#183 - Mastering Team Leadership by Embracing Conflicts and Building Resilience - Hari Haralambiev

Tech Lead Journal

“Strong teams embrace conflict. They use it as a tool, and they have their great way of handling disagreements."

Hari Haralambiev is co-founder of SoftSkillsPills.com and author of the leadership newsletter “A Leader’s Tale”. In this episode, we discuss essential elements of team leadership and dynamics. Hari begins by sharing his insights on what makes a great software development team, emphasizing the importance of creating the right environment for collaboration and sustainable results. He introduces the TReE team model, a framework for assessing team dynamics, which stands for Trust, Results, and Evolution.

Our conversation also explores the significance of handling conflicts and disagreements within teams, highlighting the role of leaders in fostering healthy conflict resolution. Hari provides strategies for maintaining team engagement during challenging times, such as layoffs and the pandemic, emphasizing the importance of open communication, focusing on controllable objectives, and the importance of authenticity and vulnerability in leadership.

Listen out for:

• Career Journey - [00:02:09]
• What Makes Software Development Team Great - [00:06:14]
• TReE Team Model - [00:08:40]
• Team Conflicts and Disagreements - [00:15:28]
• The Role of Leaders in Conflicts - [00:25:39]
• Making It Safe to Speak Up - [00:35:16]
• Maintaining Engagement During Tough Times - [00:43:49]
• Maintaining Mental Health for Leaders - [00:51:57]
• 3 Tech Lead Wisdom - [00:55:07]
• Fun Fact About Soft Skills Pills - [00:59:41]

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Hari Haralambiev’s Bio
Hari started his 20-year career in the IT industry as a software engineer, led dozens of projects as a manager of software teams, and reached the position of Innovation Director before starting his own company. For the past 10 years, he has focused on helping tech people work better together through team coaching and leadership & soft skills training. Hari is co-founder of SoftSkillsPills.com, the platform for dev teams who care about people, co-host of the popular Bulgarian podcast for IT people Radio Tochka 2, and author of the leadership newsletter/comic A Leader’s Tale.

Follow Hari:

• LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/haralambi-haralambiev
• Soft Skills Pills – softskillspills.com
• Newsletter – softskillspills.com/aleaderstale

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