Welcome to the meetup for technical leaders! This event is hosted by Zalando in Berlin.

⏰ Schedule

• 6:30pm - Arrive, refreshments & networking
• 7:00pm - Welcome
• 7:05pm - Talk 1
• 7:35pm - Break
• 7:45pm - Talk 2
• 8:15pm - Networking
• 9:00pm - Close

🌟 Speakers

Host: Aleksandra Gavrilovska (Engineering Manager, SoundCloud / Director, Women Who Code Berlin)

Speaker: Janusz Leidgens (Senior Android Developer, Mobisol)

Bio: Starting out as an Android Developer directly after his studies Janusz Leidgens successfully rode the mobile wave. He helped a big german app agency to grow the Android team from two persons to 15 and then also lead the iOS team at intive-Kupferwerk making him responsible for the wellbeing of 30 developers. Drawn from the promise of owning a product Janusz recently moved to the Berlin startup scene and is now working with the Android team at Mobisol to support people in East Africa to get access to affordable off-grid solar panels.

Talk: Speaking to your team members - How to have effective one on one meetings

One of my team leads once told me that having a 1-1 with me feels like having a session with a therapist. This was a huge compliment for me. Having 1-1s helps me to understand my team, to recognize problems early on and to support my employees and the team to grow.

Getting to a point where a one on one meeting feels like a good use of time for the involved is not easy and takes some training. I had a good mentor and some years of (sometimes awkward) training and will give the audience a head start by sharing my experiences.

First I will explain why 1-1 meetings are important for me as a team lead but also as a direct report. How they provide a channel for employees to raise issues to a higher level and to make them feel taken seriously. In the second part, I will speak about the practical things: How to schedule a 1-1? How to prepare and follow up on a good one to one meeting? What to do in a one on one and what not, how to guide the conversation and make the 1-1 a safe space that is dedicated time for the team member you are with. Finally, I will talk about specific questions that I ask and how to use this information. I will also explain why the second most important question for me is: What is your favourite baked good?

Speaker: Stacia Carr (Director of Engineering, Zalando)

Bio: Stacia Carr is an American technology executive and startup co-founder. Throughout her career she's led engineering teams developing consumer internet products and services with an emphasis on digital media distribution including SoundCloud, Sony, Listen.com, CMJ and Kink.com. In 2013 she successfully negotiated the acquisition of the boutique consulting company she was running to Indiegogo. In 2014, she relocated from the US to Madrid, Spain, as the technical cofounder of Vidnex, a real-time video platform for the health and fitness industry. At Zalando she is Director of Engineering and Dedicated Owner for the Sizing Organization; a team that provides size and fit solutions for Zalando Customers.

Talk: Scaling Up To Find the Right Fit

At Zalando, Stacia Carr leads a cross-functional team of experts who harness vast amounts of data using machine learning, to make intelligent predictions on variations in size across the industry. Find out how she approaches creating, scaling and supporting a high performing cross-functional data product development team for important customer problems.

The Lead Developer is an international conference for tech leaders in London, Austin and New York. Check out 100+ talk videos on imposter syndrome, leading and scaling technical teams, and lots more at theleaddeveloper.com.