If you recently transitioned from an engineering role to a people manager, you may be struggling with the psychological shift that comes with pivoting your focus from computer science to people science. Even if you’ve managed the transition so far with ease, mastering a few key techniques can ensure you feel more prepared and confident leading your technical team.  

 

This session will walk through fundamental techniques to help you learn and practice skills to navigate the complexities of Engineering Management.  Topics include (but aren’t limited to) giving effective feedback, prioritizing your time, building relationships with business partners and your team, and the importance of diversity & inclusion on our development teams.  

 

You will leave with a new perspective on Engineering Management and many practical tips to apply in your role immediately. 

At a certain point in your career, you will likely be asked - "have you considered becoming an Engineering Manager?" If I were you, I would take this as a compliment.

 

Perhaps your above-average people skills make you stand out as an ideal candidate to manage other humans? Or, your technical skills have enabled you to climb to the highest rung that your organization's career ladder permits without acquiring direct reports?

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This talk will help you evaluate both paths; highlighting the rewards and headaches of management duties as well as a few tips to help you gracefully pivot should you decide to take the leap.

Engineering Leaders across industries and timezones are struggling to retain technical talent even after offering the shiniest of benefits and perks. Why is that?

 

 

This session will cover 4 common reasons Engineers choose to leave an organization and how you can proactively avoid these departures.

Contrary to popular belief, software engineering culture is not about the free food, open office spaces, and ping pong tables.

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You can sense a great team culture when you observe it, and unfortunately you've probably experienced (or are currently experiencing) elements of a bad team culture. Not to worry - it's never too late to grab the reins and make small changes to steer your team in the right direction!

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In this talk, Kate will highlight 8 tactical tips that attendees can implement on their teams immediately to help shape their team's culture!

Time management + prioritization - everyone needs it! We all seem to face a never-ending list of demands coupled with a finite amount of time to get it all done.

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You will leave this session armed with new tips and tools to effectively balance your time between meetings, writing code, putting out fires, and clarifying your role to ensure you are spending time on the things that actually matter!

Our software engineering teams are facing new challenges every day that come with the rapidly changing industry and recent events.

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People don't seem to be motivated by the same things that they previously found compelling. Organizations are giving up glamorous office spaces and pivoting to remote teams. These changes require us to quickly pivot as leaders to learn new skills, frameworks, and techniques to continue supporting our teams while maintaining our own sanity.

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In this session, you will learn and practice key skills to help your team propel through today's modern challenges and setbacks. The topics will be relevant to all Software Engineering leaders who wish to find ways to motivate and inspire their teams - regardless of their organization's existing circumstances.

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Specific topics will include:

• Tips and tricks for leading remote teams - striking the right balance between productivity and flexibility

• Understanding unique motivational styles - catering your leadership style to maximize employee engagement

Congratulations! You've accepted a position as an Engineering Manager and are excited to embark on your adventure into the wonderful world of people leadership.

 

As you start preparing for the transition into your role, an overwhelming panic starts to build. What should I be doing with my time? Who should I be meeting with? Does my team trust me? Will my email inbox ever stop growing?

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This one hour session will provide helpful checklists, daily/weekly plans, and real life examples that will help ease your transition into management.

Delivering feedback is arguably the hardest part of being a leader.

 

Eventually, the time will come when someone on your team isn’t meeting expectations, and you will be faced with a choice. You can choose to ignore the situation, hope it improves organically, and accept the toll it takes on the broader team, or you can choose to have the tough conversation.

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In this interactive session, you will learn more about your communication style, a simple framework to provide actionable feedback, common red flags to watch out for, and advice on how to quickly course correct on a dev team.

 

You’ll leave with a template for giving feedback that you can tie directly to a situation you’re currently facing as well as plenty of examples that you can leverage in the future.

1-1s are ubiquitous in the software engineering industry, and great leaders cherish these discussions.

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What makes 1-1s so valuable? 1-1s are just like any other meeting - they are used to exchange data - be it tactical project updates, personal updates, or perspectives on how a project is going. There is also implicit data exchanged, signals that are interwoven with each word that is spoken. These are our emotions. Emotions can be felt and observed but can be difficult to interpret and process. Our brains are in overdrive when communicating with other humans as we take in these implicit signals along with the literal words being spoken.

 

During 1-1s, this can intensify as our focus is entirely on the other person; What signals are they sending? How will I respond? What isn’t being said here?

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Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, understand, and manage our emotions to communicate more effectively with others. In this interactive discussion, we will explore how to leverage the four emotional intelligence skills to facilitate more productive and enjoyable 1-1s.

Imposter Syndrome, a pervasive phenomenon affecting individuals across various industries, holds a particularly potent grip within the realm of software engineering. It is characterized by persistent self-doubt and a belief that one's accomplishments are mere flukes, is alarmingly common in the technical engineering community.

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This talk delves into the profound impact of Imposter Syndrome on software engineering teams, exploring its origins, manifestations, and strategies for fostering healthier, more productive work environment.

In the ever-evolving landscape of software engineering, the success of a team is not solely determined by the mastery of coding languages or the ability to develop cutting-edge solutions. It also hinges on the presence of an often underestimated yet essential element: psychological safety.

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Psychological safety, as coined by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, refers to an environment where team members feel comfortable taking risks, sharing ideas, and making mistakes without fear of ridicule or retribution. In the context of software engineering, fostering such an environment can significantly impact team dynamics, productivity, and innovation.

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This talk explores the various dimensions of psychological safety within dev teams, emphasizing its role in:

• Innovation and Creativity

• Effective Communication:

• Learning and Growth:

• Retention

• Diversity and Inclusion

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Drawing on real-world examples and practical strategies, attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of the pivotal role psychological safety plays in software development and the tools to transform their teams into resilient, innovative, and cohesive units.