From time to time, I do the Airplane test. It’s not a difficult one, there is no written exam, and the results are rarely ever shared with anyone. If anything, it is a level-set on where I am and what needs to be done. The Airplane Test Step 1: Take every person in your team/organization that you work with. Step 2: Thing of how you would do in building a plane. What kind of plane…

Take a bowl, the mold if you will and drop it on the floor. Congratulations you just broke the mold. Now, start picking up all the pieces that no longer fit together because of cracks here and there and pieces that are so small they cannot be added back into creating the mold. Now, take all those pieces and create the new mold from what you have gathered. It’s not perfect is it?   It…

Continuing on from The Road to Team Lead it’s amazing to see all the different job descriptions out there for a Software Team Lead – some ranging from “Super Coder that leads the coding” to “Full Blown Manager”. With so many confusing descriptions that differ from organization to organization, it makes it a little tricky to understand what you are getting into. My thoughts on what the role of Team Lead encompasses; 50% coding – the…

I sincerely enjoy watching any sport where a single athlete can change the tone of a game in a matter of seconds and slow it down to their pace.  Where all the heightened pressure and urgency that was there, when there was still plenty of time left in the game, has now come down a notch.  The emotion has been tossed out the window and now they have made it their game. Where there was…

Typically in software development, you become/apply/promoted to a Team Lead position based on your work and performance as a developer.  Which is why it is so critical when hiring developers that you look at the Leadership Quotient that they bring to the table. The day after a promotion to Team Lead is entirely awkward, whereas less than 24 hours ago you were only responsible for your code, now you all of a sudden you are…