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Hello, how are you doing today?
Our team is doing pretty well. We've been enjoying getting in touch with you every month, and it's been even more rewarding to read your replies and reconnect with old friends.
When we put these emails together, we generally don't have a driving theme in mind. They are mainly a summary of links and content that the team has shared internally during the weeks prior, and we think are worth extending with the tech community. But this month, a common thread pops-up: family.
To start with, our own has grown to include Kyle Jackon as our first dedicated researcher—we've reached double digits! 1️⃣0️⃣
Then we have our Q&A with Elle Meredith from Blackmill, who works to keep work families healthy and balanced, and hustles to keep home families well fed.
Finally, we wrap up with a photo from WD Summit 2019—perhaps the tech community parallel to a family Christmas gathering?
Thanks for reading and enjoy!
The Lookahead crew.
PS. If someone you know is looking to hire or be hired, please think of us. We'll take care of them as if they were our family.
Coming up
Web Directions AAA 2021
November 5 (second and last session, online)
AAA stands for Access All Areas. This edition's purpose is to keep professionals "up to date with developments in accessibility technologies and practices, to help them deliver a web for all." As always, get 25% off the registration fees using the code LOOKAHEAD.
A11y Camp 2021
November 9-11 (online)
A 3-day conference about accessibility and inclusion, where "people can share, learn, geek out, and mix with their peers and colleagues." Organised by A11y Bytes.
RORO Sydney Meetup
November 9, 6pm (online)
In this edition, Dan Moore will chat about JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) and everything that "ruby developers need to know".
Friends
Say hi to Elle Meredith:
Please introduce yourself:
I am a web developer with more than ten years experience writing Ruby and Rails. I've co-organised multiple Ruby conferences in Sydney (with Steve by the way) and New York. I also co-organised Rails Camps, Rails Girls workshops and in 2017 I developed and ran the Qantas Hotels Engineering Academy, a paid apprenticeship program, up-skilling junior developers in better development practices over six months. I sometimes give talks at conferences or other public events.
In addition to work, I am currently studying a Graduate Certificate in Psychology of Business and Management with Curtin University.
What do you do for work?
In 2017 I started Blackmill with Lachlan Hardy, a software engineering consultancy, where we work with organisations and their people to solve cultural and business problems. We use consulting, workshops, and tech leadership coaching, to help our clients nurture a healthy culture that is adaptive to change, ready to grow, and supports both the business and its people.
What do you do outside work?
Before getting into web development, I worked as a scuba diving instructor and dive operations manager for about ten years, and I still enjoy spending time on and under the water.
In 2016, I joined a friend for a sourdough class at the Brooklyn Bread Lab. Took me another few months to gather the courage to bake my first bread, and I've been making sourdough breads regularly for family and friends ever since.
We used to host Pizza Fridays. We held an open invitation to come and have pizza with us on most Fridays. Covid threw a spanner in the works with that. Hopefully we can start feeding friends at home again some time soon.
A month ago, I started writing a weekly newsletter with cooking tips and recipe suggestions. I know most of the people on the mailing list and so far the feedback I'm getting is positive. So that's been one positive thing in the middle of ongoing lockdowns.
Toughest work moment?
There have been more than one tough work moment, but a recent one that comes to mind is expressing frustration in an inappropriate manner, i.e. the wrong channel. For someone that has given multiple talks about feedback, I should have known better.
Most rewarding work moment?
Again, not sure I can pick just one. Working with clients on improving their organisational and team cultures have been amazing. Seeing teams gel better, work better, and feel safe and comfortable to contribute more because of my work has been a joy.
Your 'one sentence' work-related advice:
Problems with under performing teams are rarely about the tech stack, but usually about people and communications problems. Focus on the people more than just on outcomes or output. Work smarter, not harder or longer.
Your one sentence hiring-related advice:
Standardise your hiring process to reduce unconscious biases and to make better hiring decisions. Did I mention I can help with that? 😊
Feature job
Senior Front End Developer | Remote within Australia
Contribute to technical decision making and own the front end of this sharing economy marketplace platform built with the latest tech (NextJS, React & GraphQL).
For more opportunities like this head to our website or sign up for our job alerts.
Reads & listens
Debbie shared this Fast Company article which summarises 5000 people's reasons for quitting their jobs, offering great insights on how to keep staff "happy over the long haul".
Steve found this Harvard Business Review piece on "how to know if you're talking too much" quite valuable. Also, he can now say one or two things about the incredible processes at Nikon's Hikari Glass Factory. 😉
In the podcast world, our friend Ben recommended the Remote Works series, with "extraordinary stories of teams that have made the shift to working remotely." And in line with remarkable experiences, here's this How I Built This episode with Paul English, founder of Kayak (and sometimes, Uber driver).
Before we go
