Managing, Mentoring, and Hiring: Why is it so damn hard?

The super-cool Think Brownstone stickers I gave away at BarCamp!

I had the privilege of leading a problem solving discussion at BarCamp Philly this past Saturday. The session was proposed at the last moment (while the first sessions were going on) in response to a few conversations I had over morning coffee — I was amazed to end up in a packed room full of very vocal people! It’s clear our community has a lot to discuss on the topics of management, mentoring, and hiring. Thanks to everyone for participating and making this such an engaging session!

Here are photos of the blackboard notes/mind-map — they’re a bit blurry, but you still make out most of the text and the lines connecting ideas.

1. Define the Problem “Screen Shots”: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
2. Mentoring focus “Screen Shots”: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

A transcription of all the blackboard notes follows — but I think the big takeaway of the session were the mentoring action steps we identified:

1. Define mentoring: what are you trying to achieve?
2. Carve out the time: make it important, protect it, make it part of everyone’s job
3. Ask: not for mentoring but for information, for input, “how can I help?”
4. Do things together and make it visible
5. Express thanks

Before you go through the full notes: I’m serious about getting together again to continue the conversation! Please leave a comment on this blog post, email me, or @/DM me on Twitter so I can be sure you get an invite to the meetup!

Define the problem

• No mentoring at many places
• Hard to mentor if you’re not being mentored
  • No managerial/organizational support
    • Do you set aside time for mentoring activities?
• No one gives a shit when trying to mentor
• Bidirectional mentoring: [other party] not always interested
• Finding people / the right people
  • People with potential
  • Headhunters [=] Noise
  • [Many] unqualified candidates
  • Depends on company: hiring for culture, skills, experience?
    • Do we even know what we’re hiring for?
      • Speedy growth
      • Same job title (not description) means different things at different companies
        • Different responsibilities, different expectations (on both sides)
      • As person being hired:
        • Why am I being hired?
        • What am I doing?
        • Is it OK to ask questions?
  • Dilution of credentials
    • PhD [in CS] but can’t code
    • As jobseeker, educationally over-qualified, less job experience
      • Resume format hasn’t changed, how do you present yourself?
        • Cover letter still important!
      • For developers, where is the code portfolio?
  • What is the qualification to get through?
    • Puzzles
    • Quizzes
    • Essays
  • Can someone meet our expectations?
    • [Example: job posting asking for] 10 years of jQuery experience
• Hiring
  • Tools are shitty and inhibit process
    • Broad job posting not effective
  • Expensive! Job portal posting and lots of asshats apply
  • [Managing/researching applicants]
    • Resumator + LinkedIn
    • Stack Overflow
    • Ranking candidates
      • Bullet Analytics
  • Where to post jobs locally?
    • Technically Philly job board – will have job fair in 2014
    • Local network and community
      • Be an active participant in community so people want to work with/for you
      • Most groups are for senior/advanced people
      • How to go from email to action?
    • How to find junior talent?
      • Campus Philly
      • Drexel Co-Ops (people love them)

At this point, we were 15 minutes into our time, so we voted on one area to focus on; the group chose mentoring.

Focus on Mentoring

• This is a skill in and of itself!
• Big difference between mentoring and training
  • What is the hidden curriculum in your organization?
• Finding time
  • Carve it out
• Care more!
  • How to make those NOT in this room care more?
    • How do we encourage more soft mentors?
      • Make it a requirement
• Coaching
  • Helping people express themselves makes them better at what they do
• Apprenticeship
  • Formal programs
• Context/structure
  • “Soft” mentoring instead of formal
    • Team collaboration and valuing others’ opinions?
    • Recognition is important
    • How to find a mentor as a junior person?
      • Look for someone who is passionate about what they do
      • Look for someone who is open
      • Show them what you’re working on
      • Ask
        • We aren’t taught to ask good questions
          • Are we hiring people who won’t ask by looking for purple squirrels (super ninja rockstars are self confident)
          • [Nor are we taught] to recognize others, e.g. acknowledge someone in code comments
        • Conversation starters:
          • What’s wrong with this?
          • What am I missing?
          • What have you tried?
  • Some organizations separate mentoring from management
    • [Why?] This introduces BIAS in management process
• Why is this a corporate expectation? Why don’t kids go out and find [their] own mentors?
• Manager != Leader, Leader != Manager
  • Being a mentor is a differentiator

Mentoring Action Steps

1. Define mentoring: what are you trying to achieve?
2. Carve out the time: make it important, protect it, make it part of everyone’s job
3. Ask: not for mentoring but for information, for input, “how can I help?”
4. Do things together and make it visible
5. Express thanks