Talent Whisperers®
Quietly motivating and developing leaders of great talent
Imagine you had aliens as customers. From my experience, this is much better than assuming we know them well and completely understand what would best serve them. If they are alien to you: How would you discover their pain-points or problems to solve? How would you validate you got the solutions right? Even if they… Read More
Telling someone that they are amazing, naturally creative, resourceful and whole with unbounded potential is NOT an acknowledgement. Read More
Vectors of Influence come from all sides in a changing world and tension easily arises that hinder effective Human Transformation. Read More
The WEF estimates that it will take the U.S. another 208 years to reach gender equality. So, women and minorities may need to lean in for some time. As leaders though, we should lean out to create space so others may lean in. Read More
Leaders inspire people to persevere in the face of adversity and ultimately derive energy from the challenge of confronting their villains. Read More
Radical Candor is an overlooked asset in creating high-performance teams when that candor is built upon a foundation of trust. I’ve discovered that evoking transformation can often require radical candor. However, when properly applied, the transformation can resemble a metamorphosis. Read More
What is the root cause of a 10x engineer? Are “10x Engineers” mythical creatures that exist only in our imagination or are they real? Read More
Start with trust to set the foundations of a relationships when a new person joins your team. The first impression you make on them sets the foundation for the rest of your journey together. Read More
Unconscious Bias and Privilege are things that are easy to claim we don’t have. The City Bus metaphors may help us wake up. Read More
New hires present the best opportunityto put employees on their path to achieve their greatest potential. There are three very impactful people in determining the joy, success and fulfillment an employee finds in their job… Read More
Powerful Questions and Active Listening Powerful Questions will help when striving for more meaningful, effective and mindful one-on-one conversations, these basic tools that come in the form of questions to open or deepen a conversation. There are also some useful techniques to being an Active Listener which will allow thew other person to feel more… Read More
In Talent Code, Daniel Coyle describes deep learning via short repetitions, feedback loops. I have applied this approach in coaching sports and in business. Read More
In developing talent within an organization, there are times where an individual contributor , often one that has excelled as an engineer, may be interested in becoming a manager. Read More
As leaders, much of the magic happens in the one-on-one conversations either in the privacy of a physical of virtual room (think Skype or Zoom) or on a walk-about as a more neutral setting and where you also benefit from the energy of being in Motion. These conversations should sometimes be as non-threatening as a… Read More
Perspectives are helpful when facing a big, life decision with multiple aspects at play. Read More
For any team that is responsible for existing systems that are already in use while also iterating on those systems to enhance and/or improve them there is also typically the burden of interrupts from the existing system. Forward progress is best made with concentrated effort that is focused and uninterrupted. How does one balance these… Read More
This “Build a Bridge“ question is from my list of interview questions I like to ask.It works for best for a Product Manager role, but can also be used for an Engineering leadership role… If, as a product manager, you wanted to have engineering build a bridge, how would you convey that to engineering? If… Read More
Along with the virtues of Agile Software Development also can come some destructive downsides that can erode trust and effectiveness within your company culture. I recently attended a 3-day Scrum certification class where the founder of the particular methodology was the instructor. He insisted that managers not participate in standup meetings, planning meetings, grooming sessions,… Read More
After riding the dot com wave, I decided to leave high-tech and embrace the challenge to find a way to give back by getting my teaching credentials at San Jose State. There I walked by this statue commemorating Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ brave protest at the 1968 Olympics, a watershed moment for civil rights… Read More