Personal README.md

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The idea of this README is inspired by others who have shared personal READMEs. Hopefully, this document will serve to be an honest portrait of who I am and how I work.

Me

Greatest strength / Greatest Weakness

I like saying that for many people, their greatest strength can also be their greatest weakness.  For me, I think that is my passion.  I'm a very passionate person, which is what motivates me to succeed, keep my commitments and strive for excellence.  However, this can also narrow my focus, make me less accepting of change and more prone to “anger” at obstacles (or things I perceive as obstacles) to success.

Emotional Intelligence

Myers-Briggs
I think I'm closest to an ENFJ, but everything is pretty close except for E.  So, I'm highly extroverted but on the others, I can go back and forth.  In the end, I think that ENFJ and ENTP speak to me the most.

16 Personalities
ENFJ-T. Very similar to the above. In the 16 Personalities, it's called the "Turbulent Protagonist."

Brendan - Turbulent Protagonist (ENFJ-T) | 16Personalities

DiSC personality test
My results

Work

Practical Stuff

Communication

  • I might Slack you at a time that is not your working hours.  I value asynchronous communication, so please treat this as such and respond when you're working next.
  • If you Slack me at a time that is not my working hours, I may or may not respond.  If you need me immediately, text me (or WhatsApp).

1:1s

  • Our 1:1s should be about you, your professional development and how I can solve problems you're encountering.  They should not be just a list of updates for your tasks…that should happen async.
  • I value 1:1 time, and I want and need my reports to help make the 1:1 valuable to both of us.  That could mean any of moving to a time that works better this week, moving them to a time that works better going forward for all 1:1s, moving them to bi-weekly from weekly, moving them from bi-weekly to weekly, canceling them when they aren't needed, etc.
  • This is my 1:1 template.  I expect that it is filled out by you before our meeting.  For myself with my manager, I add things to it all week long when they come up so that I don't have to rush…but I also schedule time ahead of my 1:1 to complete those thoughts.

This document

  • I am not perfect, so this document is as much for me as it is for you.
  • I expect that if I'm not acting by the ideals here, you'll constructively point that out to me.
  • Furthermore, I expect that if you do that, I will say thank you.  If I don't – send me the link to this document.
  • If something needs to change about this document, please submit a merge request to it.

Theory & Philosophy

Values/Manifesto

'Manifesto' is a big fancy word, but I use it here for those who are familiar with the Agile Manifesto, and its style of not excluding anything but instead valuing certain things over others.  Everything I value here is changeable and challengeable.

The key to good decision-making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the former. We are desperately lacking in the latter.
— Malcolm Gladwell

Tough and Competent
I like to fancy myself as tough and competent, a-la Gene Kranz of Apollo fame…aka big shoes to fill.  These are the words Gene had everyone on his team at Mission Control write on their blackboards the Monday after the tragedy of Apollo 1.  They speak to my desire to – and tendency to – feel responsible to both be the expert and be the one to take responsibility for my team's results.  Relative to my notes on emotional intelligence, this can cause conflict and my passion to bubble over in less-than-ideal ways.

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Tough means we are forever accountable for what we do or what we fail to do.
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Competent means we will never take anything for granted.

Service before Self
I strive in everything I do to embody a servant leader.  That doesn't mean I always succeed, but I do know that it is still my desire to put the team before myself.  If my team is successful, my success will follow.  In that sense, the score takes care of itself.

Be the change you seek

As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.

Complaining about the existing state of affairs only serves to reinforce it.  And the act of complaining dissipates the energy you had to impact the problem positively.  Always have a bias to action over words.

Children, let us love not in word or speech, but in deed and truth.

Pain is temporary; suck is forever
If something will be painful to fix, fix it.  Otherwise, it will suck – and suck forever.

Books & Authors

See https://boleary.dev/books/ for more information.

Personal

  • I have four kids.  This can make late afternoon/early evening calls (east coast of the US) hard to make work.  However, if we're off time zones I'm happy to do a “night” call after the kids are in bed 😀
  • I fancy myself a woodworker, but to even call that a hobby might be a stretch.
  • I enjoy technical theater – specifically lighting design and running.  It's like programming…but with lights!  Moreover, this is how I met my wife, so theater is always close to my heart.  The difference is she can sing and act.  I only sing when I'm in my car…by myself.