Leading anOpen

SourceProject

@tessamero OSCON May 2016

• Who Am I?• What is this Joomla! thing?• What is a Leader?• Effective Communication (my favorite to discuss) • Management/Representing• Dealing with Change• How Can You Be a Leader?

Summary

I’m Tessa MeroDeveloper Evangelist, Cisco@tessamero

Teacher, Mentor, Speaker, and a Happy-ist

Me: Open Source OVERLOAD

• How did I get into contributing?• Joomla Contributor 4-5 years• Joomla Leadership 2 years• Previously Board of Directors for

Joomla• Organizer of Seattle PHP User

Group• Organizer of Seattle Joomla User

Group• Organizer of Pacific Northwest

PHP Conference

What is Joomla?Free and Open Source Software1

2

3

4

Swahili for “All Together” (Jumla)

No paid staff. Only FOSS with 100% volunteers

5 65+ Million Downloads

Fork of Mambo CMS in 2005

What is a Leader?

Effective Communication

Demonstrate leadership with communication and

listening to your community

Following Through• My friend Helen…

(Following through with community integration)

• Respect• Reputation• Trust• Help Others follow

through

Take Charge / Action

Assume people mean well until proven otherwise.

• Try resolving 1 on 1 (don’t humiliate them in public)

• Try using a mediator to resolve conflict• Let people know if they are making you feel

uncomfortable or if they hurt you• DON’T HOLD GRUDGES (hardest one of all, since I

have some…)• Don’t Blame OTHERS!• Accept fault and accept being wrong. It’s OK!• All else fails? Tell them to leave you alone and

report to someone above.

Resolve the Open Source Fight: Dealing with Conflict

Management/Representation

The importance of transparency, hiring/firing,

preventing burnout, and representing your

community

Transparency == “Trust”

•Public Reports•Financial Reports•Public Google Mailing Lists•Public Announcements•Structure Change w/ Processes•Documentation of Processes•Community Feedback

How Joomla! Opened Up Transparency

D“Today, power is gained by

sharing knowledge, not hoarding

it.- Dharmesh Shah,

HubSpot’s Culture Code

Leadership is not a popularity contest. It’s okay for people to disagree and

not like you.

“The most powerful leadership tool is your own personal example”

- John Wooden

Want to have a SuccessfulOpen Source Project?

Create a Culture where people Respect each other.

• Be a good representative by exhibiting positive and good behavior internally and externally (social media)

• Speak highly of others (and other Open Source) and don’t put down other people

• STOP THE GOSSIP TRAIN (ask questions)• Make newcomers feel welcome• Don’t wait for things to happen (maybe they

are waiting on you?)• Have fallback plans on changes (if…then..)

Representing Your Community

Invest in being motivating, not miserable

Hiring & Firing EffectivelyWhat? Who made this part of the process for a

large global community?!

Hiring• Call for Volunteers• Interview (Or Rejection Letter)• Check their forum/social media

accounts• Hiring• Look for someone who is

motivated and excited to get started

• Willing to read documentation

• Not afraid to ask questions• Training

Firing• “Firing” is too strong… the real term is “Let them Step Down”

• Remind them they haven’t contributed in awhile

• Give them a chance to continue their contributions (let them know it’s ok for breaks)

• Let them know there is someone (or someone’s) willing to take over their role.

• It’s not a big deal. Tell them you appreciate everything they’ve done• Contributor leaving community?

Make a public thank you letter

•Mentoring•Train them•Delegate your tasks•Don’t make 1 person a single point of failure, train

multiple per roles•Empower others•Listen to those you mentor (what are their goals?)

Create New Leaders

Why should we train and mentor contributors to become a leader?

Create New Leaders – Why?

f

Prevent BurnoutPut family first1

2

3

4

Don’t join too many teams / commit to too many projects

Put WORK over Open Source

5 Don’t be a “Yes Man” or “Yes Mam”. Learn to say “No Thanks”

Delegation!Teach Others

How to Prevent Burnout!

Day 1: OMG WTF HUH? THIS PROJECT WILL FAIL!!!

Week 1: These leaders are making a huge mistake

Week 4: Okay, maybe they know what they are doing

Month 3: I have no idea why this wasn’t the process long ago! Why didn’t we think of it then?

Process Change : TIMELINE

•Have. A. Plan!•Implement in SMALL STEPS!• Prevents community outrage• Prevents resignations

•Adds Trust•Give a chance for community involvement

Process Change

Saying Thank You to others can make a significant impact

THANK YOU!http://tessamero.com

@tessamero tessa.mero@joomla.org