Presented at TestBash 2018 San Francisco You're a leader even if you don't think you are. Everyone is. But not everyone realizes it. Like Dorothy stuck in Oz, you have had your red shoes with you all along. In this talk, we'll look at what leadership is and isn't, why influence is much more important than authority, and how to wield and grow your influence to have a positive impact on your organization. Along the way, you'll learn how to leverage a set of underlying core principles such as: - Don't Be Nice, Be Kind; - Shave the Right Yak; - To Fix a Problem, First Make it Visible; - Fear is a Lousy Compass; - To Increase the Intelligence of an Organization, Increase the Connections Within It; - Positive Feedback Is More Powerful Than Criticism; - and Shifting a Boundary a Few Inches Can Drastically Change an Outcome. Oh, yes, and of course there will be stories. So. Many. Stories.

1. ©Copyright2018PivotalSoftware,Inc.AllrightsReserved.Version1.0
Elisabeth Hendrickson
@testobsessed
TestBash San Francisco 2018
Influence > Authority
and other principles of leadership

2. “They may forget what you said —
but they will never forget how you
made them feel.”
—Carl W. Buehner*
* quote attribution from https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/04/06/they-feel/

3. agency
So what do I hope you feel?

4. Influence Authority

5. lead by example
Photo courtesy of #WOCinTech Chat
Licensed under Creative Commons

6. do one small thing
Photo courtesy of
#WOCinTech Chat
Licensed under
Creative Commons

7. negotiate working agreements
(in private if necessary)
Pivotal photo

8. Pivotal photo
amplify someone else’s voice
(hand them the microphone)

9. Positive feedback is a more
powerful force for change
than criticism

10. (not nice)
©Copyright2018PivotalSoftware,Inc.AllrightsReserved.
be kind

11. You Can Be Kind and Direct
Radical
Candor
Ruinous
Empathy
Manipulative
Insincerity
Obnoxious
Aggression
Care Personally
Challenge Directly

12. Handy Phrases for Hard Conversations
● Help me understand…
● Here is the problem I’m trying
to solve…
● Here is my concern…
● Let’s reframe…
● This is what I heard you say…
● Moving forward (because I am
fresh out of time machines)…

13. Image by Walt Stoneburner
Licensed under Creative Commons
Available on FlickrFear is a
lousy
compass

14. To fix a problem, first
make it visible.

15. Pivotal photo

16. The Glove Story
How Jon Stegner
started a billion dollar
saving initiative by
dumping a bunch of
gloves on a table.

17. shave
the
right
yak Yaks by
Emily
Hendrickson

18. Shifting a boundary a few
inches can drastically change
an outcome.

19. “To increase the intelligence
of an organization, increase
the connections within it.”
—Matthew McClure

20. you. have. agency.
but if you remember nothing else, remember…