Zenmaster Phil Jackon and bulls in timeout huddle

How To Manage People Who Are Better Than You

January 6, 2024January 6, 2024 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

Talented technologists often get promoted by desire or default into management. Now with managing people, the rules have changed and success is defined differently than as an individual contributor (IC). You’ll be leading teams that may have people who know more, are smarter, have more experience, or get paid more. How do you successfully lead?

Inspired by a podcast interviewing Phil Jackson, this post alludes to useful bits of the interview with my own commentary. Read on to learn how to manage people “better” than you.

How to Manage Technical Projects

June 4, 2023June 4, 2023 Jeff Mlakar3 Comments

Over the years, in various positions, I’ve participated in many projects as a developer, lead developer, architect, jack-of-all-trades administrator, etc. I’ve also had the opportunity to lead technical projects as well.

This post focuses on techniques I have employed to successfully manage technical projects. Read on for tips regarding meetings, communication, and building your confidence.

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The Nature of Software Engineer Personality

April 30, 2023May 1, 2023 Jeff Mlakar2 Comments

The age old question of nature vs nurture influences the careers we have and the jobs we get. After being involved in software engineering most of my career, a question that comes to mind is: “can anyone do my job?” Can anyone, provided the right inputs, achieve the same output such as being a developer, systems administrator, or managing people and projects?

My conclusions have evolved over time. Read on to hear my ruminations about how our personality influences our work!

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Blogiversary #3 – Finding the Balance

November 5, 2019November 5, 2019 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

September marked the 3 year birthday for my blog. It is times like this that I like to reflect upon the past year and see what I have learned.

Read on to hear about my last year in blogging!

Blogiversary #2 – Climbing the Blog Ladder

October 5, 2018September 30, 2018 Jeff Mlakar2 Comments

Last month marked the 2 year point for my blog. At times like this I like to reflect on the past so I don’t forget it – even better to learn something from it.

Read on to hear about my last year in blogging!

How to Survive the Office Bully

June 20, 2018 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

Featured image photo credit: TheDyslexicBook.com. Licensed: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Being a software person has advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side you probably “speak machine” with ease. However we often struggle to interface well with the other humans. One of the ills of the office that I have experienced is the office bully. Over the years I have compiled an effective strategy and tactics to deal with them.

The best resource I’ve read is a book called “Beating the Workplace Bully” by Lynne Curry (twitter). The book does an exemplary job of describing the situation and prescribing treatment for dealing with the workplace bully. I share the content below. Read on to see the details and my analysis!

Blogiversary #1 – Blogging is a Ladder

October 14, 2017July 2, 2018 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

Last month marked the 1 year point for my blog. It’s been quite the year of blogging! I wrote 21 posts over the 12 months. It is a little less than I thought I’d post but I’ve learned a lot on the way.

Here’s a quick recap of my 1st year:

Drive – Your Motivation at Work is Calling

September 26, 2017September 26, 2017 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

What Moves You?

Motivation is what moves us to action. What motivates you at work? For some it is pay, others prestige, and others a wide array of things: recognition, seeing results, making a difference, working with interesting people, etc. Sometimes you need to get motivated – this article is for exactly that.

T-SQL Tuesday #93 – Interview get-help

August 8, 2017April 17, 2018 Jeff Mlakar6 Comments

The topic of this months T-SQL Tuesday #93 (hosted by Kendra Little / @Kendra_Little) is Interviewing Patterns & Anti-Patterns. The question: What advice to you have for people preparing for or going through an interview?

It is a big question with many different perspectives and factors:

Entry level vs experienced professional
Startup vs enterprise
DBA vs developer

Instead of delving into each specific domain I will discuss some insights that have served me well. I hope they will help you too. Whether you are interviewing for a Senior DBA role or an entry level BI developer some things remain the same.

Introvert at Work – How to Survive and Be Successful as a Software Engineer

January 19, 2017January 31, 2018 Jeff Mlakar9 Comments

Calling all introverts! This post is for you if:

People drain your energy and you gain it back from being alone
You sit at your desk with huge air traffic controller headphones on most of the day
You took a personality test and it said you are an introvert

If you work with software, chances are you are an introvert. There are literally dozens of us! Yet we often wear our introversion as a Scarlet Letter instead of the champion belt that it is. Keep reading to find out how to use your introversion to your advantage at work.