Developer Tea

This episode includes practical techniques to prepare for the unexpected by identifying vulnerabilities and building resilience, using the "curse question" and the "assumption audit" to help you turn potential problems into strategic advantages. • Uncover how to use a "curse question" to expose vulnerabilities you didn't know you had, by imagining realistic negative scenarios and what could go wro...

In this episode, we discuss how invisible inertia can cause us to misinterpret our reality in work scenarios. • Discover why common misconceptions about behaviour are so difficult to spot. • Explore why your "unique" situation might be a common trap, a "uniqueness bias". • Learn how exceptional states can become the norm and impact your life. • Uncover how people's values shape company culture, an...

Time-crunched and data-scarce? Learn how the RPD model can leverage expertise and intuition to speed up decision-making, and how the 'Rubicon' moment can make your team more action-oriented. Stop endless planning and start doing: Learn how understanding action phases can help your team move faster from discussion to delivery. • Is your team stuck in debate? Discover the "Rubicon" moment and how cr...

Use "What" to get more specific. Align actions with intentions for better time management. • Stop wasting time on autopilot. Discover the power of the Five Whats and start being intentional with your time. • Tired of vague labels? Ask yourself, "What am I actually doing?" to gain clarity over your activities. • Learn how to move beyond "focus time" and define the specific actions you're taking. •...

In today's episode, we're focusing on taking your resolutions and making them matter. I will give you two challenges in this episode to improve the quality and potential of success for your resolutions. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Wix Studio Devs, if you think website builders mean limited control—think again. With Wix Studio’s developer-first ecosystem you can spend less time on tedi...

Today, we celebrate 10 years of Developer Tea. I wouldn't be doing this podcast without you listening. Especially if you have been listening for many years, thank you! 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that you have on the show, drop it over at: developertea.com. 📮 Join the Discord If you want to be a part of a supportive community of engineers...

How can you create better scientific wild a** guesses when the work is not well defined? We discuss a few strategies in this episode. We also talk a bit about what an estimate is in the first place, and how it differs from a commitment / deadline. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Wix Studio Devs, if you think website builders mean limited control—think again. With Wix Studio’s developer-fi...

Are you operating in the world, or are you working on a problem? This shift in agency can make all the difference in your career. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Wix Studio Devs, if you think website builders mean limited control—think again. With Wix Studio’s developer-first ecosystem you can spend less time on tedious tasks and more on the functionalities that matters most: ● Develop on...

Can you use ChatGPT to become a better engineer? I'm not just talking about learning a language or fixing a bug with ChatGPT providing advice... I'm talking about career simulations. In this episode we discuss how the airline industry has fixed the problem of experience, and how we can learn from their insights to create low-stakes learning environments that boost our career and confidence through...

In today's episode we discuss the concept of adopting self-coaching personas, and discuss the third persona, "Shoulder Socrates." 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Wix Studio Devs, if you think website builders mean limited control—think again. With Wix Studio’s developer-first ecosystem you can spend less time on tedious tasks and more on the functionalities that matters most: ● Develop on...

In today's episode we discuss the concept of adopting self-coaching personas, and discuss the second persona, the over-optimizer. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Wix Studio Devs, if you think website builders mean limited control—think again. With Wix Studio’s developer-first ecosystem you can spend less time on tedious tasks and more on the functionalities that matters most: ● Develop on...

In today's episode we discuss the concept of adopting self-coaching personas, and discuss a critical first persona to start with. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Wix Studio Devs, if you think website builders mean limited control—think again. With Wix Studio’s developer-first ecosystem you can spend less time on tedious tasks and more on the functionalities that matters most: ● Develop on...

High-leverage work often comes in the simplest form of helping another person with their efforts. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that you have on the show, drop it over at: developertea.com. 📮 Join the Discord If you want to be a part of a supportive community of engineers (non-engineers welcome!) working to improve their lives and careers, j...

Learn to prioritize, and everything else falls into place. This is clarity through perspective and purpose. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that you have on the show, drop it over at: developertea.com. 📮 Join the Discord If you want to be a part of a supportive community of engineers (non-engineers welcome!) working to improve their lives and...

Your career growth will be directly correlated to your ability to solve critical unsolved problems in the gaps of your organization's problems. Focus on finding the problems that have a high chance of success for you specifically - the low hanging fruit. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that you have on the show, drop it over at: developertea.co...

In this episode we discuss the delineation between culture and values. What you allow is just as important as what you value. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives engineering teams the answers they need to get their jobs done – without having to wait on or interrupt...

The blunt reality: Merit cycles are not how you build your earning power or career. They are a function of company culture and HR, and generally speaking are disconnected from your biggest opportunities for growth. So, where should you focus? That's what we talk about in today's episode. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing...

In today's episode we discuss focus, again. This time, through the lens of a few mental models that help us decide what is actually the right thing to focus on. You'll learn the real enemy of focus (note: it's not just distraction). 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gi...

I'm joined today by Brian Pulliam. I've personally engaged Brian as a career coach. In this discussion we'll talk a bit about coaching, and about how you can set yourself up to become a much better candidate in your job search as an engineering leader. Values Exercise Live: Jonathan and Brian perform a live exercise, transforming company core values into interview questions. Discussing the importa...

I'm joined today by Brian Pulliam. I've personally engaged Brian as a career coach. In this discussion we'll talk a bit about coaching, and about how you can set yourself up to become a much better candidate in your job search as an engineering leader. Introduction to Career Coaching: What is a career coach and how they differ from a manager or mentor. Brian Pulliam shares his journey from tech to...

In this episode we talk about the concept of "resetting your base" - moving in a direction you don't necessarily want to go in order to achieve better outcomes in the long run. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives engineering teams the answers they need to get their...

In today's episode we discuss how you might build your confidence without being disingenuous. This isn't a lesson in psychology or tricks - it's about building true confidence in what you do (and importantly, don't) know. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives enginee...

In today's episode, we'll discuss an absolutely simple structure for prioritization and information flow in your daily work. The flow relies on a basic text editor - that's it! 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives engineering teams the answers they need to get their...

You have seen "bias to action" on job requirements, but what does this really mean? Is it something that can be learned? Make sure you know the difference between this skill and a more automatic cognitive bias. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that you have on the show, drop it over at: developertea.com. 📮 Join the Discord If you want to be a p...

In this episode, we use the Start / Stop / Continue framework in a new way. As leaders, we should always know what outcome indicators a given discussion is based on. In this episode, we discuss the three core outcome indicators for managers to pay close attention to. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that you have on the show, drop it over at: de...