15 Traits of Effective LeadersIt's helpful for leaders to have technical skills and abilities, but interpersonal attributes are more important for what makes a truly great leader. This list is about attitudes and behaviors—choices you can make to improve your leadership. These fifteen characteristics are a good foundation for effective leaders.
Creating a Cohesive Culture in a Distributed OrganizationWhen organizations are distributed across multiple locations, it brings questions about how much each location should have a unique identity relative to the larger company. While a theme of “we are one” is common, it’s better to embrace the differences and work toward being a cohesive group that celebrates diversity.
4 Takeaways from Agile + DevOps East 2018With a week full of sessions, tutorials, training classes, and events, the Agile + DevOps East software conference had plenty of takeaways. Here are four highlights, including discussions about agile estimation, finding your ideal job, some challenges to advancing test automation, and leading self-organizing teams.
Frameworks Are an Agile Leader's Best FriendWith a framework in place, engineers can stop worrying about everything that framework does for them. Your team can focus on solving your business problems instead of building yet another solution to an old problem that's been solved before. Look around and identify the mistakes your team is making over and over.
Rethink Your Strategy to Innovate InexpensivelyMany companies avoid genuine innovation for fear of making potentially complex changes without producing measurable results. But you can start small with internal changes that have limited scope and that deliver prompt solutions, so there's less upfront investment—and less risk. Here's how to innovate inexpensively.
Helping Introverts and Extroverts Work TogetherThe personality tendencies of extroversion and introversion concern where people get their energy, and this is key to understanding how coworkers can perceive—and sometimes misinterpret—each other’s behavior. If the introvert-extrovert dynamic poses challenges, consider discussing these differences as a team.
How to Deal with Coworkers' Irritating Behaviors like an AdultAnnoying behaviors are amplified in an office due to close quarters and personal preferences. No one likes to have an awkward conversation—especially when it’s with someone you have to face every day—but if a coworker's behavior is driving you up the wall, be a grown-up and let them know. Here's what to say.
5 Tips for Mentoring Future MentorsBeing a mentor is a big responsibility. It becomes a greater one when the person you're mentoring is set to become a mentor to someone else. What advice would you impart to your mentee? What do you wish you'd thought of when you were starting out as a mentor? Payson Hall distilled his experience into five principles.
