Ted Neward: Managing A Software Engineering Department - Episode 299

Ted Neward is sometimes referred to as "The Dude of Software," owing to both his remarkable (some say frightening) resemblance to the Jeff Bridges character from "The Big Lebowski," and his ordination as a Dudeist Minister of the Church of the Latter-Day Dude, but he's also been called the "Dr. Gregory House of Software," owing to his tendency to pull no punches when talking about software and how to deliver it successfully. He's comfortable answering to either title, as well as a few others. He's familiar with more programming languages than most people knew existed and hasn't found one yet that he couldn't turn into a "mission-critical" application when asked.

Topics of Discussion:

[4:36] Ted talks about building a tribe and developing a community.

[6:48] Leveraging the "who you know" network.

[7:21] Tips for keeping track of your network.

[9:44] Effective software team management.

[13:10] The importance of shifting perspective from individual success to team success.

[16:16] The component of compassion in management.

[17:53] Managers should actually want to be managers.

[18:43] Retaining employees and realizing that management skills need to be recognized and developed.

[27:02] The tipping point of needing to hire a full-fledged IT department.

[32:34] Advice for managers on the people side.

[34:08] Team success metrics, weekly one-on-ones, and building psychological safety.