Deliberate Practice for Technical Leaders
Short exercises for everyday technical leadership
A kata is a small prepared response to a moment that keeps showing up.
The trigger arrives, you give it 10 to 15 minutes, you write something down, and you carry on with the day.
No workshop, no coach, no permission needed.
The Katas
#| Number | Kata | Behavior to Practice | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Assumption Inventory | Surface hidden assumptions before they become surprises | |
| 002 | Pre-Mortem Minute | Anticipate failure before momentum silences doubt | |
| 003 | Opinion or Observation | Ground feedback in evidence, not preference | |
| 004 | The Blocker Brief | Explain a technical constraint so a non-engineer can act on it | |
| 005 | The Tradeoff Statement | Articulate what a decision costs, not just what it gains | |
| 006 | The Question Before the Answer | Develop others by resisting the urge to solve for them | |
| 007 | The Line Before the Pressure | Turn escalation from a stress response into a deliberate decision | |
| 008 | The Thing You Did Not Say | Say on paper what you would not say out loud | |
| 009 | The Debt Sentence | Write down what is wrong before you ship it |