve been in management.  My first introduction to management was like many of us — I was simply thrust into it! Once the number of developers I was managing started to head north of three people I quickly realized that I was ill prepared for what lay ahead. So I educated myself. Over time, I grew as a manager, got further promotions, and I now lead teams of people. So based on my own journey I’m very passionate about helping software developers grow their management skills — ideally without all the roadblocks and setbacks I experienced. Key Tip So that’s the the why, what, how and who for the podcast but I wanted to leave you with some gold even in the first podcast. Here it is. Once you become a manager your technical skills are no longer as important. Instead you should be focusing on people and skills. Help promote the show Hey guys if you’ve loved today’s show I’d really appreciate it if you were to head over to iTunes to leave a comment and rating.  Doing this is a great way for my show to get recognised by iTunes and hopefully get into the New...