Welcome to the meetup for technical leaders! This event is hosted by Monzo in London.

Update: HUGE thanks to Sophie Koonin who stepped in to host and Jo Franchetti who stepped in to give an amazing talk on such short notice in Meri's absence.

⏰ Schedule

• 6:30pm - Arrive, refreshments & networking
• 7:00pm - Welcome
• 7:05pm - Lola Odelola
• 7:25pm - Theo Nicolaou
• 7:40pm - Break
• 7:55pm - Meri Williams
• 8:25pm - Networking
• 9:00pm - Close

🌟 Speakers

Host: Sophie Koonin (Engineer, Monzo)

---

Speaker: Lola Odelola (Software Engineer, Heroku / Founder, blackgirl.tech)

Bio: Lola is an anti-cheesecake activist, writer, software engineer at Heroku and mother of blackgirl.tech, a non-profit aimed at helping to diversifying the tech industry with free workshops, scholarships and internships. She has two published poetry books, one of which was the Poetry Book Society's Autumn Pamphlet Choice 2016. She has also been recognised for her work with blackgirl.tech, being listed as a one to watch by Code First Girls and nominated for Inspiring 50 UK, a list of inspiring women leaders in UK tech.

Talk: Are You Ready For Juniors?

The tech industry is currently in a transitionary phase, as we step into the digital future, more and more people are becoming digitally literate. The rise of bootcamps, online tutorials and diversity programs mean that more people are learning to code and becoming competent developers, however jobs for these people are scarce. In an industry where there is more demand than supply, how is it people are still struggling to find good junior roles?

Having spoken to senior engineers and hiring managers, and looking back at my own experiences, I think the issues are clear. For many companies, hiring a junior developer is perceived as risky. Do they have enough knowledge to make valuable contributions? Can we give them enough support? You have to have confidence that the person you hire can do the work you hire them to do, and that’s not always clear from hiring a junior. However, given the right environments, junior engineers can not only make valuable contributions to the product but also make better engineers of their colleagues.

I will be looking at the best ways to prepare to hire junior engineers so that the product doesn’t suffer and the environment is one that’s conducive to growth.

---

Speaker: Theo Nicolaou (Lead Developer, Natural History Museum)

Bio: Theo is the Lead Developer in the Digital Media and Marketing department at the Natural History Museum. He has a background in front-end development and a keen interest in web performance. In his spare time, he can be found laughing/crying about Spurs, following the F1 racing and reading tweets supposedly written by dogs.

Talk: A New Tech Leads’ Survival Guide

It’s well-known that the transition from individual contributor to tech lead/manager can be challenging and overwhelming at first.

In this talk, Theo describes his journey from Senior Front-end Developer to Lead Developer. In particular, he will focus on his key learnings and the strategies he developed to manage the transition period and get to grips with his new role. If you’ve recently made a step up or are looking to do so, his tips and ideas will help you hit the ground running and become more effective in your role.

Speaker: Jo Franchetti (Engineering Engagement Manager, Trainline)

Bio:Jo is a Tech Engagement Manager at trainline who is passionate about VR, Web Bluetooth, PWAs and great CSS. She’s got 6 years experience as a front end developer and has worked in various parts of the tech industry from startups, agencies, charities to large organisations. She is also mentor and organiser at codebar.io where she is able to action her passion not only for teaching good use of the web but also for improving the diversity and inclusivity of the tech industry.

Talk:Dealing with perfectionism, Imposter Syndrome & Anxiety

Working in the tech industry can sometimes make us feel inferior. It is easy to start believing that everyone knows more, or finds the work easier. When we’re surrounded by so many intelligent people, how can we not start to judge ourselves against them and our work against theirs? Impostor syndrome - the belief that you don’t deserve to be where you are, and perfectionism - a need to work to impossibly high standards, are exhausting. Learn how to spot these destructive thought patterns in yourself, how to manage anxiety and procrastination and how to start being kinder to yourself.

---

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.