Learning is a lifelong journey—successful leaders know this and live by it. They remain open to new knowledge, feedback, and ideas, which keeps their skills fresh and constantly makes them even better leaders.
In this episode of Scaling Tech, we are excited to welcome back Allison McMillan, a Fractional VP of Engineering, leadership consultant, team coach, and facilitator, to discuss this vital topic that resonates across all industries. With over 25 years of experience in design and facilitation for a wide range of gatherings—from meetings and strategy planning sessions to off-sites and conferences—Allison brings a wealth of knowledge. She has held leadership roles at QuotaPath, DEV, and GitHub and has worn many hats across various sectors as a community builder, managing director, and software engineer.
Allison and Arin address some key questions and dilemmas every leader faces, such as: How do you approach learning about a new topic? What strategies do you use to share that knowledge with your team? And how do you know when you’ve learned enough about a topic and it’s time to start implementing it?
Check out this episode of the Scaling Tech podcast for valuable tips about learning and skills development for leaders.
About Guest:
Name: Allison McMillan
What she does: She’s a Fractional VP of Engineering & Leadership Consultant.
Company: Tavlin Consulting
Where to find Allison: LinkedIn
Key Insights
⚡Learning styles can change over time. Life is full of significant transitions, and individuals’ learning styles can shift during these times. It’s essential to recognize and respect this need for adjustment. As Allison says, “This is a little-known fact that I always, as a woman in tech with kids, I always like to sort of pop into any time that I’m talking about learning because it’s important for women to know, and it’s important for managers to know when folks are coming back from maternity leave. It could be that methods that worked in the past are not what work, and it might take that person a couple of weeks, a month or two to figure out what their new learning style is.”
⚡AI is an excellent tool for breaking down complex topics. In our daily tasks, the sheer volume of information can often feel overwhelming. This is where AI can be of great help, as it can simplify complex concepts and make them easier to manage. Allison shares how she uses it, “One of my favorite ways to use AI is when I am thinking about a concept, and I’m trying to sort of brush up on something; I will ask it to explain something to me like I’m five and then to explain it to me like I’m ten, and then to explain that to me like I’m 20, and then to explain it to me like I’m a seasoned and experienced professional. And honestly, that is the fastest way that I even just get sort of that initial primer because it’s interesting to see those sorts of developmental; what’s the simplest explanation, and then how does it get built on and built on and built on?”
⚡Applied knowledge is power. The ability to apply knowledge effectively and swiftly is crucial for success. Allison says, “I think that applying quickly is super important in the role. Now, you don’t want to just sort of blindly start applying, but it’s not that dissimilar to what is the smallest thing that we can ship that would have an impact for a client, and how quickly can we ship that MVP? It’s not that dissimilar for learning. What is the question being asked? And how quickly can I get to an answer that at least gets us a step forward in the process, a step forward towards the goal, or the reason why the question is being answered? And how can I very quickly recognize how much time I will need in order to be able to fully answer the question?”