If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it. - Margaret Fuller
New blog, first post! Starting a blog to share my experience and learnings as a leader has been something I have wanted to do for a while now. It's exciting to be finally doing so.
A bit about me
My name is Brandon, and I am a leader with a background in software engineering. I have been fortunate to have had some brilliant leaders and mentors in my personal life and professional career. They have helped me become an effective and successful leader myself. A firm believer in paying it forward I am hoping this blog goes some way in doing just that.
This is not my first blog. I have had two others in the past – one about database development, the other about software development. To be honest neither lasted that long, and both have long since been consigned to the world wide web recycle bin. I feel altogether different about this blog though; more inspired, more purposeful, more prepared!
I’m intrigued by people and passionate about leadership. I strive to understand both better. My views and understanding of leadership have changed significantly throughout my life and they will undoubtedly continue to evolve. I want to share my journey; the experiences and the interactions that shape my perspective.
My bookcase is dominated by biographies of great leaders and books on leadership, management and of course, software engineering. It's ironic that I prefer physical books... there’s just something about holding a book and flicking through its pages... and the smell!
Why Leader Kaizen?
I plan to write a post about kaizen, and more specifically what it means to me, but in short, kaizen is Japanese meaning "change for better". Its meaning has evolved beyond the literal translation to encompass a philosophy of continuous improvement. I thought the name fitting for a blog centred around the ongoing pursuit of knowledge and becoming a better leader.
What is this blog about?
At the heart, it is about leadership written through a lens that is uniquely my own. I will be using it as a way to reflect openly on my thoughts and experiences. I hope that in doing so I can derive some insights and learnings which I can apply to my own life, as well as help others that are also seeking to grow as leaders.
I will be writing about topics that relate to personal development, teams and engagement, and societal influences on leadership. There will be some overlap with the software engineering domain from time to time, but I will strive to keep the content as generally applicable as possible. I want it to be a healthy mixture of objective, academic discourse and thoughtful, introspective exposition; it is as much about personal reflection and growth as it is about traditional leadership and management theory.
Before starting this blog, I wanted to be prepared. As of writing this post I have a list of around two dozen topics to write about – so I am not likely to run out of ideas soon! I will aim to write a post every 1-2 weeks. Quality over quantity is the goal here so I won’t post something that is not ready or to a standard I am happy with.
Feedback’s a gift
This is a new part of my journey and I’m genuinely excited to share it. I would love to hear feedback about the site and content. I will be making changes to the site over time in response to feedback, to improve the experience, and of course to hone my tech skills.
Sharing is caring
Lastly, I ask that if you find what you read interesting or helpful, please share it with your social network so that others might benefit from it.