Sometimes I believe that everything I know and think is already understood by everyone else – even with leadership topics (I know the irony of writing a leadership blog). Then I get two more recent podcast interview requests and I realize that:
a.) not everyone does know
b.) there is no harm in repeating
c.) you learn too
The first one was with Dave Rael with Developer on Fire. I sometimes play down my technical past as a leader today but if I’m really honest, I loved being able to share my technical roots/past on this podcast. Sure I focus on leadership now but I choose to stay in the software development industry because my passion remains here whether I write a line of code or not. I always remembered/knew this aspect but what doing this interview helped me realize is that my technical story still matters. My past matters. I’m the leader I am today with the influence of my technical background. No longer coding does not equal not being technical; and that I can stop downplaying this part of me. Every leader should embrace their full story of the journey.
The second one was with John Rouda with A Geek Leader. John heard me on Dave’s podcast and reached out for an interview. Someone (with really good intentions) asked me if I was worried about being recorded by someone I didn’t know – that there was a risk of twisting my words, etc. The questions impacted me to wonder if I should do extensive research first – who was he, reach out to other people interviewed, etc. However, I didn’t have time and I decided to simply trust. It took a little while for our schedules to sync but I’m so glad I took the time to meet with John. I have conservations all of the time. And whether recorded or not, something I say may be misconstrued or may even be wrong but I don’t want to spend my quality time editing or preventing conversations. I don’t want to lead in a world where we are so connected and yet not connected at all. Leadership means being willing to always have the conversations.
What also was evident to me is that I will remain on the interviewee side of podcasts for awhile. My respect and applause go to John, Dave and other podcasters for the time, effort and value they put into consistently posting quality material. I can barely keep up with a short blog post a week.
If you would to do a podcast, what would the topics be?
