It Depends: Lessons in Technology Leadership

Politics! The word has such a negative connotation when discussing work and corporate culture. Political tactics or maneuvers aren't inherently bad. It is the intent behind them that makes them so. You can leverage those same tactics for good instead of evil.

In this episode, Kevin delves into 'The P Word' and discusses the good and bad sides of politics in the workplace based on his own experiences. Whether you're navigating corporate hallways or startup pathways, this one's packed with insights you don't want to miss.

Links:

• The book: It Depends: Writing on Technology 2012-2022
• Your host: Kevin Goldsmith
• The newsletter

Teams create their own languages organically, which is essential to team bonding and belonging. Understand this and use it to improve how your team works together and to make it easier when onboarding new members.

Links:

• The newsletter with the text of the chapter: https://kevingoldsmith.substack.com/p/building-a-vernacular-with-your-engineering
• "It Depends: Writing on Technology Leadership 2012-2022" https://itdependsbook.net
• It Depends newsletter: https://kevingoldsmith.substack.com
• Questions/comments: contact@itdependsbook.net

If you are on the technology management track, the final role is Chief Technology Officer. Still, the path to the role is not obvious because the role itself differs greatly from company to company. The episode includes chapter 10 from "It Depends: Writing on Technology Leadership 2012-2022," "Becoming a CTO." This chapter discusses the common skills needed for the CTO in almost any company and how the role differs between early-stage and mid-stage companies.

More information about the book is at itdependsbook.net
Questions/comments? contact@itdependsbook.net
The newsletter: kevingoldsmith.substack.com
Your Host: Kevin Goldsmith

Once again, two shorter chapters in this podcast from the book.

How I get my focused work done:
When you are a manager, constantly interrupted, how can you get focus time to devote to your projects?

The Known Unknowns:
Understanding the mastery curve.

Links:
Book/Podcast/Newsletter website: https://itdependsbook.net/
Questions/Comments/Suggestions contact@itdependsbook.net

Two chapters from the book this week! Discussing a deliberate approach to managing your calendar and tracking how you actually are using your time, and then how to approach your work with thoughtfulness and decisiveness instead of just making decisions based on instinct.

More information about the book: https://itdependsbook.net/

Ask a question or request a signed copy: contact@itdependsbook.net

The newsletter: https://kevingoldsmith.substack.com/

Taking a day, once, twice, or even four times a year to reflect on how things are going and think about where you want to go next is a valuable practice. This episode includes how to approach this practice and get value from it. This episode also includes Chapter 5 of the audiobook "It Depends: Writing on Technology Leadership 2012-2022" by Kevin Goldsmith. 

It Depends Book website: https://itdependsbook.net/

CTO Podcast link: https://pod.link/1356275803/episode/7a88eac00279eb4bd3172b9a59d21ab7

Jason Cavness Experience Podcast Link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoUR0bj9BGQ&list=PLh4aquRHsHCZfVVGNO7IY9-5Z0IF8XgwZ

Have a question you'd like me to answer? Send it to: contact@itdependsbook.net

Buy the book on Amazon or bookshop.org

One of the questions I most frequently get from engineering leaders or aspiring leads is "how much coding do you do?" or "How do you handle coding and managing?" One of the hardest things for me in my development journey was letting go of developing features on the products I worked on. This episode is all about that. I include Chapter 4 of the audiobook for It Depends: Writing on Technology Leadership 2012-2022, which is all about this step in your development as a more senior engineering leader.

Links:

• The book website: https://itdependsbook.net/
• My talk on the same subject: https://www.kevingoldsmith.com/talks/when-why-and-how-to-stop-coding-as-your-day-job.html
• Have a question you'd like me to answer? Send it to: contact@itdependsbook.net
• Buy the book on Amazon or bookshop.org

Chapter 3 from It Depends: Writing on Technology Leadership 2012-2022

In this episode, we discuss my experience building an exercise to help me better understand what is important to me in a role or company and then how I used the results to help prepare for job interviews. I also discuss some of the mistakes people make when interviewing for roles in a downturn with how they present themselves in job interviews. If you're currently looking for a job, or thing you will in the future (we all will), this episode will be helpful.

Some links:

• It Depends book information: https://itdependsbook.net
• Newsletter: https://kevingoldsmith.substack.com
• Questions/contact (I'll answer them in the podcast or newsletter): contact@itdependsbook.net
• Living in an Employer’s Market as a Developer article: https://blog.kevingoldsmith.com/2020/03/31/living-in-an-employers-market-as-a-developer/