Andrew Murphy
Helping new and emerging tech leaders become happy, confident and effective.
Melbourne, Australia
Andrew Murphy started his career as a Software Engineer but, after a decade in technology leadership, he decided to focus on teaching the skills that he learnt the hard way. When he moved into leadership there was no support, so he had to make all the mistakes (a lot of them!) and learn from them.
His goal is now to make sure that tech leaders don’t have to do things the hard way by providing them with the mindsets and skillsets that can make them happy, confident and effective leaders.
His company, Tech Leaders Launchpad, currently focuses specifically on the new and emerging leader space, as that's the place we can have the biggest impact on the students, and the industry.
Awards
Area of Expertise
Topics
How to unstick your tech career
Ever feel like your tech career has hit the digital equivalent of a brick wall?
If you're tired of career advice that sounds like it was generated by a broken algorithm, this talk is for you. We'll swap the buzzwords for real words, the clichés for genuine insights, and the hollow promises for practical steps you can actually apply before your next 50cl of beer.
So, if you're as stuck as a cursor in a loading screen, let's reboot your career aspirations together. There will be no 'synergising' or 'paradigm-shifting' here—just straight talk, a sprinkle of humour, and a shared understanding that we're all in this glitchy game together.
Bring your career conundrums, your techy tales of woe, and let's get your professional path back in the fast lane!
Test-Driven Leadership: Crafting Testable Strategies
In the realm of software development, Test-Driven Development (TDD) has long been hailed for its ability to ensure robust, error-free code. This session endeavours to transpose the principles of TDD into the leadership domain, introducing a novel approach dubbed as "Test-Driven Leadership."
Over the talk, we'll delve into the core aspects of Test-Driven Leadership, starting with the identification of testable leadership principles. We’ll explore how setting measurable objectives, creating testable leadership hypotheses, and identifying key metrics for verification can foster a culture of continuous improvement and assured success. Then, we’ll touch upon designing strategies that are structured around measurable outcomes, incorporating feedback loops, and utilising A/B testing in decision-making - drawing a parallel to the red-green-refactor cycle in TDD.
As we transition to the practical aspects of implementing and refining these testable strategies, real-world examples will spotlight how this approach has been instrumental in driving success in various organisational settings. The session will also address common challenges encountered in this journey and provide solutions and best practices to overcome them.
Join us in unfolding how the essence of Test-Driven Development can be reimagined to pioneer a culture of Test-Driven Leadership, bridging the chasm between theoretical principles and verifiable, real-world success.
Building a Culture of Healthy Conflict in Tech Teams
Conflict is a natural and inevitable part of working in teams, and as leaders it’s important to understand how to recognise and resolve both unhealthy and healthy conflict. In my experience, understanding the difference between these two types of conflict, and how to move between them, is key to creating a productive and collaborative team environment.
In this talk, I’ll cover the negative impacts of unhealthy conflict and the positive impacts of healthy conflict. I’ll discuss how to recognise and understand the differences between the two, and how to move from an unhealthy to a healthy conflict. I’ll also provide a model to help you move from an unhealthy conflict to a healthy one.
Healthy conflict is essential for teams to thrive, and I believe that it’s one of the most important skills for leaders to develop. It’s how we can make a positive impact on our teams and our organisations.
From Engineer to Leader: A Workshop for First-Time Tech Leaders
Transitioning from an individual contributor role to a leadership position, especially in the fast-paced tech industry, is hugely challenging. Most new leaders don't receive any training at all in the first 10 years of their new responsibilities.
Our comprehensive workshop is designed to assist new and emerging tech leaders in understanding their new roles and gaining the skills to make them confident, happy and effective leaders.
*Workshop Overview*
Less stress, more confidence: Focus on what you need to do by learning how to build trust and relationships, delegate work, empower others, and influence stakeholders whilst balancing strategic business and engineering objectives.
Lead with more ease: Know how to overcome challenging situations, difficult conversations and tasks with frameworks, worksheets and algorithms.
Progress your career: Invest in yourself with leadership skills that will help you bridge the gap between leading the tech and leading the people. It’s what you need to keep progressing in your career!
*Key Takeaways*
Participants can anticipate walking away with a rich repository of knowledge, tips, worksheets and practical strategies to embark on their leadership journey.
Leadership Blueprint: Delve deep into understanding leadership, touching upon themes such as emotional intelligence, influential communication, and resilience building. Build out your own "Leadership Blueprint" that allows you to understand the type of leader you want to be.
Learn Specific Skills: Master the strategies to navigate conflicts constructively, communicate to non-technical audiences, influence stakeholders and build trust with your team.
Personal Development Plan: Develop a personalised Leadership Blueprint that mirrors your leadership style, helping you to carve a path that is both rewarding and aligned with your strengths.
Access to the Tech Leaders Launchpad Online Foundations Course: Participants also get access to the online learning platform - Tech Leaders Launchpad - and free enrolment in the “Online Foundations Course” with an additional 8 hours of self-paced learning content.
*Who Should Attend*
This workshop is ideally tailored for:
Tech/Team Leads: Learn to build trust and manage your team and yourself. Foster more collaborations across different teams and disciplines, and confidently communicate tech to non-tech audiences.
Principal & Staff Engineers: Learn to build strong relationships and trust to lead. Influence and set the technical direction for your teams, and nurture team talent through mentoring and knowledge sharing.
Engineering Managers: Learn to delegate work and empower others, influence stakeholders whilst balancing strategic business and engineering objectives, and effectively guide your team towards a shared vision and goal.
*Facilitator*
The Workshop is led by Andrew Murphy, a former software developer who has held various leadership positions in consultancies and SaaS companies like Linktree.
With the right support, Andrew believes that everyone can become the leader they want to be, which is why he now focuses on teaching those skills via his company Tech Leaders Launchpad.
By sharing his experiences, tools, and techniques, Andrew equips emerging and new tech leaders with the necessary skills for success in the modern workplace.
Athens to Algorithms: Zeno as a Tech Leader
In the lightning-fast world of technology, leadership calls for more than just technical prowess. It requires a balance of mind, a mastery of self, and a distinctive approach that can navigate the rollercoaster of innovation and disruption. So, where might we find this kind of wisdom? Would you believe it if we told you that the secret lies in the ancient philosophy of Stoicism, born in the heart of Athens over two thousand years ago?
I invite you to join me on a fascinating journey from the cradle of Stoicism in ancient Greece to the buzzing industry of technology. This isn't your average talk on leadership; it's an exploration of the hidden power that fuels resilience, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking in our tech leaders today. We're about to unlock an age-old secret and unveil the unseen force that has been driving successful tech leaders around the globe.
Ready to decode the mysterious formula for impactful leadership? Come, and be part of this enlightening journey. The secrets from ancient wisdom await you.
The power of saying "I don't know"
It's something we all struggle with, admitting we don't know something. But I'm here to show you the power of saying "I don't know" to people.
Saying "I don't know" doesn't have to be the end of a conversation, in fact it can be the start of an entirely new, exciting conversation with learning opportunities for all parties.
We will talk through scenarios where we don't feel comfortable saying it, ways we can feel comfortable saying it, and the good things that come from it.
Outline/structure of the Session
- Why we don't say I don't know
- Why we should say it
- How to say I don't know to clients
- How to say I don't know as an expert
- How to say I don't know as a leader
- A deep (and revealing) discussion on the underlying reasons why we feel afraid to say "I don't know" to people, including sharing from attendees
Building Bridges, Not Walls: Effective Communication Strategies for Engineers
Ever feel like your colleagues just aren't getting your point? You talk and yet they don't seem to be listening!
After this talk, you will discover how to make your voice count in the crowd.
This talk is crucial for engineers who find their messages lost in translation amidst team discussions or cross-discipline meetings. Learn to navigate the nuances of ensuring your ideas are not only heard but fully understood and appreciated, especially when dealing with non-technical team members.
Don't let communication barriers hold back your potential.
Join us to master the art of making every conversation count, where your input is not just acknowledged but drives meaningful action and decision-making.
My job as a software engineer is not to write code
Many software engineers are lead into the false assumption that we are hired to write code.
This talk challenges that perception and discusses the real reason we are paid to turn up to work every day.
It is all about recognizing that as software developers we are not hired to write code, we are hired to solve business problems.
My belief is that it's important for developers to realise that, as it helps inform their decision making.
Debugging Difficult Conversations - Or "How not to chicken out"
Over 80 percent of programmers found that learning to handle Difficult Conversations lead to finding better solutions to theirs problems.
Being able to participate in, and even drive, Difficult Conversations means we can resolve the challenges of our relationships with other people, but it also means we can earn their trust and respect. When we are able to engage truthfully and respectfully with the people around us we can improve our relationships with them and smooth out the inevitable bumps on the road.
This talk will teach you:
- What Difficult Conversations are and what happens when you ignore them
- Why having Difficult Conversations can be beneficial to you, your team, and your career
- A framework to help you prepare for Difficult Conversations
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