A Geek Leader Podcast

June 20, 2018

AGL 035: The Reluctant Leader with David Neal

This is a special treat for all the listeners to A Geek Leader Podcast. My guest today is David Neal. Like me, he’s from the south and I’m sure you couldn’t tell that by either of our accents. He’s a well known keynote speaker, software developer, Microsoft MVP, and technical leader. He’s a father of 5 sons (that’s right FIVE!!!) and an amazing artist who sketches all of his keynote presentation slides. I’ve met David several times at conferences in the Southeast and most recently at CodeStock 2018. After hearing David’s Leadership Guide for the Reluctant Leader talk (see the […]

June 13, 2018

AGL 034: Trust Doesn’t Come from a Title

Your team doesn’t just “trust” you because of your title. When I started at my most recent position where I head up the IT group at a mid-sized company just south of Charlotte, NC, I wasn’t granted full trust of my team. Just like, when you get a new boss, you don’t fully trust them. You can’t tell them just anything at first. You have to learn how they react to things, how they accept feedback, etc. As a leader, we must remember that trust works both ways, and people don’t automatically trust you because you’re their manager. You must […]

June 1, 2018

AGL 033: Dealing With Vendors

Being an IT leader you get lots of opportunities to work with vendors. Sometimes you welcome the calls, most of the times you don’t. This episode I’ll go over some tips to help you work with vendors and make the best choice when deciding which vendor go with. Vendor management is an important aspect of leading a technology team. Vendors at conferences or trade shows They usually are giving way gifts in exchange for a scan of your badge. Remember nothing is ever free. If they scan your badge, you can bet they will email you and most likely call […]

June 1, 2018

Technical Leadership Content Survey

I need your help. I hope you’ve enjoyed my podcasts and talks over the past few years. I’m trying to focus my content a little more and come up with topics that are more in tune with the needs of my audience. Please spend 2-3 minutes filling out the survey below that will help me create great content for you in the future. Thank you so much!

May 18, 2018

AGL 032: The Engagement Epidemic

I recently gave a talk on Employee Engagement for millennials. Here are my thoughts on the subject: Engagement Stats https://www.themuse.com/advice/10-shocking-stats-about-employee-engagement 70% of employees not engaged at work 89% of companies think employees leave for more $$$ but only 12% actually do 43% of highly engaged employees receive feedback at least 1 time per week but only 13% of disengaged employees receive weekly feedback 75% of people voluntarily leaving their job, don’t quit their job, they quit their bosses. Why people quit their job They hate their boss Their work doesn’t matter Adding Purpose Add purpose doesn’t always have to be […]

April 23, 2018

CodeStock 2018

Here are my slides for the 2 talks I gave at Codestock 2018 Create a Side Business 2018 Technical Leadership 2018