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Best Practices for Managing Remote Teams with Steph Smith

SimpleLeadership Podcast

Release Date: 04/08/2019

Diversity & Inclusion in Tech with Christine Awad show art Diversity & Inclusion in Tech with Christine Awad

SimpleLeadership Podcast

What are the challenges that accompany being a woman leader in technology? How can you be an ally for women in your workplace? How do you overcome imposter syndrome? These are just a few of the questions Christine Awad—the Director of Engineering at Facebook—so kindly answers in this episode of Simple Leadership.

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Engineer Your Teams for Impact with Ashish Aggarwal show art Engineer Your Teams for Impact with Ashish Aggarwal

SimpleLeadership Podcast

How do you build an engineering team of A-players? What does a well-rounded high-performing team look like? Why is engineering for impact more important than solving hard problems? In a world where engineers are looking to pad their resume and solve cutting-edge problems, Ashish Aggarwal shares the one thing that is far more important: solving your customer’s problems. In this episode of Simple Leadership, he walks through building high-performing teams, solving customer problems, and the best way to maintain technical excellence. Do not miss this one.  Ashish Aggarwal is the Co-Founder...

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A Discussion of Good Technical Debt with Jon Thornton show art A Discussion of Good Technical Debt with Jon Thornton

SimpleLeadership Podcast

Jon Thornton worked at some small companies in NYC before he ended up at Squarespace. He’s been able to build a new product and new team—their email marketing product. He launched that and has since been supporting other products. Throughout his career, he’s learned how to manage technical debt. What is the difference between technical debt and good technical debt? What is a framework for using technical debt? Listen to this episode of Simple Leadership for Jon’s advice on managing technical debt.  Jon has been solving problems with software for over 20 years and leading...

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Redefining Parental Leave with Matt Newkirk show art Redefining Parental Leave with Matt Newkirk

SimpleLeadership Podcast

Being in a management position in any industry can often leave you overwhelmed. Striking a balance between your work and personal life is already difficult. So how does a manager take parental leave? Matt Newkirk—the engineering lead for Etsy’s International Customer Experience initiative—has worked out some of the kinks.  I’m the father of three girls. During their birth, I was fully involved in startups and was never able to take parental leave. Not only did I miss out, but as a manager I feel I can’t help my team plan a successful leave because I never experienced it. So in...

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Hiring Engineers: Junior, Senior, or Boot Camp Graduates? Johnny Ray Austin Shares His Take show art Hiring Engineers: Junior, Senior, or Boot Camp Graduates? Johnny Ray Austin Shares His Take

SimpleLeadership Podcast

If you’re an engineer in a leadership role where you’re dealt with the task of developing teams, the hiring process can be daunting. Do you hire junior engineers that you can shape and mold? Or senior engineers who are experienced, but come with baggage? And how do you throw boot camp graduates into the mix? Johnny Ray Austin joins me to lend his thoughts on the hiring process, including what he looks for in an engineer. Don’t miss it! Johnny is an experienced engineering executive and international public speaker. Johnny claims he got into leadership by sheer luck—but he ended up...

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Technology Leadership Begins with These Traits with Emad Georgy show art Technology Leadership Begins with These Traits with Emad Georgy

SimpleLeadership Podcast

Today’s guest—Emad Georgy—is passionate about technology leadership. He’s a CTO Consultant and the Founder and CTO of Georgy Technology Leadership. Emad has been in the tech industry for over 25 years. His hybrid approach to technology management—focusing on both the practical and cultural elements of leadership—makes Emad a trusted and valued partner helping both domestic startups and global enterprises scale and grow.  In this episode of Simple Leadership, we chat about what cultivating leaders looks like. Sometimes, it involves making difficult decisions for your team. You...

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Overcoming Engineering Leadership Challenges with Farhan Thawar show art Overcoming Engineering Leadership Challenges with Farhan Thawar

SimpleLeadership Podcast

Transitioning an engineering leadership position to a work-from-home model can be a challenge. For some engineers, working remotely is the norm. For others, such as those working for Shopify, being forced to work from home because of the Coronavirus is a whole new ballgame. In this episode of Simple Leadership, Farhan Thawar joins me to chat about his transition into working from home and how Shopify has made the process manageable. We talk about the benefits of coding in pairs, whether or not managers should still code, and what he looks for when hiring engineering leaders.  Farhan...

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How to Manage Remote Teams [and Help Them Thrive] with Dana Lawson show art How to Manage Remote Teams [and Help Them Thrive] with Dana Lawson

SimpleLeadership Podcast

If you’re in a leadership position in the engineering industry and have suddenly been thrust into working remotely, it may feel like your world has been turned upside down. In this episode of Simple Leadership, Dana Lawson and I discuss a few tips to help you manage remote teams. You want your team to thrive and be successful during a time of great uncertainty. Dana describes herself as an atypical engineer. She wanted to attend college to be an artist but soon realized the ‘starving artist’ lifestyle wasn’t going to cut it. She took the ASVAB test when she joined the military and...

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How to Implement Good Software Development Processes with Eric Elliott show art How to Implement Good Software Development Processes with Eric Elliott

SimpleLeadership Podcast

A management role in software development can be difficult to navigate. You need to keep a high-level perspective on projects while making sure they go smoothly. Eric Elliott, today’s guest on the show, believes that you need to implement coding quality practices such as test-driven development. In this episode, we talk about why software development processes such test-driven development makes an impact and why it’s important to remove bugs. We’ll also talk about how to train developers and keep them happy—and why it’s inherently important not to rush the process. Eric Elliott has...

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Follow These Steps to Combat Loneliness in Leadership with Suzan Bond show art Follow These Steps to Combat Loneliness in Leadership with Suzan Bond

SimpleLeadership Podcast

If you are transitioning into an executive or leadership role in an organization, you can find yourself dealing with incredible loneliness. You also deal with a change in power dynamics, gaps in information, and a lack of support systems. It is difficult to prepare for the change from “getting work done” to being an “influencer”. As a former COO, today’s guest, Suzan Bond, understands the struggle of the transition. She joins me today to share some ways you can combat loneliness and ease the transition.  ​​Suzan is an executive coach and organizational strategist who has...

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Steph is the Head of Publications at Toptal, a serial maker, and a supporter of women in technology.  Outside of leading a remote team of a few dozen, she is a self-taught developer that builds projects related to women in technology, remote work, and self-improvement. 
 
She’s launched products that have hit #1 on Product Hunt, articles that have trended the top of Hacker News, and was nominated for Maker of the Year in 2018.  She actively supports women in technology by speaking about the psychology behind inclusion and through building resources like FeMake and is a judge for the Toptal Women’s Scholarship.
 
On today's episode we discuss some of the best practices for managing remote teams based on her recent blog post."Managing Remote Teams: A Psychological Perspective." Continue on for a great discussion with Steph.
 
 
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