Becoming a Technical Leader

by Gerald Weinberg

Overview

Becoming a Technical Leader is a personalized guide to developing the qualities that make a successful leader. It identifies which leadership skills are most effective in a technical environment and why technical people have characteristic trouble in making the transition to a leadership role. For anyone who is a leader, hopes to be one, or would like to avoid being one.

This is an excellent book for anyone who is a leader, who wants to be a leader, or who thinks only people with 'leader' or 'manager' in their title are leaders. The book can be described briefly as a guide to developing personal leadership potential, but it is much more than that . . . it is filled with useful insights into personal growth as a professional.

Readers say it's always fascinating, and "focuses our attention on what it takes to make teams of thinking technical people work effectively together." Moreover, they say "it's always extremely practical and down-to-earth."

Becoming a Technical Leader is the "textbook" for Jerry Weinberg's world-famous Problem Solving Leadership Workshop. It consists of twenty-four well-reasoned, thought-provoking chapters on making the change from technical star to problem-solving leader.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940012564405
Publisher:	Gerald Weinberg
Publication date:	01/08/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	284
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Gerald M. Weinberg (Jerry) has always been interested in helping smart people be happy and productive. To that end, he has published books on human behavior, including Weinberg on Writing: The Fieldstone Method, The Psychology of Computer Programming, Perfect Software and Other Fallacies, and an Introduction to General Systems Thinking. He has also written books on leadership including Becoming a Technical Leader, The Secrets of Consulting (Foreword by Virginia Satir), More Secrets of Consulting, and the four-volume Quality Software Management series.

He incorporates his knowledge of science, engineering, and human behavior into all of writing and consulting work (with writers, hi-tech researchers, and software engineers). He writes novels about such people, including The Aremac Project, Aremac Power, Jigglers, First Stringers, Second Stringers, The Hands of God, Freshman Murders, Earth's Endless Effort, and Mistress of Molecules—all about how his brilliant protagonists produce quality work and learn to be happy. His novels may be found as eBooks at <http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JerryWeinberg>or on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B000AP8TZ8 .

Early in his career, he was the architect for the Project Mercury's space tracking network and designer of the world's first multiprogrammed operating system. He won the Warnier Prize, the Stevens Award, and the first Software Testing Professionals' Luminary Award, all for his writing on software quality. He was also elected a charter member of the Computing Hall of Fame in San Diego and the University of Nebraska Hall of Fame. The book, The Gift of Time (Fiona Charles, ed.) honors his work for his 75th birthday. His website and blogs may be found at http://www.geraldmweinberg.com.

Editorial Reviews

A life-changing book. The best one I know about becoming a manager or supervisor. Written for any person competent in a "technical field" (e.g., medicine, law, computer programming) who is now being given managerial responsibility. Unusually clear. A great resource on power and leadership; problem solving and innovation; vision and motivating others; leadership styles; and much more. … concentrates on increasing your mindfulness of the demands of your new role and sharpening your self-awa

Amazon Customer

This book resonates in me more than any other book on the subject. Weinberg forces you to participate in the exploration of how a technical leader is created, and he provides *real steps* on how to get there. He also provides many short exercises for you to test your progress in your day-to-day activities. This is highly recommended reading for technical folks in leadership positions, or those who are looking to become technical leaders.

Lisa Simone

I have gotten more out of this book than any other that I have read. Ideal for current software developers who think they might be interested in leadership. The real meat of the book is dedicated to Innovation, Motivation, and Organization—the 3 key components of being a technical leader…ends with some advice to help you implement changes necessary to become a technical leader as well as understand why you want to do it…asks a lot of its readers, but it gives a good return o

Philip R. Heath

Gerald Weinberg is a master storyteller. The book describes how to transition to leadership, where you'll have a whole new set of rules but no rulebook. I enjoyed the most the epilogue where GW offers some really good advice on the need to think about whether or not you want to be a leader. It takes many leaders to create successful software. Whether or not you have Leader in your title, this book will help you become a problem solver and someone that others look to for advice and leader

Mark Plesko