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Becoming a Technical Leader
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Becoming a Technical Leader defines leadership and the skills a successful leader must develop — innovation, motivation, and organization. Then it shows you how to evaluate your own skills in each area and immediately improve them.
You'll learn how to:
master your fear of becoming a leader be creative in solving problems motivate people while maintaining qua ...moreGet A Copy
Kindle Edition, 304 pages
Published
January 13th 2011
(first published September 1986)
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Leadership is Like Sex: "Becoming a Technical Leader" by Gerald M. Weinberg Published 1986.
“Over the years, the biggest lesson we have learned from our workshops is that becoming a leader is not something that happens to you, but something that you do.”
“Leadership is like sex. Many people have trouble discussing the subject, but it never fails to arouse intense interest and feelings.”
In "Becoming a Technical Leader: An Organic Prob ...more
Leadership is Like Sex: "Becoming a Technical Leader" by Gerald M. Weinberg Published 1986.
“Over the years, the biggest lesson we have learned from our workshops is that becoming a leader is not something that happens to you, but something that you do.”
“Leadership is like sex. Many people have trouble discussing the subject, but it never fails to arouse intense interest and feelings.”
In "Becoming a Technical Leader: An Organic Prob ...more
Various gems in the book can be assimilated only if the reader has had similar/relevant experience. Five years ago, I wouldn't have understood 50% of what I now take away with me.
I intend to occasionally pick a random chapter and re-read it in the future. My future self might be smarter and understand better the advice of Gerald Weinberg. ...more
I intend to occasionally pick a random chapter and re-read it in the future. My future self might be smarter and understand better the advice of Gerald Weinberg. ...more
The author of the Foreword says what they'd change about this book is that it's somehow too long and too short at the same time. I agree. There are many interesting discussions and practical pieces of advice across the book, but to find them you have to read through pages and pages of quasi-related anecdotes and general rambling.
...more
The book provides many insights on how to be a problem-solving leader. It boils down to the following major points:
- Open to change, acknowledge personal ignorance.
- It’s all about people, and the puzzle of people is complex.
- It’s a continuous art to adapter and optimize on the complexity of people.
- A leader must have a personal vision as the foundation of leadership.
- A leader’s work is people.
Leadership is like sex. Many people have trouble discussing the subject, but it never fails to arous ...more
- Open to change, acknowledge personal ignorance.
- It’s all about people, and the puzzle of people is complex.
- It’s a continuous art to adapter and optimize on the complexity of people.
- A leader must have a personal vision as the foundation of leadership.
- A leader’s work is people.
Leadership is like sex. Many people have trouble discussing the subject, but it never fails to arous ...more
Read it!
Even after having had the privilege of experiencing Gerry and Ether’s PSL class, I found it surprisingly enriching.
Gerry has the unique gift of getting to the heart of the matter, providing enough meat to the bones of this thoughts to help you grasp them firmly.
I think aspiring leaders of any sort, not only “technical” ones, will learn much by reading this book.
Even after having had the privilege of experiencing Gerry and Ether’s PSL class, I found it surprisingly enriching.
Gerry has the unique gift of getting to the heart of the matter, providing enough meat to the bones of this thoughts to help you grasp them firmly.
I think aspiring leaders of any sort, not only “technical” ones, will learn much by reading this book.
The book focuses on problem solving by teaching you how to think. Many nuggets of wisdom sprinkled evenly across all chapters.
I have been looking up books about technical management and this one was among the mostly recommended ones (along with Peopleware and Mythical Man Month) to develop and refine skills in technical leadership. Since I have no formal training in technical management, I wanted to learn more and make myself a more valuable member of our tech team.
This book comes from the Author's course "Technical Leadership in Computer Programming". It's basically a self-paced workshop, written as a book, broken do ...more
This book comes from the Author's course "Technical Leadership in Computer Programming". It's basically a self-paced workshop, written as a book, broken do ...more
Feb 24, 2015
Vít Kotačka
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
leadership,
read-in-english
An excellent book about technical leadership. If I should summarize it, I would use this quote:
Beside that the book defines what technical leading is, it principally tells how to become this mythical person - a technical leader.
It's not something you are born with. It's something you have to work on very hard, fail many times, learn from your wounds, keep a flame of your motivation, explore dead end ...more
"Becoming a technical leader is not something that happens to you, but something that you do."
Beside that the book defines what technical leading is, it principally tells how to become this mythical person - a technical leader.
It's not something you are born with. It's something you have to work on very hard, fail many times, learn from your wounds, keep a flame of your motivation, explore dead end ...more
A book that provokes thought but doesn't answer questions. If you really want to experience this book I would suggest taking time after you've read it (or during!) to answer the questions and reflect on each of the chapters.
...more
It took me few months to go through this book. I'm not sure if i didn't pay enough attention or I just couldn't understand these ideas on the fly. Maybe with time I've became more familiar with idea behind this book, or focused more on each chapter including exercises. After reading this book I'm sure of one thing, becoming a leader, is not something what happens, it's something we do. And doing requires being aware of what are we going to do, why are we going to do that, what are strengths and
...more
I read this book to help in my studies but wasn't much related but I still enjoyed it. The exercises and questions at the end of each chapter helps you to connect what you've read with your own experience. The author argues that everyone whether a manager or not is a leader in a certain way. He emphasizes how everyone can benefit and utilize his or her skills to have some sort of leadership power in his or her team. I wish people leading me think the same way the author thinks about leaders that
...more
Good:
- Book talks about some attributes that are required.
- The content seemed convincing.
- Some of the questions in the sections are provoking and probes to introspect.
Not so good:
- Being from a technical background, I felt like at points the technical skills are taken for granted.
- Some points, the explanations seemed VERY DRAMATIC and ingenuine, contradicting one of the topics in the book which asked to be genuine.
- It doesn't seems radical or a must-read for the above reasons. ...more
- Book talks about some attributes that are required.
- The content seemed convincing.
- Some of the questions in the sections are provoking and probes to introspect.
Not so good:
- Being from a technical background, I felt like at points the technical skills are taken for granted.
- Some points, the explanations seemed VERY DRAMATIC and ingenuine, contradicting one of the topics in the book which asked to be genuine.
- It doesn't seems radical or a must-read for the above reasons. ...more
Rather good read - pragmatism and insight from a doer and a thinker who is a teacher. The author is better known for his book on general systems theory, but this is a different kind of book. It is not only for people stepping into management but also for those who've been in management and in the school of hard knocks.
...more
One of the best books about leading a technical team I have ever read. Extremely helpful in adding perspective, direction, and empathy to the difficult task of leadership.
I've always come across books that struck me as wrong for me at the present time. Books that were too simplified or were full of "yeah I already knew all of that" that I should have read much earlier, or books that were full of ideas and solutions to problems I was too immature to appreciate. I think I've read this book at exactly the right time. I have experienced enough similar problems that this book addresses that it has given me a new set of tools to more forward with. It also contains a lo
...more
This book reads more like a collection of ordered essays. They link together and flow well, but the level of depth is variable. Some topics are described and explained in a lot of detail. In those cases, the concepts are well explained and communicated clearly. However, some topics seem like it's only just getting started.
For example, one chapter proposes the idea of daily journalling. It implies that the value is in the future when you can review what you've written and how you are progressing ...more
For example, one chapter proposes the idea of daily journalling. It implies that the value is in the future when you can review what you've written and how you are progressing ...more
I work and have worked looking after teams for a number of years. I read this book to try and help me to work more effectively and communicate better within those teams. This is the best book I've read on leadership for people who work within IT.
The books start off with the principle that completely redefined what I classed as a leader. A technical leader is anyone within a team who has influence over it. This means that most people who are mid-level up have a responsibility to learn how to be ...more
The books start off with the principle that completely redefined what I classed as a leader. A technical leader is anyone within a team who has influence over it. This means that most people who are mid-level up have a responsibility to learn how to be ...more
Provides a good perspective on technical leadership, with many lessons. It has however a low signal to noise ratio. The first half about motivation, organization and innovation, and the innovation process, were insightful.
Big part however feels like a collection of notes about various topics, without a clear storyline between them.
Some chapters consist mainly of some anecdotal stories. The actual insights could however be summarised in at most 1 paragraph.
At some moments, it's also clear the b ...more
Big part however feels like a collection of notes about various topics, without a clear storyline between them.
Some chapters consist mainly of some anecdotal stories. The actual insights could however be summarised in at most 1 paragraph.
At some moments, it's also clear the b ...more
A must-read book about leadership
I’ve actually started recommending this book to my friends and coworkers before finishing it. The title would set you for some expectations that you will realise after you start reading that it’s not right and the book’s scope is wider than this. It’s a very interesting read about leadership and very entertaining at the same time. I know that one of my weaknesses is writing a review, so sure another review would be more helpful but I wanted to express how much I ...more
I’ve actually started recommending this book to my friends and coworkers before finishing it. The title would set you for some expectations that you will realise after you start reading that it’s not right and the book’s scope is wider than this. It’s a very interesting read about leadership and very entertaining at the same time. I know that one of my weaknesses is writing a review, so sure another review would be more helpful but I wanted to express how much I ...more
I've had this book for years but am just now re-reading it for probably the 5th time and using it to create a course of instruction for technical leadership inside my organization. Jerry's insights and advice are always on point and practical but then continue on to become philosophical in the end. Hard to over recommend this book if you're leading a technical team. Doesn't matter if you yourself are technical or not. This book will improve your work experience and that of your colleagues.
...more
This book has been recommended to me by several software engineers for growing in leadership, and it was well worth the read. The questions at the end of each chapter were thought-provoking, and often had me putting the book down and spending a few moments in thought. For me that is the mark of a good self-help book. Weinberg keeps the pace going by mixing in some dialogue and stories from his consulting and workshops, which help make the content a little more interesting.
I have read a third, skimmed through past the middle and there was basically just 1 or 2 paragraphs about being a TECHNICAL leader.
There is a lot of information about pin-ball, overeating and keeping a personal diary though, so if you are interested in any of the above described in a quite wordy manner, this book is for you.
There is a lot of information about pin-ball, overeating and keeping a personal diary though, so if you are interested in any of the above described in a quite wordy manner, this book is for you.
I've learned an interesting framework from this book: MOI (motivation, organisation, inovation) and how each contributes to a person's leadership style. But what I like the most was that often time I was challenged to think about myself and my work from a new perspective and try to really understand myself as a person and my motivations.
...more
I read it in Japanese. Sometimes, there was heavy words, but overall I liked the message.
I re-read this book time to time. And I loved last paragraph, we don't know yet if we want to become a manager or not.
I really don't want to be a manager. But it was helpful to understand my managers :) ...more
I re-read this book time to time. And I loved last paragraph, we don't know yet if we want to become a manager or not.
I really don't want to be a manager. But it was helpful to understand my managers :) ...more
This was a much better book than I thought it would be. It talks about leadership but from an analytical, no BS, engineering approach. The book reads like a curious engineer who is figuring out management from first principles. Also, I LOVED the story about Shirley and the Ice cream.
This was a very helpful book I read for work.
This was my second read of the book. Still consider it great. Mostly helps you organize yourself.
This book contains a lot of stuff. That also makes it a though read. Nice stories, interleaved with good knowledge. Probably a book that I should reread in a couple of months/years.
Fun to read, many examples, took a lot from the book.
Good books for the potential technical leaders.
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