Coded2Lead LLC

Founder & CEO

ONE Discovery Inc.

I’ve had the privilege of leading engineering efforts to redefine what’s possible in the eDiscovery space. My mission is to merge innovation with collaboration, delivering high-impact solutions that drive both technical and business excellence.

One of my proudest achievements is spearheading the development of a cutting-edge Information Governance product capable of inventorying and searching unstructured enterprise data at petabyte scale. 

Built on a distributed microservices architecture, this transformative product progressed from concept to MVP in just 3 months, all thanks to a lean and highly focused team of three engineers.

Throughout my tenure, I’ve prioritized building and nurturing high-performing teams. Leading 3 engineering teams and a QA team across onshore, offshore, and remote environments, I’ve fostered a culture rooted in trust, growth, and innovation. 

This approach has not only unified diverse teams but has also led to tangible results: a 33% reduction in bug creation rates and a dramatic acceleration of flagship product release cycles—from 7 months to just 2 weeks.

What sets our engineering culture apart is its people-first focus. I’ve worked hard to create a supportive, growth-oriented environment where top technical talent thrives. 

Combining this ethos with a forward-looking approach to technology has enabled me to drive the strategic evaluation and integration of emerging technologies, ensuring our offerings remain ahead of the curve in a competitive market.

Collaboration with product management, executives, and stakeholders has reinforced my belief that great technology is built on trust, teamwork, and a relentless drive to innovate.

Innovation doesn’t happen in silos—it requires a balance of technical expertise, empathetic leadership, and a shared purpose. 

At ONE Discovery, I’m proud to play a part in creating scalable solutions, enabling exceptional teams, and driving meaningful impact for our customers.

Vice President of Engineering

Driven, Inc.

As Director of Research and Development at Driven Inc., I was brought on to revitalize the R&D department for this $20M national provider of legal services. 

My mission was to drive innovation, operational excellence, and cutting-edge product development in alignment with strategic business objectives.

One of my defining achievements was leading the design, planning, and development of a groundbreaking SaaS product for a major credit card company. 

Starting from concept, I delivered a fully functional 1.0 public release in under 6 months. This was achieved by leveraging agile methodologies and working with a lean team of just 2 engineers—a testament to the team’s focus, collaboration, and technical expertise.

Close collaboration with executives, subject matter experts, and client stakeholders was at the core of this role. 

Together, we crafted detailed project plans, schedules, and roadmaps, ensuring alignment with both client needs and company goals. Monthly product updates were released rapidly, integrating customer feedback to achieve product maturity and consistently high user satisfaction.

In this role, I championed the integration of innovative technologies into the R&D process, significantly enhancing team productivity and unlocking advanced product capabilities. 

By fostering a collaborative culture of open communication among R&D staff, I ensured seamless teamwork on complex projects and cross-departmental initiatives. This approach not only empowered my teams but also accelerated the delivery of impactful solutions for our clients.

This position was a showcase of my ability to lead lean teams, adapt to fast-paced environments, and transform innovative concepts into tangible products that drive value and exceed expectations.

Director of Research and Development

Omnivere

Joining this $100M legal service provider specializing in eDiscovery, forensics, staffing, managed review, and consulting was an opportunity to redefine IT strategy and align technology with business growth. 

Partnering with the CEO and executive team, I spearheaded initiatives to modernize infrastructure, consolidate systems, and ensure operational resilience, all while fostering collaboration across departments.

One of my key focuses was building a high-performing IT team. I coached and managed a talented group of 14 infrastructure and software development specialists, including remote teleworkers, creating a culture of trust, innovation, and excellence. 

Together, we supported the technical needs of 200 internal and 600 external users across 5 business units, 6 offices, and 4 data centers.

Leveraging a $1.5M budget, I developed a comprehensive technology roadmap that prioritized business continuity, disaster recovery, and infrastructure modernization. 

This included leading change management and business continuity committees and overseeing the planning, design, and execution of disaster recovery initiatives across physical and cloud-based systems.

Ensuring security and compliance was a cornerstone of my role. By maintaining ISO 27001 certification and enforcing robust information security policies, I elevated the company’s reputation for reliability and risk management. 

My collaboration with finance, sales, and marketing departments ensured technology investments aligned with broader business goals, including training sales teams on the company’s unique technology capabilities to enhance client engagement.

This role exemplified my ability to merge strategic IT leadership with operational execution, driving innovation while ensuring the seamless delivery of services to clients and internal stakeholders.

Chief Information Officer

Kiersted Systems

As Vice President of Technology, I had the privilege of shaping the technology strategy for a $12M eDiscovery and legal technology leader, driving innovation and aligning IT initiatives with the company’s business goals. 

This role allowed me to lead transformative projects that strengthened operational efficiency and empowered teams to deliver exceptional results.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my leadership was building and mentoring high-performing technology teams. 

By prioritizing effective recruitment, hands-on training, and strategic performance management, I cultivated a culture of collaboration and innovation that consistently exceeded expectations. 

This approach enabled the company to scale rapidly, achieving a 15x increase in core business service capacity and driving 12x revenue growth through the modernization of application development with Agile, DevOps, and n-tier methodologies.

Guiding the company through complex technology migrations was another defining element of my tenure. 

By implementing streamlined processes, I ensured minimal disruption to end-users while significantly enhancing system stability and performance. 

Alongside these initiatives, I led the charge to achieve ISO 27001 certification within 12 months—establishing the company’s first formal security framework and elevating compliance standards.

Operational excellence was a cornerstone of my strategy. 

Through proactive maintenance and streamlined technical operations, I maintained 99.97% system uptime, ensuring seamless service delivery and reinforcing the company's reputation for reliability.

This role showcased my ability to lead with both technical precision and a people-first mindset, ensuring technology and strategy worked in harmony to drive exceptional outcomes.

Vice President, Technology

👋 You’re a brilliant engineer. You’ve mastered the code, earned respect, and now… you’ve been promoted. Suddenly, the job isn’t just about solving technical problems - it’s about leading humans.

That’s where many engineers struggle. Delegation feels awkward. Communication breaks down. Imposter syndrome creeps in. What once made you successful - technical mastery - no longer feels like enough.

Meanwhile, if you’re a CEO or CTO, you’ve seen this story before: your rockstar IC gets promoted… and flounders. The team loses momentum. You risk losing both a great engineer and a leadership pipeline.

👉 That’s why I created coded2lead: a coaching program built specifically for engineers making the IC→leader leap.

With 20+ years scaling teams and shipping software at global scale, I’ve lived both sides of this challenge. Now I help:

Engineers: Develop emotional intelligence, leadership confidence, and the skills to multiply team impact.

Executives: Build a leadership bench you can trust, without burning out your best talent.

✨ My approach blends the rigor of engineering with the nuance of human connection - practical tools + emotional intelligence = sustainable leadership growth.

If you or your engineers are navigating this transition, let’s talk.

📅 Book a coaching intro call: coded2lead.com

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be speaking at the Tech Leader Summit on December 5 in Clearwater, Florida!

My session is called “Debugging Developers – A Field Guide to Emotionally Intelligent Leadership.”

It’s for every engineer who got into tech to avoid people… and then found themselves leading them.

This talk is a field guide for evolving from code-centric problem solver to emotionally intelligent catalyst.

Drawing from my background in psychology, anthropology, and two decades of real-world engineering leadership, I’ll share:

👉 How to spot emotional “exceptions” in your team

👉 How to refactor toxic dynamics without losing technical rigor

👉 How to architect cultures of trust and psychological safety

If you’ll be at the summit, I’d love to connect. 

And if this resonates, drop a comment or share with a fellow tech lead who’s ready to level up their leadership.

Can't make it to the conference, but want to dive deeper into how this style of leadership could help you and your team? DM me and let's schedule your free consultation!

Robert N. Harris

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Helping Brilliant Engineers Become Emotionally Intelligent Leaders | Founder, coded2lead | Coaching Engineers, CTOs & CEOs Through IC→Leader Transitions

Are you a Texas-based leader with ambition in your veins?

Then don’t just dream it, move it. The Executive Symposium by Ambition In Motion is where leadership meets momentum.

These informal gatherings bring together peers from across industries, each with unique perspectives on the universal challenges we face. It’s not just networking; it’s cross-pollination for growth.

I had the pleasure of attending the latest event on October 7 at the Houston Dynamo headquarters, titled: People-Centric Growth: Aligning Purpose, Leadership, and Profit.

Hosted by founder Garrett Mintz, the evening was a blend of connection, problem-solving, and a powerful panel featuring executives with diverse backgrounds from metal fabrication to professional soccer team management.

With food, fellowship, and the Houston skyline glowing at sunset, it was a reminder: 

Leadership isn’t a solo sport -  it’s a team effort across disciplines.

If you’re ready to lead with purpose, I highly recommend joining the next one.

Ambition In Motion

Executive Mastermind Group Facilitator for People Leaders | AIM Insights Software Provider | Helping Owners and Executives Better Understand How Their Managers are Performing Based On Employee Sentiment

⚖️ Balance begins with boundaries 🧱 

We spill a lot of digital ink on work-life balance - and for good reason. It’s vital for your well-being and your team’s.

Most of the time it's brought up in the context of protecting your life outside of work...

But when you’re juggling a full-time remote job and a solopreneur side-hustle, those boundaries blur fast. Especially in a house with six people, each on their own schedule.

My “office” is our open formal dining room - no doors, just the only unclaimed space in the house. 

I cherish that my family wants to talk, seek advice, or just be near me. But sometimes… I need to get stuff done.

🎧 My headphones are the first line of defense. If I've got them on, mostly they get the hint. Mostly.

When that doesn't work? I summon Grumpy Cat for aid. 😾 

With this not-so-subtle reminder on my desk, people get the message loud and clear: dad needs some focus time.

How do you carve out focus time when home is your office... and your sanctuary?

🎃 “Stand back! I’m about to perform an extroversion.”

The lights flicker. 
The meeting begins. 
I clutch my coffee like a talisman and whisper the ancient incantation: 
“Let’s go around and introduce ourselves.”

Today, I’m performing an extroversion - a ritual many quiet leaders know too well. 

It’s not possession, but it feels like it. 
I summon a louder version of myself to survive the spotlight, to meet expectations, to “bring energy” to rooms that mistake volume for value.

But here’s the truth: 
I’m not haunted. 
I’m just tired.

So many brilliant engineers, founders, and leaders burn out trying to perform extroversion instead of owning their quiet power. 

We contort ourselves into charismatic shapes, hoping to be seen as “natural leaders,” when our real magic lies in listening, synthesizing, and building trust in the shadows.

This spooky season, I’m exorcising the myth: 
👻 That leadership must be loud 
🧛 That charisma equals competence 
🕯️ That introversion is something to overcome

I’m reclaiming my quiet power... and inviting others to do the same. 
Because leading isn’t about being loud. 
It’s about being effective.

👉 Whether you’re haunted by calendar invites or cursed by icebreakers, I’ve got tools to help you lead without losing yourself. DM me to get started. 

📢 Shoutout to Jessica Xin Dong for the brilliant comment that inspired this.

Building tech teams that deliver outcomes, not excuses. For NZ leaders who treat recruitment as strategy, not admin.

I'm outta here!

I'm taking a PTO day, and that means Prepare The Others.

I put my track driving habit on hold a year ago to focus on building my career and starting my coaching business.

I've got a long ways to go, but I think I've earned a day off and a return to form 😅 

So I am West bound and down, enjoying a father-son road trip and track day with my son and his best friend.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯. 

I'll be behind the wheel all day in beautiful San Marcos, Texas, so I won't be around here much. 

Be excellent to each other, and I'll be back on my usual schedule tomorrow....or I'll have a hell of a story to tell at a later date 😂 

Peace.

You need a license to hunt, fish, or drive. 
But they'll let anybody manage software engineers.

No training. 
No mentorship. 
No emotional prep. 
Just a tap on the shoulder and a calendar suddenly full of meetings.

Meet, 𝘶𝘮, Roger. 
A brilliant IC. 
Crushed every sprint. 
Refactored legacy code like it was origami. 
People said, “Roger's a rockstar.” 
So they promoted him.

Now he's a manager. 
No roadmap. 
No coaching. 
No clue.

Suddenly, Roger's job isn’t code, it’s conflict. 
Two teammates aren’t speaking. 
One’s burned out. 
Another one is quietly job hunting.

Roger’s trying to debug humans. 
But there’s no stack trace for trust. 
No unit test for psychological safety. 
No package manager for emotional intelligence.

Engineering leaders are drowning. 
Not because they’re weak. 
Because they were never trained to swim in these unfamiliar waters.

🛠️ Train your leaders. Don’t just promote them.

Are you ready to stop winging it? 
Let’s build your leadership license, together.
👉 coded2lead.com | Coaching for engineers who lead humans, not just projects.

🔧 DIY Sunday - can staff augmentation get me back on track?

I’m a huge believer in building the skills, discipline, and habits to solve your own problems.

My independence streak runs very deep. Sometimes, to a fault...

In my rapidly advancing middle age, I've learned from experience what I'm capable of, and when I need to ask for help.

I was reminded of that over the weekend when I was doing my pre-track day inspection on my car. 

I took a year off from that hobby to work on my brand and career, but I'd scheduled a father-son track day for October so it was time for a thorough inspection.

🔧 Oil change, air filter, and fresh brake fluid? Easy like Sunday morning. ☺️ 

🔧 Shock absorber bump stop left the chat? Tedious, but doable. 😐 

🔧 Coolant turned as dark as my sense of humor? NOPE. 🙁 

I don't have the tools - or the training - for that one. So I called my trusty mechanic and handed Maggie over, confident it’d be done right.

Even people with years of experience in their craft need help sometimes. 

Who's the "mechanic" you trust when you need help, at work or in life?

📷 My favorite car air freshener - a stack of tires in the back seat!

🚨 Shy Developer Syndrome is the hidden bug in your team’s culture: 

Some of the smartest engineers in the room say the least during meetings.

Not because they don’t care.
Not because they don’t have ideas.
But because at some point, they learned silence feels safer than speaking up.

I call this 𝗦𝗵𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗲.

It’s not about being introverted. 
It’s about psychological safety, scars from past leaders, and the invisible cost-benefit analysis of “Is it worth saying this out loud?”

That’s why I run “vibe checks.”
Not TikTok vibes - real ones.

1:1 conversations with the quietest voices in the room.

And guess what? The insights I hear are often the missing puzzle pieces:

🧩 The fix that could save two weeks of rework.
🧩 The perspective that shifts team dynamics.
🧩 The idea that fuels real innovation.

Here’s the lesson: 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘆. 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹.

The best engineering leaders know how to listen for silence, and create spaces where developers don’t need a vibe check to share their truth.

Because when psychological safety is part of the architecture, your team unlocks its full potential.

👉 If you’re leading engineers and want help building that kind of culture, let’s talk. I coach leaders to transform silence into signals... and teams into innovation powerhouses.

Shy Developer Syndrome

Before you wrote your first line of code, life was already teaching you how to debug. What’s one lesson from outside tech that still shapes how you lead?

None of us simply appeared fully formed in our current role. 

Every one of us has lived a journey that includes previous roles and careers, as well as life experiences outside of work.

Those journeys and experiences shaped us into the people we are today.

They gave us the tools we use to navigate our professional lives beyond our "official" training. 

What's something you learned along the way from another season of your life that you still use today?

I've got a couple. 

My favorite from the motorcycle shop: Never force anything, just get a bigger hammer. 😂 

From the museum: Don't hire an architect when a carpenter will do.

I guess they both come down to the same nugget of wisdom: use the right tool for the job, and keep it simple.

Let's hear yours!

Friday Fun - What software engineering leadership certifications do you wish  existed?

I recently wrote "You need a license to hunt, fish, or drive. But they'll let anybody manage software engineers."

I was expecting some lively discussions in the comments, and you didn't disappoint!

In particular, Wojciech Zawistowski pointed out that it's "one of the few jobs working so closely with people that doesn't require any official credentials."

So I thought it would be fun to come up with a list of those credentials that you really wish existed.

Here's mine:

🤫  Certified in Awkward Silence Navigation - Can sit through 45 seconds of unbroken silence in a 1:1 without panicking.

📅  Calendar Tetris License - Can fit 9 meetings into a 8-hour day and still pretend to be present.

⚒️  Certified Slack Archaeologist - Unearths context from a 3-message thread buried under 47 emojis and a GIF.

🧙‍♂️ Certified Trust Builder - Can rebuild psychological safety using only a meme and a well-timed “how are you really?”

🧠 Master of the ‘Quick Sync That’s Actually a Therapy Session’ - Specializes in meetings that start with Jira and end with tears.

Which ones would you add? Drop them in the comments below. 👇 

Need help with any of these unofficial but totally real and necessary skills? I'm ready to be your remote debugger for leadership. Let's talk!

FromTheTrenches.dev | Insights for devs and managers

🌾 Seedpod Saturday: Harvest Season Has Begun

This year, the garden gave me more than flowers and (one) cucumber; it gave me clarity.

Some plants blossomed. Others withered. 

But now, as the seedpods dry and split open, I’m gathering what worked... not just in the soil, but in my leadership, my coaching, and my creative experiments.

🌱 What I’m keeping:

In the garden, the purple angel trumpets and gazanias were the runaway hits.
We'll be seeing a lot more of them next year.

On the platform, the posts where I frame leadership stories through the lens of other domains like parenting, racing, and of course gardening.

These are my seeds. I’ll dry them, label them, and plant them again next season... with new soil, new locations, and maybe a bit more shade where needed.

🥀 What I’m letting go:

In the garden, the moonflowers and white angel trumpets. 
They had their moments of beauty, but in the end they took more than they returned. 

On the platform, forcing myself to post every day. Maybe... 
I'm going to finish the year of daily posts (because I'm stubborn like that 😂), but next year I'm not going to sweat it if some days I just don't have a story worth sharing. 

Just like in my garden, some pods were empty. That’s okay. Not every bloom bears fruit.

🌻 If you’re harvesting this season - creatively, professionally, personally - what seeds are you saving? What are you composting?

Let’s trade seedpods. 

Not just the literal ones (though I’ve got more seeds than I know what to do with), but the emotional ones. 
The lessons. The metaphors. 
The tiny kernels of truth that might grow into something beautiful next year.

Who's with me?

Sunday Reflections: It’s always darkest before the first inbound lead.

A month ago, I launched my coaching business.

I was excited. Energized. Ready to serve.

I got a lot of support from my network and peers in the comments, for which I am truly humbled and grateful.

Then… silence.

No leads. 
No inquiries. 
Just me, posting content and wondering if anyone was even listening.

I started to doubt myself... 
Maybe I launched too soon. 
Maybe I wasn’t clear enough. 
Maybe I wasn’t good enough.

But this week, someone I connected with months ago who had been quietly watching... reached out.

Turns out, people are listening. 
Even when it feels like they’re not.

Ross Bentley, a high-performance driving coach I admire, once said something like:
“If you feel stuck and not making progress, you're about to.”

That quote lives rent-free in my head. 
Because it’s true.
Not just in racing, but in business, in life, in growth.

So if you’re building something and it feels like no one’s noticing: keep going. 

Your first inbound lead might be closer than you think.

“𝗦𝗼, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲?”

I wasn't expecting that 1:1 with my loyal but disgruntled senior network administrator to end that way, but there we were. 

Not out of spite.
Out of clarity.

We’d danced around the tension long enough.
He needed a clean exit.
I needed to lead.

Another time, my rockstar developer laid down on my office couch and said:

“𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁, 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁.”

I didn’t try to pep talk him. I just said:

“𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄.”

Because I did.
And pretending otherwise would’ve been a betrayal of trust.

There’s a lot of advice floating around about being a “more empathetic leader.”

And yes - empathy matters. Deeply.

But let’s be honest: it’s not all soft tones and active listening.

Sometimes leadership means asking the hard question or stating the painful truth 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 you care.

It's having those tough conversations, even when it means you might lose your best employee.

💬 These moments weren’t easy.
But they were honest.
And they built more trust than any performance review ever could.

If you’re leading engineers - or anyone, really - don’t confuse empathy with enabling.

Empathy without boundaries is just toxicity in disguise.

Real leadership means holding space for the truth, even when it hurts.

It also means making space for growth, even when that growth means losing a valued employee.

That network engineer?
He went on to start the smart home automation business he'd been dreaming of.

My rockstar developer?
He's now a published author and a respected keynote speaker who travels the world.

🛠️ If you’re a technical leader navigating hard conversations, I coach engineers and founders to lead with empathy 𝙖𝙣𝙙 clarity.

Let’s build your emotional toolkit - so you can stop avoiding the truth and start leading through it.

📩 DM me or visit coded2lead.com to learn more about coaching that doesn’t sugarcoat leadership.

Friday Follies - how many off by one errors can I fit into a single function?

Probably at least one more than I was expecting. 😂 

They say there's only 2 real problems in software development:

[0] - Naming things.
[1] - Cache invalidation.
[2] - Off by one errors.

Drop your worst off-by-one war story in the comments and claim your merit badge. Bonus points if it took down prod!

Shoutout to the irrepressible Michael Carducci for that punchline.

Multipotentialite Magician & Holistic Software Architect

Are you building a team, or just a bunch of helpers?

If your team still needs you for every little detail, you can’t scale.

I see it happen all the time.

Engineering managers who build teams of doers...but not decision-makers.

The result? Every pull request, every obstacle, every trade-off still comes back to them.

They become the constraining resource.

The single point of failure.

Here’s the truth:

Without an empowered team, your reach will never exceed your grasp.

Empowered teams don’t just follow the plan.

They anticipate.

They adapt.

They solve.

And the shift happens when you stop asking, “Who can help me get this done?” and start asking, “Who can own this so I don’t have to?”

That’s how you start to scale.

If this hits close to home, you’re not alone.

Most leaders I coach start right here - overextended and worried they’re the bottleneck.

The bad news? 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲.

The good news? You can grow teams that grow the business, even when you’re not on the front lines.

👉 I help engineering leaders make this leap. DM me, and let’s start scaling 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 leadership!

Sunday Self-Reflections: Calm in the Chaos

We talk a lot here about what makes a great leader.

One recurring theme? Staying calm and purposeful when things go sideways.

Last week, I got an unexpected test of my leadership abilities in a stressful situation.

What started as a fun race track adventure with my son and his best friend turned into a smoky engine bay, 100 miles from home.

His car was done for the day. No parts stores nearby. No quick fix.

He was understandably upset. I wasn’t, because we had options - contingency plans I'd put in place well ahead of time.

🔧 Plan [0]: Tools packed for common road trip + track day issues. This wasn’t one of them.

🥤 Plan [1]: Food and water for a day, just in case. Luckily, we broke down in a McDonald's parking lot.

🚗 Plan [2]: We caravanned. We could’ve left the car and returned later, but we didn’t need to because...

🛻 Plan [3]: AAA to the rescue.

We had a late dinner, waited for the tow, and made it home by midnight. 

Repairs are scheduled for today.

Reflecting on it, staying calm in chaos boils down to two things:

𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲.

As leaders, our job is to anticipate failure modes and build contingencies into the system.

That preparation gives us the confidence, and the emotional bandwidth, to lead with clarity when things go off-script.

How do you lead your team through the storm?

📷 How it started v. how it ended, + bonus race track sunset.

How on earth did two ratty old BMWs make it home without breaking down  and the Honda didn't? 😂

🏎️ "Robert, I want you to hit that cone."

I most emphatically did 𝘕𝘖𝘛 want to hit that cone. 😠 

I was driving on the skidpad at the regional autocross racing school, and my instructor had honed in on my biggest obstacle: 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿.

Fear of hitting something, of losing control, of damaging my car, of making a mistake.

Fear...of failing. 😔 

And it was holding me back. I wasn't pushing the car enough. I was timid...playing it safe. 

But I stepped out in faith, and clipped that traffic cone hard enough to send it sailing across the track.

I laughed out loud. It felt...liberating.

That instructor taught me a valuable lesson I've used ever since - face your fears by making those mistakes, but make them in a safe, controlled environment.

When I hit that cone, I did it with confidence because there was no chance I was going to hurt anyone or anything. 

There's a leadership lesson here:

Where is fear holding your team back? 

And what are you doing to help them overcome those fears with psychological safety?

If you’re leading engineers, it’s your job to set up the cones - and the safety net. DM me if you're ready to rewire your team's fear into fuel.

📷 Cone hunting in the mighty Civic

🏃‍♂️‍➡️ Self-improvement Saturday - I need to step up my game!

My "getting my steps in" game, that is. 😅 

I've recently confessed here that my self-care routine has taken a back seat for far too long. 

I need to get back into fighting shape.

I've made some progress, getting quick walks in as the opportunity arises randomly. 

And when insomnia has me up before the sun, my go-to remedy is a long walk by myself under the stars. 🌃 

Since I'm a data-driven typa dude, I was curious what my walking trend was looking like. 

It's trending upward ever so slightly, but....what the heck was going on back in May?!?!

It took me a while to figure it out. Would you care to guess? 

How's everyone else doing with their self-care and fitness?

"We’re releasing on Friday."
Did that make you uncomfortable?
It's the most feared phrase in engineering.

I don't even like to 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦 on a Friday, let alone release.

With all our modern DevOps and test automation wizardry, we should be able to release with confidence no matter what time or day it is.

And yet...we're anything but confident about those end of the week deployments. 

Why? 

Marvin Gaye said it best:
Ain't nothing like the real thing.

And there's nothing more real than putting the latest version of your creation into the real users' hands. 

No matter how good your QA and staging environments are, they aren't prod.

Finding out what hidden gotchas await at the end of the week, when energy is ebbing and focus is already starting to blur, is a recipe for a bad time.

We've all been there, so let's have a little fun with it. 

Drop your Friday release horror story in the comments, and let me know how many squares you checked off the bingo card.

Sunday Chores - you don't have to do it all by yourself. 

𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦?

On a platform built for presenting our most curated, professional, polished versions of ourselves... it helps to remember we're all real people too.

Well, except for the bots. If you're a bot, you can stop reading this. 🤖 

For the rest of us, I'd like to acknowledge there's a whole lot of 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 going on behind every picture-perfect post.

We're all something more than just our LinkedIn persona.

For me, that's taking care of my big family (4 kids at home!), the house we live in, the cars we drive, and keeping up with my career and hobbies while still leaving enough time to end every day holding my amazing wife's hand on the couch while we unwind.

And that...takes a lot of work.

With the endless treadmill of chores and responsibilities, it's nice to have some help every once in a while.

Even my lighthearted 🌱 Seedling Saturday series requires a lot of upkeep behind the scenes.

I'm grateful for the (slightly) cooler temps, but I still need to water regularly. 🚿 

Fortunately, I can always count on Sophie to help me unwind the water hose. 🐶 

Who’s helping you keep it all together behind the scenes?

Taplio

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