Month: June 2021

June 15, 2021

Greg Thomas

Feeding Off Each Other

I don’t like have meetings for the sake meetings. But I do like getting people in a room to discuss a problem, always ensuring it’s the right people. If it’s two developers working in the same area across one problem, let’s have a quick fifteen to talk about it. I like this, because inevitably, once we get into it, the magic starts and they begin to feed off of each other. Their ideas, their designs, their problems, their counter-proposed solutions, it’s what makes being on a team so great in the first place. Don’t silo them when looking at problems,

June 14, 2021

Greg Thomas

Challenge Your Team

If you aren’t challenging your team, you aren’t helping them grow. One of my most memorable performance reviews was one I was giving where I told the developer he was doing a great job, I wish I had ten of him, I’m learning from him, etc, etc. It was all true. His response – “That’s great to hear, now how do I get better?” The question threw me for a loop because I hadn’t thought of it. I asked for more time so I could think of it. This encounter made me think how everyone always needs to be challenged,

June 13, 2021

Greg Thomas

Avoiding Silos

Now more than ever, silos are on the rise. After a year of being physically separated, the toll is starting to take shape on your team. They might not have intended for it, but it’s happening, they are unnaturally forming silos. “I only work with these three people, I haven’t talked to this person in two months” where before they would see them every day and see the work they were doing and have quick chats on it. Work is being assigned in a tactical and transactional nature to get the work done and not collaborate with each other. It

June 12, 2021

Greg Thomas

Leading on Your First Day

When do you start leading? When are you ready? When will someone give you the role you so richly deserve? Guess what, there is no title called “Leader” (all by itself). There are different derivatives of it, but byitself? No. But that trait is inside of you on Day One, so Start on that Day. Pick up the trash. Help someone out. Lead by Example. Suggest a change. Show up on time. Listen to others. All these things are examples of people leading, do one thing each day and make it bigger each day – review someone’s code without being

June 11, 2021

Greg Thomas

Your Team’s Core Values

In every team I lead, I try to isolate what our core values are. There are some values that go without saying that I carry with me. Tenets I think that every team should simply have; honesty, trust, open communication – these are always key for me. But beyond that, I always like to ask myself – “What kind of team do we want to be when we grow up?” – and from there I get into our values, what values matter and what do we need to add to the mix. I think about those questions and what answers

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