Chris Tite
That Beer Guy
Chris Tite is a Co-founder and CTO at Kaleidocode, a niche software consultancy in Durban (South Africa).
Chris fills the role of CTO, Learning and Development Manager, as well as Senior Software Architect with 25+ years’ experience.
Chris is committed to evolutionary and constant learning, often tinkering with new tools, technologies, techniques and architectures. He is passionate about quality software and great architecture, while forging the growth of this generation of software developers.
Chris enjoys sharing his learnings, often accompanied by good beer.
Chris can be found either overseeing the Development, Testing and Devops Business Units at Kaleidocode, as well as leading the Kaleodocode mentoring program, mentoring on the Kaleidocode apprenticeship program, or working hands on with his clients and teams.
Links
Mentoring and growing stronger teams using Agile techniques
We manage the outcome of our software projects using Agile principles and techniques like time boxed cycles, shorter feedback loops and small defined outcomes… so why don't we apply these techniques to staff growth?
Staff grow at different rates, they have unique needs and differing circumstances, so why do we impose a one-size-fits-all approach to staff development? Furthermore, why do we subject our teams to a sterile and delayed feedback KPO / KPI approach in the tech industry, an industry that is growing and experiencing rapid change?
These are all questions that puzzled me.
Five years ago I started mentoring 3 team members using an agile approach which was refined over time and with each iteration, it is now an accepted and valued practice on all my teams. This is my story.
In this talk I'll unpack;
* The agile mentoring approach and the mentoring life cycle
* The different personas I have adopted in agile mentoring
* The different people patterns I have adopted in agile mentoring
* The tools I use to manage the process
* The career framework I apply
* Lessons I have learned.
Join me as I share a fresh approach to mentoring team members which ultimately results in;
* Higher job satisfaction and less burn-out among employees
* More confident teams
* Less learning on active projects, and more focused learning outcomes
* Higher staff retention.
Investing in the future: Taking junior developers from good to great
Every software development team needs more than one strategy to grow their technical prowess, simply hiring in, or relying on highly driven developers is no longer an option.
On my teams we use a multi-pronged approach:
1.) Hire young people and grow them on an accelerated path to greatness.
2.) Take risks and hire unconventional, more diverse team members and accelerated their growth.
3.) Invest in already functioning team members by accelerating their growth.
This is my story of building successful teams using this approach.
The Apprenticeship Program!
I'll discuss our experiences starting an apprenticeship program, the wins and hidden gems revealed. We’ll cover the widening gap between a graduate’s knowledge and industry needs and how our company successfully closes that gap.
The Boot Camp!
Let me share the value of a boot camp to adequately prepare graduates and new joiners to cross the divide between their external knowledge and the requirements of the company/team.
The Learning Framework!
We have achieved great success growing staff using a themed learning approach, applying an agile learning framework. I'll reveal our framework and walk you through my experience setting it up.
The Learning Project!
Couple the learning framework to a side project and you will accelerate young staff beyond their peers, in a shorter time and with greater focused growth. I'll share our approach.
The Industrial Phycologist!
Let’s explore how we tap into and grow the soft skills of our staff, using industrial psychology to equip our staff, as well as team leaders, mentors and coaches.
Join me as I share a fresh approach to growing younger team members which ultimately results in;
1.) Accelerated growth
2.) Less burn-out
3.) Higher job satisfaction
4.) More confident teams
5.) Higher staff retention
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