Leading in Technology Organizations
in the Age of AI

Overview

When Todd started to become a manager and a leader, he sought out what he could by reading and attending conferences. But often what he encountered as common practice didn’t make common sense in the real world. This class is based on principles and practices that he found work in the real world and are even more critical in the world of AI.

Almost nobody tells technologists how to start leading, and leadership doesn’t wait for a title. It happens at every level of an organization, from the coach with no formal authority to the executive with plenty. So what does it take to navigate that shift? It comes down to what you’re responsible for now, who you have to convince, and why your old measures of success no longer apply. That shift is worth two days of anyone’s time.

Agenda

Learning Objectives

By the end of the class, participants will be able to:

• See the organization as a system. Spot the feedback loops that shape results, and anticipate where a well-meant fix will shift the problem elsewhere.
• Decide and act under uncertainty. Make sound decisions with incomplete information, using small, reversible steps and fast feedback instead of waiting for certainty.
• Focus effort on what matters to the business. Distinguish what differentiates the business from what only needs to be good enough, and use that to prioritize and explain trade-offs.
• Lead through people, not around them. Shift from being valued for what they build to being valued for what their team builds, and adapt how they lead to the person and the work.
• Apply timeless principles as technology changes. Decide where AI helps, where it only moves the bottleneck, and which leadership principles still hold.

Audience

• Technical practitioners stepping toward leadership for the first time
• Scrum masters & agile coaches who have influence but no formal authority
• Project & program managers coordinating work they don’t own
• First-line managers newly responsible for people, not just delivery
• Experienced managers who are ready to take on the next leap in their career
• Product people leading technical work without technical authority

Course Details

Course Deliverables

Attendees will receive a Certificate of Participation, a copy of the presentation materials, along with a digital copy of Todd’s book “Stand Back and Deliver: Accelerating Business Agility.”