How can companies & individuals show true support for diversity in tech?

(photo credit: @wocintechchat)

I struggled with crafting my thoughts this week. The fundamental theme: “black lives matter.” One of the many challenges: how to ensure that value is manifested across so many dimensions within our society, the companies we work for, the organizations we choose to participate in.  I’m feeling overwhelmed and saddened, furious yet proud. Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of news & senseless death & protests & work to be done.  Saddened by the unjust nature of our society and furious at the willful ignorance of people I care about who continue to turn a blind eye. Proud of those who are standing up for what they believe in and who are persistently protesting to support black and brown lives.  I was inspired by President Obama’s town hall on Wednesday and remain hopeful that all of our collective action will shift the tides towards equality & justice. 

---

#getinformed

As you look to join a tech company, it’s important (now and always) to figure out if they have embedded the concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion into the ethos of the company’s values & operational structure. These are not just platitudes on a marketing campaign. 

Here are 6 questions to ask yourself (with resources to help your thinking & action): 

1. Does the company send an appropriate message externally during major crises related to racism? 

   • Which Tech Companies Support Black Employees and Diversity?

   • 12 Companies Who Are Taking A Stand for Black Lives Right Now

2. Do they have visible teams/initiatives focused on product inclusion efforts?

   • Google says 2,000 people across the company work on inclusion and diversity in products

3. Do they release employment stats on diversity hiring and retention? And have they made progress in improving those stats? 

   • Five Years of Tech Diversity Reports—and Little Progress

   • The future of diversity and inclusion in tech 

   • Black founders want tech companies to do more than donate

4. Are they supporting employee resource groups (ERGs) with funding for hiring/retention projects?

   • Understanding Employee Resource Groups: A guide for Organizations

5. Follow the money - where is the company investing? 

   • Knee On The Neck: What Investors Can Learn From 'Black Lives Matter' 

6. Check out the executive leadership and board of director pages. Do you see visible representation of diverse voices in the highest decision-making roles at the company?

   • 5 ways tech leaders can address racial inequity, from diversity expert and tech CEO Cheryl Ingram

   • How tech leaders can do more for racial justice than just tweet
     

---

“I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I’m changing the things I cannot accept.”

— Dr. Angela Davis

To learn more, check out this great panel discussion with Angela Davis & Common.

---

#takeaction

1. Join together with others to be united in initiating action

   • Black Tech for Black Lives 

2. Donate. Put your money towards supporting organizations that are doing good work to combat racism or support bail funds for those jailed after protests.

   • The Obama Foundation has put together key resources & organizations to review. 

   • You can also find a curated list of organizations by scrolling to the bottom of this doc: bit.ly/BlackLivesAction 

   • I donated to Color of Change and the Nationwide Bail Fund

---

WANT TO LEARN ABOUT TECH BUT NOT SURE WHERE TO START? SUBSCRIBE HERE TO GET A FREE INSTANT DOWNLOAD ‘3 STEPS TO LEARN ABOUT TECH’

Build high-performing teams

(Photo credit @samalex)

1. As you progress in your career, try to work on and/or to build teams that are full of people who are at the top of their game individually AND who think and operate like a team.

• The Important of Working with "A" Players

• A Study of Thousands of Dropbox Projects Reveals How Successful Teams Collaborate

• Creating a High-Trust, High-Performance Culture + check out ReWork by Google for guides

2. If you're not on one of those teams right now, it's ok! Most of us go through cycles of being on high performing teams and on 'normal teams.' To help your 'normal' team thrive & grow, consider two ways that you can help your team have more impact:

• Run more effective meetings (thereby saving time and demonstrating efficient decision-making/organization)

• Consider implementing OKRs & using these stretch goals to push the team

---

Want a Career in Tech but aren’t sure where to start? Take a look at MY COURSE, ‘TECH SEARCH COMPASS’ FOR STEP-BY-STEP SUPPORT

Pondering equations and expectations

(Photo credit @calypso999)

I'll admit it - the cabin fever is getting to me this week. Yesterday, on Earth Day, it alternately snowed, was super sunny, and was dark & stormy all within just a couple hours. Kinda the external version of what many of us are feeling these days. I think Mother Nature is also kinda tired & unsure yet laughing in the sun.

---

Taking care of yourself & the people around you

The time we are in is calling for a change in expectations. Humans naturally resist change. Even (or especially?) Type A folks like you & me.

Normally, we all struggle with the inherent contradictions of a growth mindset: I am confident in my skills & abilities & performance. Yet. I also know that there is more to learn & that I can and should improve my skills & abilities & performance to be a better (person, employee, manager, leader, etc) in this world.

Right now, it can be even harder to figure out how to set expectations for yourself, to be kind to yourself, to figure out whether you are Sir Isaac Newton (having potentially your "best" year while quarantined) or a literal couch potato.

---

Since this is a techie blog, here's an equation for you to ponder:

Satisfaction = Experience - Expectations

• If you remember nothing else, remember this.

So what can you do to help change the inputs in this equation? Either improve your experience or reduce your expectations.

• Ideas to improve experience: reach out to loved ones, work on fun projects, volunteer to make masks, watch movies, take online classes

• Ideas to lower expectations: forgive yourself, be grateful for what you do have, ask yourself these daily Qs, go walk in nature with no devices, laugh at real or metaphorical "spilled milk"

So much of our experience these days is dictated for us by forces outside of our control. And while you may not be able to improve your experience any further, you can definitely lower your expectations. In either case, the goal is to help you have higher satisfaction with what's going on in life.

Understanding this equation & the paradox central to growth mindset will help you to become a fantastic manager in tech.

• You will know how to take care of yourself when things are going great, and when things are rough.

• You will also know how to navigate whatever crazy project is thrown your way, and how to help others do that too.

• You will know how to help your team members set realistic expectations, how to give themselves a break, while also motivating them to look forward to great things in the future.

---

Want a Career in Tech but aren’t sure where to start? Take a look at MY COURSE, ‘TECH SEARCH COMPASS’ FOR STEP-BY-STEP SUPPORT