Leadership on Andrew Khoury

The Manager README

Wed, 04 Aug 2021 21:38:30 +0000

When I discovered that someone had developed a README for humans my geeky heart was overjoyed. A Manager Readme is your quick reference to working with your lead and it’s an amazing idea executed well.

What’s in a README?

Let’s geek out on actual READMEs for a minute: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/README

README file contains information about other files in a directory or archive of computer software. A form of documentation, it is usually a simple plain text file called READ.ME, README.TXT,[1] README.md (for a text file using markdown markup), README.1ST – or simply README.

So just like developers write READMEs to help explain their code, you can write a Manager Readme as a source of truth in case you see something that surprises you when working with your lead.

Andrew Khoury’s README

If you’d like to find out what it’s like to work with me you’ll find my README here: https://managerreadme.com/readme/drewkhoury — or checkout this snippet:

I’m here to deliver exceptional engineering solutions, remove roadblocks, and shield the team

At its core, I do three things for the team:

Deliver exceptional engineering solutions by writing code, pairing with great engineers, uplifting the skills of my team, and helping the team solve complex problems through my experience or facilitating technical workshops to solve problems together

Remove roadblocks stopping us getting things done

Shield the team from interruptions and distractions

Note: I borrowed heavily from https://managerreadme.com/readme/auxesis (someone in the industry who I respect and admire) for my formatting an inspiration but made sure that each section fully represents me.

Contini READMEs

Great leaders are supported by — well, other great leaders!

Every Contini (that’s what we call ourselves over a Contino) has their own unique style. Some of us have private READMEs while other bold leaders like myself have made our READMEs public for the world to see. Either way we’re all unique thought leaders in our own right and you can find out more about what it’s like to work with each of us by heading over to https://managerreadme.com/company/contino.

The great bit is, each person owns their own README, and by looking at the collection of people in an organization you can start to get a sense of what they stand for. Your Manager README stays with you wherever you go so it’s really a window into what working in your team would be like.

Make your own!

If you’re a leader or manager I encourage you to write your own README https://managerreadme.com/

Your own README is a great way to take some time out to consider what you value and how you support your team. It doesn’t have to perfect, it should evolve as you do and allow for continuous improvement, just like we do with software.

Info

Also posted on medium as The Manager README.

Creating a Vision

Sat, 04 Apr 2020 19:10:37 +0000

Creating a vision isn’t always an easy thing — but it can be rewarding to see one grow.

Disclaimer: There’s no “perfect” vision, and there isn’t a perfect method to share that vision with a team.

A technique I picked up from my good friend Ralph Bou Mechrek is to always be running experiments (in this context, an experiment is simply the testing of a theory in a real-life scenario). I can tell you from first hand experience it’s the fastest way to get feedback!

So with all that out of the way I want to share with you the experiment of running a vision workshop with your team…

A Wild Vision Appears

A vision can help guide your team’s decision making and help them hone in on what matters. Once you have a shared understanding of your vision you can more easily create roadmap and plan within your teams. Your vision should also motivate your team and provide clarity and focus while describing the future/target state. For this reason, explaining the “why” behind your vision is crucial.

If you already have a strong vision you‘re going to have plans you want to share with your team. As a technical leader in consulting I draw from my previous experience and deep understanding of the power of Business Value to form a strong vision I can share with my team.

It can take weeks, or months to formulate a vision and in this time you might be talking to likeminded people, exploring what matters most, where to focus efforts, what problem you’re trying to solve (and why). Usually you end up with one or more diagrams to help explain your vision — or something you can draw on a whiteboard.

The other thing you’ll need is passion. You need to believe in your vision before you can share it with others.

At the end of the day, you’re telling a story and you’re asking others to join you on a journey.

Workshop Part 1 — Seeding a Vision

So let’s assume you have a vision and you’re ready to share it with your team. The first part of your workshop should focus on sharing your vision with the team and gauging their response/interest while answering their questions.

Here are the sorts of things you might include in your diagrams, whiteboard or your passionate speech to the team:

What will the organization/team look like in 6 months
Teams and streams of work (What they’ll do, Success when…)
How teams will work together
What it looks like when we’re done (artifacts, technicals, logical diagrams)
What else is important? (Training, Metrics, Comms back to the business)

The key here is to keep things high-level while leaving the slide-ware at home. After sharing what you have your team should be able to articulate which parts resonate with them, and where they have questions, concerns or just other ideas!

Depending on how familiar your team is with the vision and how involved they’ve been thus fair — there may be lots of “why” questions. Why is this vision necessary? Why is there a big focus on X? Why are teams changing? It’s important to make sure the “why” has been effectively communicated, and that you’ve explored this with the team.

Assuming things have gone well, and it sounds like the team is on-board (think lots of head nodding and hearing the same things from multiple people) we can move onto the playback.

Tip 1: If your team isn’t on-board or there’s more confusion than there is support, now’s the perfect time to either continue that conversation and take notes of the feedback — or break so that the team has time to consume the information and re-group with more of a plan. Don’t be disheartened at this stage — you’ve just got some honest feedback and that’s great!

Tip 2: If you haven’t got any feedback or engagement from your team at this stage (silent room, or one word responses) either your vision isn’t very exciting, you caught them at the end of a long day, or your team isn’t ready to contribute to your vision. It’s important to make sure you team understands what you expect from them at the start of the workshop to avoid this situation. Again if you need to regroup — now is a good time.

Part 2 — Vision Playback

Okay so let’s assume you’ve shared your vision. You have an energized team that are engaged and contributing to the discussion. What’s next?

Here’s where the fun happens. What we want to do next is have each team member “play back” the vision in their own words. It’s critical that this part happens so each person in the team demonstrates buy-in, so that they have a voice, and so that you (as a leader) can understand where each of your team members is at in terms of how much they believe-in and buy-into the shared vision.

One simple way to do this playback is by way of a group role play session. Have one person in the group stand up facing the rest of the team (they’re going to play themselves).

Tip: For your first person pick someone who gets the vision and is confident — to show the rest of the team that this is a safe-place and this exercise is more fun than it is scary

Now have someone else in the group ask them a question (as if they’re the someone outside the group that’s just heard about this new “initiative”). Let’s work through an example.

Drew:

Ralph: (playing the role of outsider)

Hi I heard you’re part of this new initiative, can you tell me more?
I heard you don’t like puns, is that true? (in-joke / icebreaker question)
What is your role in all of this?
What’s the most important part of the initiative to you?
What will we have at the end of it?
How will this change our company?
Will my team have to use it? What if we don’t want to?
I’ve heard your using k8s — isn’t that more trouble than it’s worth?
What makes you think your group will succeed where others have failed?
Will it be hard for me to use your new product?
What do I do if I want to join your initiative?
I heard this won’t last very long as nobody wants it?

Those were just sample questions, the key here is to prepare the team for the sorts of questions others might ask, or the questions they may be asking each other. During this session you’re not focusing on right vs wrong questions but you might want to comment on what you observed after each person is done (in particular something you’d like to praise or see more of). Did one of their answers teach us something new? Are we seeing a theme with the answers? Are there some gaps in our vision?

If you heard some things have could have been answered better — consider holding onto that feedback to see how the next person tackles it. If you hear something that’s way off base you might want to suggest a different response they could have used to set expectations with the team (ie focus less on the negative and make sure you’re providing a solution/alternative response they could use).

Tip: Try not to prepare the questions ahead of time, you should be able to seed the whole activity with just two confident team members who are already bought-in. Let your team have a bit of fun with it by encouraging a few jokes. This should lead to a more natural conversation which will help your team think on their feet.

Wrap Up — A Vision is Born

There are a few key things that go into forming a high-performing team — and sharing your vision is one of them!

Once your team has a shared vision or goals you’ll notice all sorts of wonderful things:

People are happier
Planning work is easier
Your team communicate with each more
The messaging outside of your initiative is more cohesive
You’ll create a buzz around your initiative — and others will want to join

Oh and I guess I forgot to mention…

You’ll have a much better chance of achieving your goals and making your vision a reality.

Info

Also posted on medium as Creating a Vision.

Principals for (Technical) Principals

Sat, 04 Apr 2020 17:29:33 +0000

Join me on an exploration of all things consulting & leadership and all the fun stuff in-between.

I have a love of technology, with a passion for optimizing both code & process. I also love to teach and for me that usually means pairing or getting in front of a whiteboard.

I’m currently playing the role of Technical Principal Consultant. You might know this role by another name, or you may notice it’s similarity to other roles (Technical Principal, Account Principal, Technology Evangelist, Delivery Lead, Principal Consultant, Solutions Architect, Technical Team Lead, Agile Transformation Leader).

The reason why I say “playing the role” is because many technical or transformational leadership roles share the same DNA and have more cross-over that you might think.

In this article we’re going to explore three things:

What makes a successful consultant
What’s important for a Technical Principal role?
What’s important for other leadership roles?

What makes a successful Consultant?

Often categorized as “soft-skills” there are some basic “consulting-101” things that you’ll need to be a successful consultant. As a consultant it is important to understand and harness these skills, and they’re particularly important in “Principal” or “Leadership” roles. The following isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list and people aren’t magically born with all these skills so it’s best to treat them as a guide for self-improvement.

The attributes to look for in a Principal Consultant or Leader are:

Influencing (conviction, empathy, able to rapidly build trust with their team and stakeholders)
Awareness (situational awareness, reading a room, control)
Collaboration (open, honest, respectful, servant leadership)

So what does a “successful consultant” look like? Are we expected to excel in all areas 100% of the time? As it turns out these skills can be complicated to test for (especially in 1 hr interviews) however they tend to be easily demonstrated when the rubber hits the road.

Let’s visualize what we’re looking for:

Now we have some favorable attributes that we’re looking for & our consultants know what they should do more of. Each of one of us in our own journey and the key is to identify areas for improvement and start to demonstrate progress there. Your company should support you in identifying areas to improve and provide mentorship as well as opportunities to grow and succeed.

Technical Leadership

I’m a technical leader, can’t I just stick to the tech?

Should Technical Leaders just focus on technology? In my opinion the answer is no, and the key is in the word leader. As technical leaders (and this is especially true for those of us in consulting) our job is so much more than “hands on keyboard”. So while you can code and you might get your hands dirty from time to time, your primary role should be to support your team in making the best decisions they can at the time and getting out of their way while they work their magic (and for anyone that’s tried to do that, it’s harder than it seems).

Let’s have a look at what skills a Technical Principal might posses in addition to the above consulting skills that we expect every consultant to have.

We’re typically going to expect higher competency in “Technical Team Leadership” and “Solution Design & Architecture” from someone in a Technical Principal role. Skills like “Strong Communication” and “Trusted Strategic Advisor” should also be demonstrated but it’s be okay for some people in this role to have some growth in that area.

Pillars

The pillars mentioned above are:

Strong Communicator

Awareness & Influence

Trusted Strategic Advisor

Empathy, can relate tech back to business value, understands the “why” of whatever we’re choosing to do, pragmatic & flexible

Technical Team Leadership

Charisma, Experience in successful delivery

Solution Design & Architecture

Passionate about technology & knows what good looks like, can be hands on but sees their primary role as supporting their team who are the real “doers”

Other leadership roles

As we mentioned at the start there are many roles that share similar DNA and they usually have the words “Principal” or “Leader” in them.

Let’s take a look at our Pillars for a Technical Principal and apply them to a different leadership role for comparison. We’ll pick an “Account Principal” which is a role you might see from a consultancy — someone who’s responsible for the health of the account, successful delivery of outcomes, and has accountability for the financials of an Account…

Here we’ve used the same pillars due to the cross-over between roles but we’ve changed the “pass mark” to favor strong communication and being a trusted strategic advisor. We’ve also lowered our expectations around technical leadership and solution architecture (they’re nice to have’s and you may possess those skills in this role but on larger accounts you’d expect to be able to pair with Technical Principals for those gaps).

Account Principals are also more likely to be involved in the financial health of an account, client happiness and overall team health along with responsibility for the delivery outcomes. Smaller accounts may allow the flexibility to have one person play both roles but as accounts get larger focus becomes important and the need for specialized skills becomes important.

The most successful accounts I’ve worked on have seen a strong partnership between these Technical and Account roles with less concern about who “should” be doing what and more focus on:

How can we help each other
How can we compliment our respective strengths/weaknesses
How can we encourage personal growth within each other

What’s the take away?

For niche consulting in particular, there exists a fundamental set of “soft-skills” that are critical to a team’s success.

For anyone playing the role of “lead” or “principal” it’s important to bring these skills (and your experience) to the table as an asset that will help them through difficult situations, and as skills they can learn to improve themselves as individuals.

It’s important to have a whole-team understanding of what we need (and don’t need) from each role, and uplift each other by leaning on each other’s strengths rather than aiming for individual success.

So what’s the difference between roles like “Technical Principal” and other leadership roles?

…Hopefully you’ll now agree, not as much as you originally thought.

Info

Also posted on medium as Principles for (Technical) Principals and on Contino as How to Be a Technical Leader: The Principles Behind Successful IT Consulting