CTO Craft Con: Keynote: Showing Up as a Leader in Times of Change
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Lena Reinhard - VP, Product Engineering at CircleCI It is said that fast-growing startups are basically new companies at every new stage of growth. As someone who has experienced frequent change - in both my personal career and my leadership roles - I have come accustomed to it and have learned not only how to adapt, but to thrive in the face of change and rapid growth. In this keynote, CircleCI’s VP of Product Engineering, Lena Reinhard, will review how to show up for your teams as a leader in times of high change and uncertainty. https://ctocraft.com
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CTO Craft Con: Keynote: Showing Up as a Leader in Times of Change
- 1. 1 Showing Up as a Leader in Times of Change Lena Reinhard VP, Product Engineering CircleCI
- 2. 2 ismarchoveryet.com, Eliza Brock Marcum
- 3. 3 Sunday, March 1, 2020, 6:35am
- 4. 4 Hey Lena, trying all channels. Don’t fly. Rob Delivered
- 5. 5 Tuesday, March 3, 2020, 6:42pm
- 6. 6
- 7. 7
- 8. 8 Choice as a human core need: control and autonomy over important parts of our world
- 9. 9
- 10. 10
- 12. 12 Change requires that we show up as leaders
- 13. 13
- 14. 14
- 15. 15 Defining moments: Taking the leap & showing up
- 16. 16 Showing up as a leader
- 17. 17 Showing up as a leader
- 18. 18 Showing up as a leader
- 19. 19 Showing up as a leader
- 20. 20 Showing up as a leader
- 21. 21 Showing up as a leader
- 22. 22
- 23. 23 When was the last time you wanted to hide in the basement and do inventory?
- 25. 25 Leadership strategies for 2021: how to not hide in the basement and do inventory
- 27. 27 Invest in growing leaders around you
- 28. 28 Clean the crumbs. Do what’s needed in service of your company & team.
- 29. 29 Invest in your learning & growth (especially when you don’t think you have the time)
- 30. 30 Being a leader in 2021 ● Grow leaders around you ● Clean the crumbs out of the toaster ● Keep growing
- 32. 32 Hold your values close
- 33. 33 Manage your energy & priorities
- 34. 34 Avoid the operational comfort zone trap
- 35. 35 Expand your operational horizon Near-term Current Big Picture Longer-term
- 36. 36 Showing up for yourself ● Hold your values close ● Manage your energy & priorities ● Expand your operational horizon
- 37. 37 Showing up for your team
- 38. 38 Understanding your team’s and organisation’s needs
- 39. 39 Optimise for learning fast whether you succeed or fail Set clear expectations on principles, outcomes
- 40. 40 Maintain connection with vision & purpose Big Picture
- 41. 41 Be a dolphin: Surface frequently Don’t wait to make a big splash Sleep with only half your brain
- 42. 42
- 45. 45 Showing up for your team ● Understand their needs ● Lead through clear expectations ● Relentlessly communicate vision ● Be a dolphin 🐬 ● …and a realistic cheerleader
- 46. 46 Showing up as a leader in times of change
- 47. 47
- 48. 48
- 49. 49
- 50. 50
- 51. 51
- 52. 52 Showing up as a leader in times of change: Always becoming a better leader for your team, leading with your team, and being prepared as a team.
- 53. 53
- 55. 55 In this defining moment: How will show up as a change leader?
- 56. Thank you. 56 Lena Reinhard VP, Product Engineering CircleCI
- 57. 57 References & resources ● The Dave Chang Show: Why work feels harder now ● NPR Invisibilia: Two Heartbeats A Minute ● Blair Braverman: What My Sled Dogs Taught Me About Planning for the Unknown ● Lena’s personal list of resources: Engineering Management & Leadership Reads
Editor's Notes
- Here to share things with you that I learned about navigating change: from career changes, role transitions, and building and leading teams during crises like 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and hypergrowth environments. – Let’s start by talking about time
- Tuesday, March 276th, 2020 Ismarchoveryet.com, Eliza Brock Marcum Travel back to the beginning of this month
- Where were you on March 1, 2020? – Sunday, Had a bit of a cold went to bed at 11:30 and woke up at 6am after a night of solid 96% quality sleep already put outfit together, got ready, taxi to airport – going to SF, meetings with team, offsite Ready to go phone out of flight mode ->
- Text from my boss Took off shoes, cancelled taxi, sat on couch, opened work laptop, cancelling flights Day in the park walk with friend 2 days later ->
- Tuesday, 6:42pm. Email from CEO to entire company with promotion announcements.
- One of them was for me: after 9 months as interim VP, took on the role formally Same week: Berlin lockdown More global lockdowns Annual dpt all hands cancelled
- Deleted an email draft: I had drafted email to my org [obvi write all my emails with a fountain pen in the dark] : introducing myself, strategy, direction for evolving the org, vision, etc Pandemic mode. Had to first make sure my org was prepared for what was ahead of us. – – -- I’m sure everyone here has a story like that about 2020: Making plans, just to see them evaporate. Also: year of personal and professional difficulties & great hardship for many, many people. Spent 3 weeks rewriting entire email – Won’t talk about what I ended up writing, but
- Spent 3 weeks thinking back on what I learned about change in my career so far, and how to lead organisations through change - -- – – A human core need is Choice: we want to have control and autonomy over important parts of our world, and want to be able to make decisions about things that matter to us. In times like these, what we can control in our environments and lives becomes limited and one of our core needs is threatened, leading to increasing unease and stress. Change: big, and fundamentally, at a neurological level, scary.
- At least at neurological level, change comes with ambiguity. Big word, one I find myself using often these days (incl today) Holding ambiguity part of role
- Toy Slime Hard to contain, no concrete shape, can’t be moulded, or break it into pieces Keep picurte in mind
- Change and ambiguity around it is not an annoying side part of what we do – Change is the work: molding, driving, responding to change, initiating change, that’s what we do. [interviews candidates ask what I believe needs to change: with every new person who joins, change in our codebase, etc, we need to constantly adapt, evolve, grow, change] There’s more: Support teams in difficult times like these – Growing teams, organisations at work DevOps culture: fundamentally about change: reducing friction, to improve our ability to change, and change continuolsy. CI: increasing change frequency, as a service Digital transformation: Fundamentally changing how you operate and deliver value to customers. Startups, esp in hypergrowth: change is our default, our state of being and operational mode EM or tech leaders: we’re building the structures for the organisation we have AT THE SAME TIME, and for the organisation we’re looking to become. We change every day. Our job is to build environments, systems, teams, and leaders that are able to create, drive, and be resilient to change.
- No matter if the change is desired or undesired (or desired with undesired side effects), No matter if we’re driving it or responding to it: Change requires that we show up as leaders 1 year ago, I got to speak to our employee group for women & allies about navigating career changes – had big changes, moving across industries, roles, and levels. Realised: Definining moments in my career / showing up:
- Early January 2014, I’d been consulting for some friends with research towards founding a company, business setup, etc. Walking back to offer after lunch, Friend says: hey, I think you should become a co-founder and CEO. You’ve been doing all the work. (He wasn’t wrong.) 3 months later, my 4 cofounders and i sat in the notary’s office, signed papers, and then took a group photo nearby. (Background is German Bundeskanzleramt / Federal Chancellory).
- September 2014. My cofounder calls me and says he found a project for our newly-founded, bootstrapped company when he ran into a guy in the coworking space who said he really needed more engineers for this work that they’re doing to support Ebola outbreak response teams in West Africa, but they were so overwhelmed with work and so sleep deprived that they didn’t have time to bring on anyone to help. We decide to take the project. A few months later, I’m in Sierra Leone to work with some of the teams on-site.
- These were the moments when I decided to take the leap into the unknown and show up.
- Meerkat style
- Ewok / star wars
- Ewok / star wars
- Also not peekaboo style [1:1 with report – joined zoom, waiting for them – dropped pen – move under desk to grab – appeared from bottom] What does it mean to show up as a leader, especially in times of change?
- Also not peekaboo style [1:1 with report – joined zoom, waiting for them – dropped pen – move under desk to grab – appeared from bottom] What does it mean to show up as a leader, especially in times of change?
- Used to work in catering, restaurant, hotel. Basement: fridge rooms, freezer rooms, equipment, produce shelves. Usually very cold, need to be clean / hygienic standards, don’t feel cold bc moving, working. Only place that’s quiet, less bustling, except occasionally someone picking stuff up. Cold, unpleasant, but also quiet, no one else there, get work done, focus on this one taks. Dave Chang show / podcast. Leading / running restaurants. Never done anything like this. Have to go with the flow. Chris Ying – EiC of Lucky peach Chefs at Momofuku
- Supposed to be leading a team, driving creative Suddenly in charge – impulse to hide in the busywork Suddenly in the basement doing inventory, That’s where you’re in control When was last time you wanted to hide in the basement and do inventory? – [stuff people had to deal with]
- Leadership in 2021, obv forward-thinking (that was a self-own)
- What does it mean to be a leader in a time like this? – 3 parts: Leadership skills for this moment, showing up for yourself, showing up for your team and organisation
- Leadership skills to grow in yourself and others
- One of your biggest tasks as leaders is: Build a team that can learn and adapt and grow and stick together along the way Your job to bring up people with and around you. Identify aspiring leaders, people with high potential; succession planning, etc DELEGATION one of best tools to do that – leaders I’ve seen grow fastest are the ones who bring up others with them Also: ambiguity: giving broader context, involving in more ambiguous discussions Also makes you better bc more perspectives incoroporated etc
- Untangling work from ego: doing what needs to get done in service of our teams and business. Used to work in cafes as a barista and baker. In order for the guests to have a great time, there’s a lot of work going on that they don’t see, but when it doesn’t get done, at some point will show (and become a health hazard). – Role: clean the dust off the shelves, sweep the floors, clean the windows, fix the broken chair, even out that wobbly table, clean the counter, clean the crumbs out of the toaster. Do it in service of the company, the team, and the product you’re building together. Most of the work is not about shiny aspects Doing what needs t oget done
- Pillar: understanding & managing ourselves Always learn Don’t maintain your status quo Always learn what makes leaders around you succeed / fail Foundational for your success as a leader. You’re here today! What you need, and people around yyou ->
- Developing leadership skills: leading through context, principles, outcomes, priorities; optmising for learning fast, growing others around you, cleaning the crumbs This approach helps you foster leadership at all levels – crucial for carrying orgs, esp dist orgs or in times of big change Develop yourself and in others around you
- Question is :how will we lead? – There are formal paths into management. But the journey to being a good manager and esp good leader is ultimately highly personal: 1. We’re looked at for answers , often the first person to turn to. Most of all: 2. Constantly put into situations we haven’t been in before, or to do things we haven’t done before. – Can train, read, learn, practice, role play, and those are really important support structures – but in the end, so much depends on how we treat what’s in front of us, our strengths, thought patterns, and responses. In order to be able to show up for other,s we have to start by being able to show up for ourselves
- Changes in career Many times asked, what kind of leader do i want to be? – Often when confronted with big disagreements, ultimately question what to stand up for They became, evolved – as the essence of questions i’d asked myself, decisions i’d made In times of change, values especially crucial – continuum, guidepost Hold values close, be clear on what they are and why
- Manage your energy: calendar: identify in your day what drains / energises me? Why? – keep list; [thhat one meeting that always sucks] Can you…? Structure your work day balancing those. Manage energy level / Dance breaks Managing time: ruthless prioritisation. Always be clear on what the most important thing is you could be focusing on. [hard bc in imes of change, can change frequently. Check in on prios]
- horizon: The human brain is programmed to narrow its focus in the face of a threat. It’s an evolutionary survival mechanism designed for self-protection. The trap is that your field of vision becomes restricted to the immediate foreground. [hide in basement and do inventory[ I call this the “operational comfort zone trap”: it’s pulling us to resort to what we know, it’s what we’re used to and what we know we’re good at. We get in the weeds because we can. If you’ve worked your way up through your organisation, this can get even worse: if you’re very good at the operational level, managing a crisis directly can feel thrilling: adrenaline spikes, decisions made, quick actions taken – feels like adding tangible value. Instant gratification, reward. Hard to resist – You know how to count the beans Leading through change requires taking long view instead of focusing on managing:
- Leaders need to navigate diff horizons all the time – Horizons: diffferent views between present / day to day, short-term, mid-term, longer-term, vision Also: different levels of ambiguity – from the very concrete to the more blurry strategic and visionary view Esp in times of change: we need to be able to navigate those different views, layers intentionally: Actively manage the present, while we anticpate what’s next week, month, year to prepare org for changes ahead Requires active work in times of change Always make time for strategic thinking, even if only sitting down for 10 minutes every day [example]. Manage connection to big picture: check in with yourself regularly: Always make sure you understand goals, bigger picture, vision, and maintain that connection Simple but effective
- Showing up for yourself: use your values for guidance, manage your energy well, expand op horizon
- Also: org
- Listening / sound engineer / puffin Understand your team’s and organisatoin’s needs Asking good questions, listening, observing, and taking note of what motivates our teammates is the basis to do our work well. Basis for relationships maintaining connection now extra important when teams are dealing with lots of change.
- Leading through context > control: Focus on direction, vision, bigger picture, values. Focuso on otcomes insead of how to get there – be there when they need to but let them own Helps with sense of Ownership
- Be relentless about communicating vision and strategy Assume that people don’t know and will have to hear something many times. When you’re tired of saying it, assume 60-80% of people have heard it Connectedness with goals etc keep team members unified and reinforce the common goals of the groups who work for you. Connecting our daily work to a bigger purpose adds meaning to what we do and motivates us to ke Adds meaning Give purpose / convey impact Set yourself reminders (e.g. monthly), and communicate relentlessly. Check in with team.
- Ex. by David Feeny, Emeritus Professor of Information Management at Oxford Dolphins can only take in a small amount of air, and as a result, have to surface frequently (15-20mins) Whales can take in large amounts of air, and therefore stay submerged for up to 90mins (depending on the type) Communicate, especially when communicating change: it’s better to pop your head up frequently to talk about a little change Also helps avoid surprises, Helps position us as a constance and a presence (esp in remote) Also: same frequency for feedback Being a dolphin also means: Don’t try to make a big splash (!) all at once, and then disappearing back into the depths. Also sleep only with half your brain (When they are asleep, one part of their brain remains alert and awake. This keeps them safe from potential predators, and enables them to breathe while sleeping.) and hear super high frequencies 10 times the upper limit of adult humans. [if time: transparency] Embrace uncertainty: false sence of certainty is counterproductive. Open about what we know vs don’t. Maintain sight of vision and factors for how we’re adapting and reacting and driving as conditions shift Remind people that things will be imperfect: convey uncertainty, ask people to join, that we’re trying and learning Create sense of safety while acknowledging inherent uncertainty – help people feel safe **** Asked in another talk how this differs from seagull management: comingo out of nowhere, fly in only when there’s a problem, make a lot of noise, leave a ton of dirt, take people’s sandwich. [whale song: podcast “invisibilia” by NPR, March, episode about attempts at using technology to decode whale song]
- Ambiguity
- Being a leader and communicating: bieng empathetic, acknowledging things are hard, also good thhings [I’m German, and working with distributed teams over many years has shown me how much I live up to some cultural cliches. Unfortunately not limited to my love of bread and sparkling water, but also that I don’t always get irony and am a pretty serious person. – Not a rah-rah type of manager and leader, and I believe if I suddenly showed up all cheerful, no one would buy it [party hat!]
- Messaging: Been working on this. Creating fun for me and team, bringing some silliness, sharing the latest animal I found on tiktok. It hasn’t been much, but it’s been intentional, and I’ve gotten feedback that it’s been a nice touch] Bring lightness and lightheartedness. How to: Don’t pander to make people feel better. To develop self-awareness, teams need cheerleading to be realistic. Sympathize with the difficulties they’re facing, but reiterate that you believe they have what it takes to turn their situation around. This “Realistic cheerleading” invites others to join the journey, and helps them understand what the journey is “it’ll be a lift, but we can do it.” Also: celebrate wins! And celebrate them early!
- Understand team, lead through context & help them connect with vision, be a dolphin and a realistic cheerleader
- In addition to showing up for team: Developing leadership skills: leading through context, growing others around you, cleaning the crumbs Showing up for yourself: use your values for guidance, manage your energy well, expand op horizon
- No hiding in the basement
- Cleaning the crumbs out of the toaster
- Handling the ambiguity
- Being a dolphin
- Variables to what makes good leader Leadership isn’t 1 action, done, moving on There are no heros Always becoming a better leader for your team, and leading with your team
- Before I go, I want to leave you with one last notion on being prepared for the change and unknown as a team. Blair Braverman, musher — the human driver of a dog sled team – wrote about “What My Sled Dogs Taught Me About Planning for the Unknown” for the NYT. She writes: “Here’s the thing about sled dogs: They never know how far they’re going to run. … Working with dogs in the wilderness means negotiating countless shifting variables: snow and wind, wild animals, open water, broken equipment, each dog’s needs and changing mood. I learned that plans, when I made them, were nothing but a sketch; the only thing I needed to count on was that the dogs and I would make decisions along the way. What this means for people, for us, is that we can’t just plan to take care of ourselves later. Because if you don’t know how far you’re going, you need to act like you’re going forever. Planning for forever is essentially impossible, which can actually be freeing: It brings you back into the present.”
- Change is the work. It’s what we do. This year is a defining moment for all of us. And it is a defining moment for us as leaders. We’re all leading through change, whether we want it or not.
- You may not know how far you’re going, and need to act like you’re going forever. Planning for forever is essentially impossible. And in this defining moment: how will you show up as a leader?
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