So you decided to become a lead, or you just became one! Now what? In this talk, Dan walks you through his journey of switching roles, from a Senior Software Engineer to an Engineering Lead. He will also share his experiences, learnings and challenges during his first year as a lead. He’ll talk about the reasons he decided to take this new role, his first steps and initial impressions about being a lead and about how this role helped him grow. He’ll share his mistakes, learnings and early wins. He’ll provide hints to people who plan to take the leading path, to help them smoothen their way.

1. FIRST STEPS
AS A LEAD
DAN PERSA
@danpersa
04.2019
Amsterdam

2. 2
DAN PERSA
Engineering Lead
@danpersa
dan.persa@gmail.com

4. Read
the
job
description
https://pixabay.com/en/bulletin-board-stickies-post-it-2771786/

5. Leadership skills allow having a
higher impact and influence within
your organization

6. Whenever something important is
missing, take the initiative and
make it happen!

7. Set
yourself
up for
success
http://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/wooden-tile/s/support.html

8. The
meetings
https://www.flickr.com/photos/aalto-cs/15271896469

9. Learn to say “No” to meetings
https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=12600

10. https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=12600

11. Taming the
calendar
Block slots for individual work
Learn to say “No” to meetings
Read email only twice a day

12. Career
switch
https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=12600

13. When dealing with people,
repeating is key, in order to make
sure everybody is aligned
https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=12600

14. Be a
Zen
master
https://pixabay.com/p-2040340

15. Moyan Brenn, Flickr.com
Manage the stress
Use failure as an
opportunity for learning
Empathise with the
people around you

16. Leading takes energy,
so everyone of you must
start taking care of yourself first
- Christian McCarrick
https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=12600

17. Learn fastApply what you read in books
Get a mentor
Former leads

18. https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=12600
The code is the necessary evil which
allows engineers to solve problems

19. Hiring
Performance evaluation
Remove blockers
Knowledge sharing
Communication
Purpose
…
Coding
…
Onboarding
Innovation

20. Trust instead
of control
Regular 1:1s
Earn the respect of the team
Transparency

21. The
Principle
Of
No
Surprises
https://medium.com/@danpersa/the-principle-
of-no-surprises-c1161a26f226

22. The team has the
best solutions to
problems,
the lead’s role is
to help the team
discover those
solutions.
https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1432563

23. Bias aware

24. Recency Bias
Confirmation Bias

25. The
Feedback
Loop
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Ball

26. Not taking a
decision is a
decision
We are accountable for
both the decisions we
take as well as for the
ones we decide not to
take.

27. Feedback
culture
https://www.maxpixel.net/Group-Businessmen-Confirming-Team-Feedback-2990424

28. ONBOARDING
DEVELOPERS
PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE
TECHNOLOGY ONBOARDING
CULTURAL ONBOARDING
COMPANY VALUES & STRUCTURE

29. 29
SUMMARY
Read the job description
Ask for support
Be a Zen master
Learn about biases
Career switch
The meetings
The feedback loop
Learn fast
Onboarding
Trust instead of control
No surprises
Decisions, decisions
Support the team
Feedback culture

31. x
THANK YOU
@danpersa

32. References
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/avoiding-unconscious-bia
s.htm
https://www.davemanuel.com/investor-dictionary/recency-bias/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86fqsVWngHI