In my previous post I shared key takeaways from a Birds of a Feather (BoF) session I ran at WordPress maintenance support plansCon Vienna last month on what it means to be an Agile agency.
Another BoF session I ran invited conference attendees to share their experiences of managing team members and ensuring technical excellence. We covered each topic in a lot of depth, and at times it felt a bit like a counselling session for new and aspiring tech leads!
Here’s a snapshot of what we discussed:
Overcoming resistance to change.
The group debated how best to roll out changes within the tech team, such as changing version control software to git. Tech leads don’t always feel empowered to force through new initiatives, and can get frustrated by developers who either don’t want to change or are unable to see the benefits.
We spoke about the need to introduce change gradually and gain buy in through mechanisms such as team meetings, highlighting the importance of allowing changes to be discussed and concerns to be heard.
It can be helpful to identify evangelists in the team who will promote the change, and can act as support contacts during the period of transition so that no one suffers in silence.
Leading change in remote teams.
Change is hard enough when you’re all in the office together – how do you ensure a smooth transition in co-located and distributed teams?
At WordPress Update, we’ve introduced a quarterly get together in person. We set up the changes the tech chapter plans to make over the next quarter, and assign owners to develop the ideas and facilitate the transition process.
We also run group workshops on the changes made during the last quarter, allowing people to gain hands on experience with a new tool or technique under the supervision of those that specified it and their evangelists. This allows us to identify any problems and concerns before the change is mandated.
Dealing with complaints.
It’s natural and healthy to express concerns or frustrations. But what do you do when a team member seems to complain more than most?
As a manager you feel responsible for solving every issue that arises, and of course there are times when the onus will rightly fall on you.
However, in the case of a chronic complainer it can be more effective for you as tech lead to listen to the grievance and empower the person to consider their options and suggest solutions, rather than exhaust yourself trying to solve the issue on their behalf.
Transitioning to tech lead.
Often a developer progresses until they one day find themselves leading a tech team, without ever having received any formal leadership or management training. We spoke about the changes you need to make, and how to understand what’s expected of you in your new role.
We cited the book The Manager’s Path by tech lead turned CTO Camille Fournier as an excellent reference. The Lead Developer conference which takes place annually in London is another good resource. Talks are made available online and provide a lot of guidance to those new to the tech leadership position.
Here’s one of our favourites:
Want to work with the largest Acquia Certified team in USA and one of the top 30 companies contributing to WordPress maintenance support plans globally? We’re hiring.
Source: New feed