Every single day I read at least a few articles about topics which I want to grow in. When I was working as a software developer, I used to follow a number of technical blogs and websites. I found it to be a simple and effective source of programming knowledge – a great complement to books and practical exercise. Just spend an hour per day while queuing or commuting, and you soon become the ‘go-to’ person for your colleagues when they need an advice on which tool or method can be used to solve a particular problem.
In a manager’s role this approach was still very useful to me, and I naturally started looking for similar resources about leadership and related soft skills. While there’s plenty of such content on the web, it was very difficult to spot the really valuable articles among all the feel good/dream big/be yourself mumbo jumbo.
So after spending a lot of time myself, I decided to make it easier for others and publish a regular selection of the most interesting links I have encountered recently. I don’t want to commit to any particular frequency at this point, I will just post them each time I collect an interesting bunch. They will cover both general leadership skills, as well as topics specific to software development management.
Below you can find the first selection. Enjoy!
- 10 Silly Management Games by Dan McCarthy. It’s the kind of things that make you laugh until you realize how true they are… After wiping your tears, think about how you can help in changing this approach in your company.
- Should I Stay or Should I Go? by the John Maxwell Company. A short analysis of why employees ‘quit’ their bosses.
- The Keys to Successful Performance Conversations by Kevin Eikenberry. The tips may seem obvious, but as leaders we tend to forget about them, so a refresher is always welcome.
- 10 Reasons Why This Simple Question Will Change You for the Better by Cylon George. When you are blameless, you have no power. Beware the blameless syndrome!
- What We Do and Don’t Know about Software Development Effort Estimation by Magne Jorgensen. A good summary of the anti-patterns – save it and review before your next estimation exercise.
- Story Points Are Still About Effort by Mike Cohn. Another article on the effort vs. complexity topic which is often discussed in the agile development community.
- MicroservicePrerequisites by Martin Fowler. Microservices have been a hot topic recently, and the author reminds about the necessary capabilities that your organization should develop before building a system in this way.
- 7 Deadly Sins of Automated Software Testing. Presentation: Adrian Smith covers symptoms, root problems and guidance on recommended solutions for avoiding automated testing mistakes.