Who I am
I am passionate about creating exceptional software development organizations, building robust and self-sustaining delivery teams, and coaching engineers and other leaders. As a full-stack leader, I’ve played the roles of people manager, project manager, process expounder, product owner, architect, and developer.
My “About me” page has more information about me. My current resume can be found here.
What I do
- I build and grow successful cross-functional software delivery teams.
- I improve organizational effectiveness across teams and departments.
- I hire, coach, and grow highly engaged engineers across disciplines and technologies.
How I do it
Servant Leadership
My guiding principle as a leader is to provide “space and support.” High-performing individuals and teams are self-directed, which is the “space.” “Support” means providing a clear and compelling context for people to operate in, along with coaching.
My path to servant leadership was primarily influenced by the best leaders I worked for. They all clearly fit the servant leader mold, though they may not have used that terminology to describe themselves. I’ve also drawn inspiration from books like “Turn the Ship Around!” and “Extreme Programming Explained.” (The philosophy of the XP process is based on self-directed teams.)
Team Focus
Effective cross-functional teams are the foundation of a successful software organization. Software is inherently a team sport; most humans are at their best when collaborating with a solid team. I believe great teams outperform the combined best of all team members.
Leadership cohorts, communities of practice, and cross-departmental partnerships are all examples of additional teams I focus on. I’m driven to create and improve communication and collaboration across all manifestations of teams.
Broad and Deep Technical Experience
For 15 years, as an individual contributor, I focused primarily on the backend development of Java web applications, though I dabbled in other languages and the front end. As an engineering leader, I have supported full-stack, mobile, DevOps, and test engineers who use Java, JavaScript, Go, Python, Swift, and PHP, as well as numerous frameworks, tools, and databases.
While the technologies may differ across roles and companies, the principles and high-level approaches I leverage have been consistent: driving effective decision-making, breaking down projects and problems, agile planning and estimation, identifying and mitigating risk, etc.
These days, I build small Python projects for fun. Maybe someday I’ll publish one of them.
Where I’m a good fit
Your company and organization…
- strives to provide a strong context through vision and goals. This is critical to galvanizing team-driven decision-making and high engagement. I’m also at my best when operating with and contributing to a clear vision and goals.
- is growing and/or evolving. As an IC and leader, I’ve worked in “maintenance mode” environments, which were no fun. I’m motivated by growth and providing others with a purposeful sense of growth.
- is relatively small (25 – 500 employees) or feels small. In my experience, shared goals, communication, and collaboration are more likely to be “baked in” at a small company. I also want to be closer to and accountable for outcomes that directly impact company success.
- is meaningfully committed to inclusion and diversity. A variety of backgrounds and experiences improve decision-making and problem-solving. Inclusivity brings more perspectives to the table and drives engagement. Simply put, inclusion and diversity are good for business.