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October 19, 2018 by Drew Kincius Leave a Comment

Embracing Assessments for Authentic Self-Discovery

self-discovery

10.19.18 | Kendrea Williams | 

As many of you may (or may not) know, I consider myself a novice in navigating the tech ecosystem. From learning to code to discovering how to manage and deliver software products, this past year provided an immersive experience in personal discovery. By unpacking how to overcome these new career challenges through exploring new ways of doing business, I am identifying a new me.

Now, when I say that I am “discovering a new me,” I am referring to the realization of my underlying strengths and weaknesses since I embarked on this new journey. I’ve taken a plethora of assessments as part of this adventure, including DISC Assessments, Kolbe Evaluations, and Clifton Strengths,  in addition to employer-provided skill assessments apps such as Agile Onion and Pocket Prof.

I can wholeheartedly confess that I’ve improved my ability to define my personal and professional strengths and weaknesses accurately. It’s been instrumental in my transition from the not-for-profit sector into a career in technology.

Digging In

So what did these assessments reveal? Plenty; a plethora of new things about me personally and professionally. My initial takeaway was beginning to understand my values and what guided me in my professional work. Don’t get me wrong – we are all raised with a particular set of values, whether good or bad, which guide us into our adult years. However, we are rarely directed about professional values.  “Ideal” professional ideologies should come naturally from our “ideal” personal values, well, at least they are supposed to be, right?

According to Gallup, the most dynamic people are those who truly and deeply understand their strengths and behaviors. This recognition of the skills you have acquired throughout your career can provide you with an underlying sense of your current abilities, as well as an accurate perspective regarding your natural talents. All of which offers a keen insight regarding your professional “why.”

It’s essential for an individual to find out where their work values lie.  When we value our contributions, we increase the chances of being satisfied in our careers.  Though not every job will fulfill our every move, knowing what we appreciate upfront is essential to determining if that outstanding job offer is from a company whose culture and values are somewhat in alignment with ours.

The Big Reveal

Here’s what I discovered from these assessments regarding my strengths:

  • Contextual: Looking back to the past to understand the present.  I like to ask questions and allow the blueprints to emerge.
  • Restorative: Enjoy the challenge of solving problems by analyzing the solution.  I like to bring things back to life.
  • Strategic: (my favorite and most likely most dominate trait) It is not a skill that can be taught. I am always playing out scenarios and asking, “what if this happened.”
  • Developer: Ability to see the potential in others.  In my view, everyone is a work in progress, and I enjoy helping them discover their potential.
  • Input: Collecting and holding onto things of interest. It’s true, while I would not consider myself a hoarder, I can pride myself on my impressive home library…i.e., book collection.

Moving Forward

Empowered with this information, I have found areas of weakness where I could use additional training, as well as rediscovering areas of strength.

Diving in with these assessments has been incredibly valuable in helping me know the real me. I challenge you to take the time to invest in yourself and empower your authentic identity.

Let’s connect. 
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Filed Under: Blog, Branding Yourself, Inspiration, Leadership, People, Uncategorized, women in technology

June 8, 2015 by Chris Daily Leave a Comment

“Managing” Software Development – Servant Leadership

This is the second post in a series of posts under the topic of “Managing” Software Development.  If you haven’t read the first post, you probably should start there by clicking here and reading that post.

For those of you that have read the first post, welcome back.

Don’t tell anyone, but I really don’t “manage” software development teams.  I spent my formative years early in my career working at a mid-size bank.  Hiearchical management practices and organizations were all the rage.  I wanted to be the “boss“.  I wanted my “people” to do what I told them because I said so.  I knew what needed to be done.  After all, I had two years of experience and a bachelor degree from Ball State.  By now, you can probably guess I had a rude awakening coming!

My first team was made up of mostly folks who had less experience than I did, and were rebellious, independent, and a heck of a lot smarter than I was.  Trouble was coming, and I didn’t have a clue.  I will never forget how shocked I was when I showed up for a meeting with Paul McGinnis and Dan Lehman.  My entire team was waiting on me.  My memory of the meeting was the team was patient, but yet firm in telling me that I was screwing up.  I was sucking the enjoyment out of their jobs, and they weren’t happy about it.  I walked away with one key point:  My team could have ambushed me, but was still with me and needed me to do what they could not.

At the time, I didn’t have a clue about servant leadership, or what it was.  I knew that I was going to fail as a manager if I kept “managing”.  I knew that a group of people could get more done than an individual, but how did I get this group of people to do what I wanted?  How do I control them?  After all, I was working on an MBA.  I knew it all!  I should be able to do this.  Hiearchial management had been working for 70 years.  The industrial age and the modern assembly line made quotes like “Why is it every time I ask for a pair of hands, they come with a brain attached?” seem accurate.  All that was needed was an employee who wouldn’t think, but would do exactly the same thing over and over.  I thought managing software development was just telling developers what to do, and then kicking back and relaxing.

I didn’t realize it at that time, but my team was telling me that control is an illusion, and that I needed to be a servant leader.

What is Servant Leadership?  Robert K. Greenleaf defines Servant Leadership as “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”  How can you lead if you are a servant first?  I got lucky.  My team jolted me into a servant leadership style management without even understanding what it was.  My team wanted me to switch my approach, enabling them to do their job.  The team knew how to write code and had a great knowledge of the systems that we were charged with maintaining.  The team wanted me to provide overall direction, and get rid of anything that kept them from doing their job.  That’s what I did.  I bought them donuts occasionally, respected them as professionals, and protected them from everything else.  It worked.  They didn’t quit on me, and I started serving them.

Over the years, my teammates at various stops have continued to reinforce that Servant Leadership is the right approach for me.  As an avid reader, I have found several excellent Servan Leadership references that have reinforced the approach.  I have found that most teams have evolved into a state of dysfunction, not because of the members of the team, but because the “manager” of the team doesn’t get Servant Leadership.  Those managers set the bar so low, that being a servant leader has an immediate impact on the team dynamics.  Often, being a Servant Leader is all that is required to turn a team around.

Servant Leadership has certainly changed my career, providing me a fulfilling career, with some great friends and even greater memories.

Thanks for coming in today.

Chris

Filed Under: Agile, Branding Yourself, Business Musings, IMO, Leadership, Scrum, Software Development Tagged With: development, Leadership, management, software business, software development, Solutions

February 17, 2015 by Chris Daily Leave a Comment

Leadership versus manage

Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right. – Professor Warren G. Bennis

So, last week was a crazy week!  The events of last week caused me to start thinking about my legacy.  While I am certainly not ready to spend eternity in a box 6′ under ground, I have been thinking “What will I be remembered for?”  For me, it was ironic that the week started with Martin Luther King Day.  Irony hit me in the face with a 2X4 when I found the quote above by Professor Bennis while I was looking for a quote about leadership.

This isn’t the first time I have thought about my legacy (click here), and it probably won’t be the last.

The words leader and manager are used almost as synonyms by most people.  If you look around in your life, you’ll see both managers and leaders.  What’s the difference between a manager from a leader?  Is it education, genetics, or experience?  Can it be taught or can it be learned?  Why are some people essentially modern day pied pipers, while others can’t seem to get their shadow to follow them?  My opinion is leadership starts with INTENT.

As a leader, is my intent to further my career or to do the right thing for the company?  Is my intent to keep my job or do my job?

Doesn’t it seem obvious?  Think of the great leaders of history.  Dr. King, Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela to name a few.  Their actions were guided by their intent to right a wrong, regardless of the cost to them personally.  King and Lincoln were ultimately assassinated for their intentions.  Gandhi and Mandela spent years in jail because of their intentions.  In the business world, most people are not typically faced with death or imprisonment as a result of our intentions.  Yet our intentions play an integral part to whether we are a leader or a manager.  The intent of the top leaders of companies can drive success or failure.  We follow leaders who have genuine intent that we agree with.

What do I mean by genuine intent?  Genuine intent is the intent that is communicated by one’s actions, not by what is communicated.  Think back to a time in your life, where you interacted with a leader.  What was their intent?  Who was got the most benefit?  The leader or those who followed?  Did you feel like the leader was actually somehow serving you?  In my experience, leaders are not even aware they are leaders or even why people follow their lead.

Think about why you follow a leader.  They are all around us.  It could be a minister, manager, peer, or teacher to name a few.  What is their intent?  What is your intent?

Thanks for coming in today.

Chris

Filed Under: Branding Yourself, Business Musings, Getting Personal, IMO, Software Development Tagged With: growth, Leadership

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