Ep17 - Robert Harris: An Anthropologist's Journey to Engineering Leadership

In this episode, we sit down with Robert Harris, VP of Engineering, to explore his fascinating journey as a "self-taught" programmer through psychology, anthropology, archaeology, and back again to software engineering and leadership.

Robert shares his unconventional background: starting with a Commodore 64 at age 10, his career in psychology and museum curation, his return to software development, and how all this shaped his approach to leading engineering teams.

We discuss topics ranging from the pragmatism of “self-taught” programmers to the critical human side of software engineering (that often gets overlooked), the importance of trust and solidarity, the ledger of trust between leaders and teams, and the power of shared rituals and identity, among others.

Robert talks about his "corporate ethnography" approach to understanding teams, explains why micromanagement happens to great individual contributors who become leaders, and shares practical strategies for building healthy engineering cultures.

If you want to hear how an anthropologist thinks about engineering culture and leadership, this episode is for you. Learn more about Robert's coaching at http://coded2lead.com/ .