Leading with Heart
In October of 2022, I gave a talk at the Enterprise DevOps Summit (now the Enterprise Technology Leadership Summit) titled Leading with Heart , about a simple thesis:
As technology professionals, we've been trained to use our brains, but if we want to be effective leaders, it's the heart muscle we need to develop.
I based my talk on my experience leading a technical team out of a state of dysfunction and deadlock — not by using hard technical skills, but by leaning into my heart and using softer skills — to get them back into a state where they could start shipping code that mattered again.
Recording
Highlights
Brain vs. Heart: Leading with the brain means putting logical and technically correct solutions above everything else, while leading with the heart means putting people first. When you reach senior leadership, you can’t rely solely on your brain anymore. You might have the "correct" technical solution, but if people aren’t willing to listen or engage, it doesn’t matter. In today’s complex, matrixed organizations, technology leaders don't operate in isolation. You need to work closely with leaders from other departments.
DevOps Principles in Enterprise IT: Discussed applying DevOps principles to enterprise IT environments, particularly in low code and no code systems, to improve quality, increase stability, and enhance team morale.
Cultural Transformation: Shared a personal journey of leading a cultural shift within an IT department, focusing on creating a collaborative environment and breaking down silos. Referenced the Westrum Organizational Model for generative cultures, and Ron Westrum was even in the room! (photos below)
Impact of Leadership Style: Illustrated how leadership focused on psychological safety, collaboration, and a unified team goal led to successful project outcomes and improved trust with business partners.
Practical Strategies for Change: Offered specific strategies such as automating everything, making work visible, and focusing on incremental delivery over big bang releases.
The Role of Communication: Emphasized the importance of communication with all levels of stakeholders to ensure alignment and buy-in for IT initiatives.
Consider
DevOps typically addresses technical constraints. I’d love to further explore and understand how culture contributes to the flow of value within the enterprise. The story in my talk was one such example whereby focusing on culture, I increased flow from a state of deadlock to one of small, incremental delivery.
How can we turn soft skills into hard skills and normalize a new leadership style for the modern age?
After highlighting the Westrum Organizational model in my talk I got to meet the great Ron Westrum in person!
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