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Building Bulletproof Teams: Why Blame Is Your Worst Enemy with Leon Revill

Published May 16, 2024

Updated Dec 11, 2024

2 min read

Leon Revill, uncovers the profound impact of nurturing trust, collaboration, and shared responsibility within teams. His interview with Tracy Lee explores the importance of fostering an environment where mistakes are embraced as valuable learning experiences, steering clear of blame and focusing on growth.

Firstly, Leon emphasizes the need for organizations to cultivate a blame-free atmosphere, encouraging team members to take risks and glean insights through failure. By reframing mistakes as learning opportunities, teams foster a culture that fuels growth and innovation. This approach not only instills a sense of ownership among individuals but also nurtures psychological safety, paving the way for enhanced idea-sharing and collaboration.

Secondly, Tracy and Leon underscore the pivotal role of transparent communication within teams. Through fostering honest dialogue, organizations can strengthen trust and deepen connections among team members. Such open communication fosters collective accountability, where each member bears responsibility for the team's triumphs. Empowering individuals to voice their thoughts and concerns fosters an environment where diverse perspectives are valued, ultimately enhancing decision-making and problem-solving.

Moreover, Leon offers examples of how organizations can drive continuous improvement by empowering their teams. Providing individuals with the autonomy to make decisions and take ownership not only spurs personal growth but also bolsters team success. By nurturing a growth mindset and facilitating skill development, organizations foster a culture that embraces learning and adapts to change.

The interview touches on the evolving technology landscape and its implications for team collaboration. With the emergence of artificial intelligence and automation, Revill stresses the importance of aligning development processes with these advancements. Collaboration becomes imperative in this scenario, as teams must collaborate to grasp and implement these technologies effectively. Through cultivating a culture of trust and collaboration, organizations can navigate technological shifts and remain at the forefront of innovation.

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Cybersecurity Leadership 101 with Dr. Joye Purser

Dr. Joye Purser is the field Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Veritas, a software company specializing in data backup systems. Veritas' global leadership in cybersecurity plays a critical role in data backup and restoration in the cybersecurity landscape. Dr. Purser's career ranges from her time at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to roles at the Pentagon and the White House. Dr. Purser talks about common misconceptions regarding working in the government in the field of technology and notes the increasing trend of tech companies recruiting individuals with defense and military backgrounds due to rising threats to the private sector. There is an evolution in cybersecurity, particularly post-pandemic, with an increased sophistication of cyber threats and a rise of ransomware attacks. There is now a heightened focus on critical infrastructure security and a new outlook on the potential life-threatening consequences of cyber disruptions. The qualities of effective cybersecurity leadership are vision, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. Dr. Purser elaborates on the importance of having a clear vision, especially in an emerging role like hers at Veritas. She shares her experience obtaining the Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP) certification, highlighting the necessity of adaptability in acquiring new skills and staying ahead of the rapidly changing cybersecurity landscape. Dr. Purser stresses the significance of soft influencing skills, adaptability in communication styles based on the audience, and the ability to read the room. She emphasizes the need for emotional intelligence when asking for resources or driving change, recognizing the discomfort associated with these demands. Listen to the podcast here: https://engineeringleadership.podbean.com/e/joye-purser/...

Jan 16, 2024

2 mins

Engineering Leadershipcybersecurity

How to be an Effective Technology Leader in an Agile Startup Environment with Daniel Chopson

Daniel Chopson, CTO and co-founder of Cove Tool, discusses key aspects of engineering leadership, team management, and software development in the fast paced startup environment. Cove.Tool, initially a sustainability-focused software company, has evolved to offer AI-driven solutions for architects and engineers. Daniel shared valuable insights on the importance of productive retrospectives, agile planning, and strategic team structuring. Daniel emphasized the significance of conducting productive retrospectives to foster team improvement and effective communication. By celebrating wins and establishing clear action items, teams can identify areas for growth and implement necessary changes. These retrospectives provide a platform for open and honest discussions, enabling teams to learn from their successes and failures. Encouraging a culture of continuous improvement allows engineering leaders to drive innovation and enhance team collaboration. In a startup environment, balancing planning and agility is crucial for success. Cove.Tool prioritizes shorter-term sprint planning to allow for real-time feedback and adaptability. By aligning work towards business objectives while maintaining flexibility in planning, the team can respond quickly to changing market demands. This approach enables Cove.Tool to stay ahead of the curve and deliver high-quality solutions to their clients. The key lies in finding the right balance between long-term strategic planning and the ability to pivot when necessary. Team structuring plays a vital role in engineering leadership. Daniel highlighted the importance of specialized roles like engineering managers and tech leads for effective people development and technical guidance. Engineering managers focus on nurturing the growth and well-being of team members, while tech leads provide technical expertise and mentorship. This division of responsibilities ensures that both the personal and technical aspects of team development are adequately addressed, leading to a more productive and motivated workforce. The conversation underscored the significance of adaptability, feedback-driven decision-making, and strategic team structuring in successful software development endeavors. By embracing change and continuously seeking feedback, engineering leaders can make informed decisions and drive innovation. Strategic team structuring, with specialized roles and clear responsibilities, ensures that the right people are in the right positions to maximize productivity and foster growth. Effective engineering leadership is essential for adapting to changing market demands and building teams equipped to tackle future challenges. Download this episode here....

May 24, 2024

2 mins

Engineering Leadership

Understanding the Difference Between `:focus` and `:focus-visible` in CSS

Understanding the Difference Between :focus and :focus-visible in CSS I have learned my fair share about the importance of keyboard accessibility, so I know that visual indication of the focused element is very important. But the well-known :focus pseudo-class is not always the best fit for this job. That's where :focus-visible comes in. Let's look at the differences between these two pseudo-classes and explore the best practices for using them effectively. What is the :focus Pseudo-Class? The :focus pseudo-class is a CSS selector that applies styles to any element that receives focus, regardless of how that focus was triggered. This includes focus events from keyboard navigation, mouse clicks, and touch interactions. Example Usage of :focus ` In this example, the button will display a blue outline whenever it is focused, whether the user clicks on it with a mouse, taps it on a touchscreen, or navigates to it using the keyboard. What is the :focus-visible Pseudo-Class? The :focus-visible pseudo-class is more specialized. It only applies styles to an element when the browser determines that the focus should be visible. This typically occurs when the user navigates via the keyboard or assistive technologies rather than through mouse or touch input. Example Usage of :focus-visible ` Here, the button will only show a blue outline when focused through keyboard navigation or another input method that usually requires visible focus indicators. Key Differences Between :focus and :focus-visible :focus - Behavior: Applies to any element that receives focus, regardless of the input method. - Use Cases: Ensures that all interactions with the element are visually indicated, whether by mouse, keyboard, or touch. :focus-visible - Behavior: Applies styles only when the focus should be visible, such as using a keyboard or assistive technology. - Use Cases: Ideal for scenarios where you want to provide focus indicators only to keyboard and assistive technology users while avoiding unnecessary outlines for mouse and touch users, typically required by design. Accessibility Implications :focus - Pros: - Guarantees that all users can see when an element is focused, which is critical for accessibility. - Cons: - Can lead to a suboptimal experience for mouse users, as focus styles may appear unnecessarily during mouse interactions. :focus-visible - Pros: - Enhances user experience by showing focus indicators only when necessary, thus keeping the interface clean for mouse and touch users. - Tailors the experience for keyboard and assistive technology users, providing them with clear visual cues. - Cons: - Additional considerations may be required to ensure that focus indicators are not accidentally omitted, especially in older browsers that do not support :focus-visible. - There may be cases where you want to show focus indicators for all users, regardless of input method. Best Practices for Using :focus and :focus-visible To achieve the best accessibility and user experience, combining both :focus and :focus-visible in your CSS is often a good idea. Combining :focus and :focus-visible ` Here is a Stackblitz example of what such styling could look like for you to try out and play with. Additional Tips - Test with Keyboard and Assistive Technology: Ensure that your web application is navigable using a keyboard (Tab, Shift + Tab, etc.) and that focus indicators are visible for those who rely on them. It's never a bad idea to include accessibility testing in your e2e testing suite. - Provide Clear Focus Indicators: Make sure that focus indicators are prominent and easy to see. A subtle or hard-to-spot focus indicator can severely impact accessibility for users who rely on keyboard navigation. Conclusion The :focus-visible pseudo-class offers a more refined way to manage focus indicators, improving accessibility and user experience, particularly for keyboard and assistive technology users. By understanding the differences between :focus and :focus-visible, and applying best practices in your CSS, you can create more accessible and user-friendly web applications. Remember, accessibility should never be an afterthought. By thoughtfully applying focus styles, you ensure that all users, regardless of how they interact with your site, can easily navigate and interact....

Nov 8, 2024

3 mins

AccessibilityCSSPlaywright

Building a Stripe App: A Step-by-Step Guide to QR Code Generation

Building a Stripe App: A Step-by-Step Guide to QR Code Generation Why Build a Stripe App? I recently participated in an audio space with the Stripe team, and something they said really stuck with me: the Stripe app store is a growing area that isn't overly saturated yet. There's a lot of potential for new apps, and companies can use this opportunity to grow. I work at a company called This Dot Labs, and we've created several Stripe apps and even own one. After looking at the data, I can confirm that the Stripe team was right! Creating a QR Code Generator App For this tutorial, we'll build a QR code app that can take a URL and generate a code for it. This is a good use case to help you understand the ins and outs of Stripe's developer tools. Why QR Codes? QR codes are useful tools that have become common in e-commerce, restaurants, and other industries. While Stripe already has a QR code tool, we'll make our own to familiarize ourselves with their syntax and problem-solving approaches. Project Structure Before we dive into the implementation, let's look at the structure of our Stripe App QR Code project: * .vscode: Contains settings for Visual Studio Code * source/views: Holds the main application views * .gitignore: Specifies files to ignore in version control * stripe-app.json: Defines the Stripe app configuration * ui-extensions.d.ts: TypeScript declaration file for UI extensions * .build: this is where the built Stripe app gets placed. Step-by-Step Implementation 1\. Install Stripe Locally First, you need to install Stripe on your local machine. The documentation provides great instructions for this: * For Mac users: Use Brew to install * For Windows users: Download the package and add it to your environment variables You can find the details here in the stripe docs to install the Stripe CLI https://docs.stripe.com/stripe-cli When using Windows, you must do stripe login from Powershell, NOT from Git bash or any other tool. After the server is up, then you can continue using git bash for everything else. After stripe login, you need to enter stripe apps start. Once you do that, the server is up and running and you can go back to using git bash or any other tool. 2\. Install Dependencies We'll be using an extra package for QR code generation. Install it using npm: ` 3\. Set Up the Main Component Let's look at the home.tsx file, where we'll use Stripe's UI components: ` These components are similar to other UI libraries like Bootstrap or Tailwind CSS. 4\. Create the UI Structure Our app will have: * An input field for the URL * Validation using a regex pattern * Error handling for invalid URLs * QR code generation and display Here is the Home.tsx file that is located in the src/views folder ` * ContextView` is at the top level of the app where we see the Title and the link to the Stripe Docs that we placed in our Context View. * Box is how you use Divs. * Banners can be used to show notification errors or any other item you wish to display. * Textfields are input fields. * Everything else is pretty self-explanatory. 5\. Handle Content Security Policy One problem I personally ran into was when I tried to redirect users, the Stripe policies would block it since I did not express that I knew what it was doing. I had to go into the stripe-app.json file and mention the specific security policies. For this particular exercise, I kept these as null. This is my stripe-app.json file. ` 6\. Configure App Views As you can see here, the stripe-app.json file shows the views for each file I have. The Home.tsx file and the Invoice.tsx are also included This is our way of saying that for each view we have, show the app functionality on that page. Our stripe-app.json file will show it but also, the manifest.js file in our .build folder will also show the same. Any view that doesn't have a file will not show the application's functionality. So, if I were to go to transactions, the app would not show the same logic as the home or invoices page. By following these steps, you'll have a fully functional QR code generator app for Stripe. This is just a simple example, but the potential for Stripe apps is massive, especially for businesses serving e-commerce customers. If you need help or get stuck, don't hesitate to reach out, danny.thompson@thisdot.co. The Stripe team is also very active in answering questions, so leverage them as a resource. Happy coding!...

Dec 18, 2024

4 mins

stripe

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Building Bulletproof Teams: Why Blame Is Your Worst Enemy with Leon Revill

You might also like

Cybersecurity Leadership 101 with Dr. Joye Purser

How to be an Effective Technology Leader in an Agile Startup Environment with Daniel Chopson

Understanding the Difference Between `:focus` and `:focus-visible` in CSS

Building a Stripe App: A Step-by-Step Guide to QR Code Generation

Let's innovate together!

You might also like

Cybersecurity Leadership 101 with Dr. Joye Purser

How to be an Effective Technology Leader in an Agile Startup Environment with Daniel Chopson

Understanding the Difference Between `:focus` and `:focus-visible` in CSS

Building a Stripe App: A Step-by-Step Guide to QR Code Generation