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Wednesday, September 30, 2009 9:25 AM

Forging a Team Identity

For a group of coworkers to have a chance of becoming a team, they must share a common sense of purpose or identity.  Dave Logan in Tribal Leadership calls this a “Noble Cause.”  On small teams this often comes naturally.  Everyone is working
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Tuesday, August 04, 2009 9:19 AM

Own the Feedback

Some time ago I was at a management training course. The group was divided into those who were managers of managers known in this course as M2s and those who were what I have been calling leads–that is managers of individual contributors–which they called
Posted by SteveRowe | 1 Comments
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Monday, July 27, 2009 7:49 AM

How to Interact with Your Team as a Manager

As one moves from being a lead (manager whose reports are individual contributors) to a manager (manager whose reports are leads), there is an important decision to be made about how to interact with your skip-level reports. That is, how should a manager
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Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:03 PM

Five Books To Read If You Want My Job

This came out of a conversation I had today with a few other test leads.  the question was, “What are the top 5 books you should read if you want my job?”  My job in this case being that of a test development lead.  At Microsoft that means
Posted by SteveRowe | 4 Comments
Monday, April 27, 2009 5:40 PM

Don’t Worship at the Altar of Accuracy

Earlier today I found myself faced with a common management situation.  I had been sent an e-mail which showed that a piece of data we were using was inaccurate.  The specific issues was what percentage of a certain test run was automated. 
Posted by SteveRowe | 3 Comments
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009 8:20 AM

Simple Management Tip: Tracking 1:1 Conversations

Here’s a quick tip I’ve found very handy.  When doing 1:1’s with your team (you are doing these regularly, right?), take notes to keep track of the conversations from week to week.  I currently use a 5-tab notebook with one tab for each direct
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009 10:12 AM

Becoming a Manager: Learning to Rely on Data

Having been a manager* for a while now, I’ve learned more about what it means and what changes it requires in thinking.  This installment of the “ Becoming a Manager ” series covers the increasing reliance on abstract data that is required as you
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Tuesday, March 31, 2009 10:24 AM

Review: Peopleware

The book, Peopleware by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister, comes highly recommended by Joel Spolsky and Jeff Atwood over at the Stack Overflow Podcast.  It is probably most famous for its repudiation of the idea that cubicles make a better work environment
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009 12:35 PM

Spotting the "Uncoachables"

Interesting article from Harvard talking about how to spot people who can't be coached. The author gives 4 symptoms to look for, but they basically boil down to one. Does the person want to change? If someone isn't interested in changing because they
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Tuesday, March 24, 2009 9:57 AM

Review: The Effective Executive

I read The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker because it was highly recommend on the Manager Tools podcast.  Despite what its name may imply, it isn’t written to company executives.  Instead, Drucker defines an executive as anyone with decision
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Tuesday, March 17, 2009 7:48 AM

E-mail Is Not A Good Motivator

Another conversation I find myself having over and over is telling people that e-mail isn’t a sufficient mechanism for communication.  I already discussed how e-mail isn’t a good medium for handling disputes.  It also is not a great motivator. 
Posted by SteveRowe | 6 Comments
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Monday, February 23, 2009 11:07 AM

Now, Discover Your Strengths

This is the title of the follow-up to First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham.  The first book was brilliant and really challenged the way we think about what makes someone successful at their job.  Now, Discover Your Strengths attempts
Posted by SteveRowe | 2 Comments
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Thursday, February 12, 2009 9:32 AM

Managing Humans

I just finished reading Managing Humans by Michael Lopp, aka Rands in Repose .  Michael is a 15-year veteran manager from Silicon Valley.  He’s worked for such notable companies as Netscape and Borland.  He has a lot of good advice based
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Wednesday, October 15, 2008 8:12 AM

Change Your Environment

As people grow in maturity in their jobs, the way they interact with their environment changes.  I have had this discussion a few times during the recent review cycle so it's probably time to pass it along to a wider audience.  As I see it,
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Sunday, October 12, 2008 7:50 PM

Review: Tribal Leadership

I just finished the book Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan et al.  It's one of the better leadership books I've run across.  The authors stress the need for leadership to develop a "we" culture instead of an "I" culture. 
Posted by SteveRowe | 4 Comments
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