The Geek Leader S Handbook

Mastering the Art of Technical Leadership As a dedicated leader, you've probably read everything you could on leadership. Many books have been written about it. But you're a technical leader, so it's guaranteed that much of what you've read is incomplete at best, and quite possibly inappropriate. Sure, you can learn a lot by studying ancient generals, sales gurus, or even Steve Jobs, but you've got to remember that Attila the Hun never deployed SAP. The Geek Leader's Handbook recognizes and respects the unique challenges that geek leaders face. It provides both practical advice and a framework rooted in the understanding that: Geeks are different. Geeks would rather lead technology than people, but only people can be led. Geeks have a hard time working with non-geeks, but those who learn to do it well become great geek leaders. The Geek Leader's Handbook gives you practical, immediately applicable advice tailored to the day-to-day challenges of technical leadership. You don't need yet another laundry list of things you should do. To really grow as a leader, you need a solid framework to understand why these approaches make sense and to empower you to adapt them to your environment. The book also takes an unflinching look at what makes geeks different from other folk. To uncover those differences, co-authors Paul Glen and Maria McManus, collaborated as geek and non-geek. By synthesizing both perspectives, they reveal surprising and liberating insights that will help geeks become great leaders.

At some point in your career, you'll realize there's more to being a software engineer than dealing with code. Is it time to become a manager? Or join a startup? In this insightful and entertaining book, Michael Lopp recalls his own make-or-break moments with Silicon Valley giants such as Apple, Slack, Pinterest, Palantir, Netscape, and Symantec to help you make better, more mindful career decisions. With more than 40 stand-alone stories, Lopp walks through a complete job lifecycle, starting with the interview and ending with the realization that it might be time to move on. You'll learn how to handle baffling circumstances in your job, understand what you want from your career, and discover how to thrive in your workplace. Learn how to navigate areas of your job that don't involve writing code Identify how the aspects you enjoy will affect your next career steps Build and maintain key relationships and interactions within your community Make choices that will help you have a "deliberate career" Recognize what's important to your manager and work on things that matter

Winner of the 2003 Financial Times Germany/getAbstract Business & Finance Book Award Leading Geeks challenges the conventional wisdom that leadership methods are universal and gives executives and managers the understanding they need to manage and lead the technologists on whom they have become so dependent. This much-needed book? written in nontechnical language by Paul Glen, a highly acclaimed management consultant? gives clear directions on how to effectively lead these brilliant yet notoriously resistant-to-being-managed knowledge workers. Glen not only provides proven management strategies but also background on why traditional approaches often don't work with geeks. Leading Geeks describes the beliefs and behavior of geeks, their group dynamics, and the unique nature of technical work. It also offers a unique twelve-part model that explains how knowledge workers deliver value to an organization.

Want to develop your leadership skills in the fast-paced world of technology? This book offers clear and actionable guidance for building and leading high-performing IT teams that drive innovation, achieve business objectives, and deal effectively with complex challenges like digital transformation and cybersecurity threats.With expert explanations and real-world examples, this book serves as a catalyst for unlocking your full leadership potential. From understanding and defining your leadership style to cultivating a strong team culture, this book covers a wide range of vital information necessary for becoming the kind of IT leader organizations and employees truly need."The Rockstar IT Leader Handbook" is an essential resource for individuals seeking to develop their leadership skills in the fast-paced world of technology.

How can you develop leaders who will sustain the fast growth of your business? Fast-growing, high-tech companies face unique challenges. Often the business has grown quickly. But, if you don't have enough leaders with the capabilities and experience to take things further, your growth could stall.

This book’s author, Byron Love, admits proudly to being an IT geek. However, he had found that being an IT geek was limiting his career path and his effectiveness. During a career of more than 31 years, he has made the transition from geek to geek leader. He hopes this book helps other geeks do the same. This book addresses leadership issues in the IT industry to help IT practitioners lead from the lowest level. Unlike other leadership books that provide a one-size-fits-all approach to leadership, this book focuses on the unique challenges that IT practitioners face. IT project managers may manage processes and technologies, but people must be led. The IT industry attracts people who think in logical ways—analytical types who have a propensity to place more emphasis on tasks and technology than on people. This has led to leadership challenges such as poor communication, poor relationship management, and poor stakeholder engagement. Critical IT projects and programs have failed because IT leaders neglect the people component of "people, process, and technology." Communications skills are key to leadership. This book features an in-depth discussion of the communications cycle and emotional intelligence, providing geek leaders with tools to improve their understanding of others and to help others understand them. To transform a geek into a geek leader, this book also discusses: Self-leadership skills so geek leaders know how to lead others by leading themselves first Followership and how to cultivate it among team members How a geek leader’s ability to navigate disparate social styles leads to greater credibility and influence Integrating leadership into project management processes The book concludes with a case study to show how to put leadership principles and practices into action and how an IT geek can transform into an effective IT geek leader.

Want to develop your leadership skills in the fast-paced world of technology? Get started today with this essential guide to leading fast-growing teams and tips on helping team members succeed. Rudi Mohamed is an accomplished Chief Information Officer (CIO) who is passionate about inspiring others to create impactful innovations. Now, he’s here to share clear and actionable guidance to construct and lead high-performing IT teams that excel in driving innovation, achieving business objectives, and effectively managing complex challenges such as digital transformation and cybersecurity threats. The Rockstar IT Leader Handbook covers a wide range of vital information necessary for becoming a better manager and leader in your organization, such as: - Learning how to inspire IT teams to work creatively and fearlessly toward a clear, well-understood vision. - Learn how to foster an environment where individual members take responsibility and ownership of their actions in pursuit of shared objectives. - Understand all the vital elements that IT leaders must grasp in order to construct highly effective IT teams. - Learn how to implement organizational alignment to achieve IT operational excellence. - Understand what it takes to be well-equipped to tackle emerging challenges and capitalize on opportunities. Order The Rockstar IT Leader Handbook and get started on the road to becoming the kind of IT leader organizations and employees truly need.

In a perfect world, software engineers who produce the best code are the most successful. But in our perfectly messy world, success also depends on how you work with people to get your job done. In this highly entertaining book, Brian Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman cover basic patterns and anti-patterns for working with other people, teams, and users while trying to develop software. This is valuable information from two respected software engineers whose popular series of talks—including "Working with Poisonous People"—has attracted hundreds of thousands of followers. Writing software is a team sport, and human factors have as much influence on the outcome as technical factors. Even if you’ve spent decades learning the technical side of programming, this book teaches you about the often-overlooked human component. By learning to collaborate and investing in the "soft skills" of software engineering, you can have a much greater impact for the same amount of effort. Team Geek was named as a Finalist in the 2013 Jolt Awards from Dr. Dobb's Journal. The publication's panel of judges chose five notable books, published during a 12-month period ending June 30, that every serious programmer should read.