My Guidelines

Listening: Leadership Begins with Hearing Others

In my journey as a Software Developer, I have come to understand that the statement by Jamie Smyth, "People, Process, then Tools. In that order. Always." is incredibly accurate. (I also highly recommend checking out The Smyth Group’s insights) I have also learned that you cannot put People first on your team or in your organization if you can't (or won't) listen to them. To put people first is to listen to them and hear their pains and joys. To that end, I have several things I do to check if I am truly listening to my team or my users or if I am simply claiming to listen without putting in the effort to do it well. 

Key Thought: Listening is not just a soft skill; it is foundational. If you don’t truly hear people, you can’t support or lead them effectively.

• Patience Builds Trust: Everyone communicates differently. A good leader listens first, without rushing to fix or judge.

• Value Others’ Voices: Real listening starts with respect. If you don’t value someone’s thoughts, you won’t truly hear them. Don’t be thinking about what you want to say next the whole time the other person is speaking. Hear them first, then figure out what you should say.

• Welcome Correction: No one is immune to blind spots. Growth comes when we receive correction with openness and humility.

• Engage with Intent: Make people feel heard. Eye contact, affirmation, and follow-up show that their input matters. People speak more freely when they know they’re being heard, and that’s how teams thrive.

Leading: Growth Multiplied Through Others

I have often found myself in leadership roles in various aspects of my life, whether on the Ultimate Frisbee field, the High School basketball team, or crafting Mobile applications. Instead of shirking the responsibilities, I have embraced them and am developing my thoughts and guidelines for myself on the subject.

Key Thought: Leadership isn’t a solo act; it’s a responsibility to others. It’s about action, ownership, and enabling people to do their best work. 

• Act with Initiative: Take action to remove friction, clear obstacles, and model the behaviors that enable others to succeed. Leadership means stepping forward without dragging others along; making space for momentum, not mandates.

• Fail Fast and Learn: The more you try, the more you’ll fail, and the more you fail, the more you’ll succeed.

• Leave Things Better: Make an impact, whether small or large. Leadership is about improving lives through thoughtful processes, safe teams, and resilient products. Every decision, conversation, and correction has the potential to ease someone’s burden, spark joy, or open up opportunity. 

• Own the Outcome: When you succeed and fail, take responsibility and grow from both.

• Mentor with Intention: Leadership means growing others. Don’t just be the person everyone goes to for a solution; be the person who helps others discover the solution for themselves.

• Embrace Ownership: You’re not just writing code, you’re building a product. Take full responsibility for its successes and its failures. Own the failures and use them to fuel more progress.