You must help your team turn obstacles into assets. That means helping them to see their problems, impediments, blockers, and hurdles as learning opportunities. Sound crazy?  Here are a few examples… 1. Are new requirements derailing a project deadline?  Maybe there’s a learning opportunity around incremental releases.  Or about estimating with ranges.  Or about change orders.…

Last week in our Tech Leader Mentoring Group we discussed our team’s underperforming activities.  All teams have them (because no individual or team is perfect), yet we don’t often stop and look for them.  This week we did, and we came up with some great ones, including estimation points, team retrospectives, and one-on-one meetings. Now let me clarify: these…

Hello, my name is Marcus Blankenship, and I’m a wallower. And not just an amateur one.  I’m a professional, Level 80, Grand Master-Poobah wallower.  I’m capable of wallowing and worrying in any situation. Even when things are going well, I’m secretly waiting for it all to come crashing down.  And when things aren’t going well,…

From ten feet away I can’t tell if someone is wearing a Timex, Omega or Rolex. Since all three keep perfect time, are waterproof to 100m, and look so similar why would someone spend $9,000 instead of $90 on a timepiece? As you have guessed, spending $9,000 on a watch says something significant about the buyers status,…

Today by the campfire I thunk a thought to share with you. If a simulation teaches something about real life, how much more does real life teach? (Profound, huh?!? <grin>) Put another way: if people can learn so much from a simulation why can’t they learn the same lessons from real life? Of course, they can.…

As I mentioned, I’m camping on the Oregon coast this week.  Locked in our 25′ travel trailer, working from tethered iPhone wifi, Amy and I have gotten a touch of cabin fever.  We’ve been talking a lot about what we learned leading the Technology Leadership simulation, and how we can take this show on the road…

I’ll keep this brief.  The most surprising part of last week’s leadership training simulation was when someone asked me: Are you really a clueless manager, or are you playing a role? My dirty-little-secret?  I wish I could say it was all an act, but it wasn’t.   That night in the hotel I reflected on the…

I’m on “vacation” this week, which means I’m writing you from a trailer on the Oregon coast.  I was backing my travel trailer into the campsite when a voice boomed from the bushes: “Dude, crank it to the left!” This 6′ 4″ guy with a buzz-cut emerges from the bushes and starts barking orders at…

I was chatting with my general contractor, and the subject of offering feedback to team members came up.  See if this sounds familiar. He said, “I get soooooo sick of nagging them to do things right, I feel like I’m constantly complaining.  I want to be a good boss, so now instead of complaining about…

Last week my wife, Amy, and I ran fifteen technical leaders through two days of leadership simulations, evoking laughter, conflict and even a few tears.  The situations may have been fake, but the emotions were real. In fact, the simulation was so real that people started cheating.  In fact, one participant cornered me in the hallway and…

I’m leading a Technology Leadership workshop in San Jose at Velocity Conference this week.  Thanks to the Experiential Learning Bundle by Jerry Weinberg (and his generosity to walk me through them), I’m pleased to report the first day went very well. We did a wonderful simulation from the Invention book called the “Tinkering with Toys” which…

Casey asked this question today: “I find that taking on these clients makes it more stressful for everyone in the long run, but sales will take them on anyway…for the sale. I’d like to think to curate our clientele intentionally would weed out the bad seeds, but what about the business? How do I convince…

Does this sound familiar? <start> January: “, I’m super excited to hire your team to build this.  Let’s do it!  When do we start?” February: “Hey, I’m too busy to meet this week.  Just email over what you have, and I’ll let you know how it looks.” March: “Hi, about that last the invoice…  Yeah, sorry, I’ve…

Quick trick question: Which is more important when running your team: being task focused or relationship focused? Of course, you know they both matter. As a technical leader, you can’t afford to neglect either one. But I sometimes didn’t balance very well, because I was better at one than the other. For example, I’m a…

Kendall wrote in with this question and was kind enough to allow me to share the answer with y’all. Hey Marcus, I’ve experienced that sort of thing where my boss delegates a decision back to me, but then I’m not afforded the time-capacity needed to learn more. The client wants an answer now, and if…