Last week, I spoke about technology change leadership at Open Source North. It was a lot of fun. In case you missed it, I drew heavily from these past Zach on Leadership articles: Today’s article isn’t about the content of that presentation. It’s about the experience itself. I had an epiphany: I wasn’t nervous at all. I genuinely enjoyed the speaking opportunity. I was relaxed. It was fun. If I go back 15 years in time, the past version of...

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I’m naturally fascinated by new technology. No one needs to tell me to keep up on tech trends. I do so naturally. I’ve done plenty of dabbling with Generative AI. I’ve written about it a few times on this blog already. If you missed it, you can check it out here, here, and here. Today’s article is all about Generative AI technology adoption. Some never use it. Some play with it from time to time. Some use it daily. I’m...

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The post How Generative AI Fixed My Air Conditioner appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I remember the first time I set foot in a real data center. It was roughly 26 years ago. That’s where the magic happened. That’s where the serious IT engineering work was done. At the time, I was a desktop support technician. After a few years, I advanced my career to the point where I was qualified to work in the data center. I was elated. I loved every aspect of it. The ice-cold air conditioning, the blinking LED lights, the...

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Do you ever get the feeling that you should’ve been promoted to the next level by now? If you are early in your career, you might think you are the only one. Ask anyone. Every single person will say that they’ve been there for a season of their career. Most have been there multiple times. While the situation is common, it isn’t easy to handle. Being overdue for a promotion can lead to frustration and disengagement. There are a lot...

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The post What to Do While You’re Waiting to Be Promoted appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

This week, the President of the United States stepped into a modern EV and remarked with exuberance, “Everything is computer!” I will set aside the political context for this, because that’s not the purpose of this blog. I will take a moment to reflect on this humorous comment because it provides me the opportunity to reflect on our relationship with technology in this modern era. The term “computer” I still use the term, “computer,” but I also recognize that it’s...

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Can you be a people-first, servant leader and still have the guts to make the tough calls when you have to? Yes, but it’s really hard. Those of you who have been following me for a long time know that I’m all about servant leadership. You know the type. These leaders make work fun. They help people grow in their careers. They build a great culture. They take the blame and give the credit. They make people feel safe. They...

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The post The Difference Between a Good Servant Leader and a Great One appeared first on Zach on Leadership.

I was asked a pretty insightful question this week. I was doing Q&A with Minnesota Technology Association’s ACE Leadership cohort. We were discussing a wide range of leadership topics when one of the participants asked this interesting question: How do you know what’s really going on in your team? Do you use dashboards or status reports? What’s your method? I sat back in my chair for a moment to gather my thoughts. It occurred to me that this is a...

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It had been 5 years since I last coached a competitive Lego robotics team. 5 long years. What could possibly have changed? From 2017-2020. I coached a Lego robotics team through three seasons, two of which climaxed with appearances at the state championships. Those were some great years, and they inspired many blog articles. If you’d like to check them out, click here, here, and here. But then covid hit, and that changed everything. Also, shortly after that, all of...

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