Mala Devlin is a Senior Software Development Manager at Cisco systems where she is responsible for development tools & methodologies to increase engineering productivity. She is also the author of a book on engineering leadership and building great teams - "The Software Soul". She is currently responsible for marketing, engineering, deploying and supporting a variety of engineering productivity tools and applications across 15,000 engineers. She has extensive experience in directly and matrix managing global, cross functional teams - and driving change across organizations. Mala has been at Cisco for the last 10 years, and has worked in the areas of enabling large-scale componentized development/release models, enabling hitless software upgrades, and managing QoS. Prior to Cisco, she worked in a variety of engineering and product management roles for 10 years at Bell Northern Research in Canada. Mala Devlin
Mala Devlin is a Senior Software Development Manager at Cisco systems where she is responsible for development tools & methodologies to increase engineering productivity. She is also the author of a book on engineering leadership and building great teams - "The Software Soul". She is currently responsible for marketing, engineering, deploying and supporting a variety of engineering productivity tools and applications across 15,000 engineers. She has extensive experience in directly and matrix managing global, cross functional teams - and driving change across organizations. Mala has been at Cisco for the last 10 years, and has worked in the areas of enabling large-scale componentized development/release models, enabling hitless software upgrades, and managing QoS. Prior to Cisco, she worked in a variety of engineering and product management roles for 10 years at Bell Northern Research in Canada. Dare to Inspire (5)
The Journey
This week I shared with you some quotes that have helped to inspire me through some tumultuous times. I find they make me feel energized and able to inspire others and pave the forward when ‘things go wrong’. And, things almost always go wrong in projects – don’t they? So, in addition to [...]
Dare to Inspire (4)
Sometimes, you have to break the rules to get things done!
As we go through our lives we are subjected to numerous rules – as kids, as students, as workers and as adults living our everyday lives. As program managers and leaders, part of our responsibilities is to lay down some rules by which to guide [...]
Dare to Inspire (3)
Are you working with a ‘can do’ or ‘cant do’ project team?
We have all been in both kinds of teams. The difference in potential energy is enormous. And, what a difference that makes to team dynamics and project results! ‘Can do’ teams seem invincible, welcome challenges and proudly talk about the battles fought and won. [...]
Dare to Inspire (2)
Do you really want to wrestle a pig?
It is interesting how sometimes the signs in the universe all seem to converge and lead you down a certain path. Today was such a day. As you know, I have committed this week to sharing with you my inspirational quotes that have helped guide my career and provide [...]
Dare to Inspire (1)
Me – try to inspire – but why?
So, here we are – another Monday. Many of us traditionally start Monday on a low note. Back to the grind, back to the routine – same old. We will likely have the first of many project meetings on Mondays. Will you just go through the motions of [...]
Do you have what it takes to succeed as a manager?
Over the years, I have worked with, for and managed a spectrum of management talent. A good manager can make a huge difference to the bottom line and influence the actions of an entire organization or program. They are at the center of driving business success.
Yet too often, I still hear phrases like [...]
Balancing Act: Live and Virtual Communities
How a team feels impacts its productivity and business results. Imagine if the acrobat above was having a bad day… the results would be disastrous!
A key ingredient that shapes team effectiveness is its culture and having a sense of community.
Geography plays a huge role in shaping culture. Communities that live together use a common language, [...]
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Management
We are all very much aware that how a team feels makes a huge difference to their productivity and to business results. Many of us have been on A-teams, as well as on D-teams. It was the same you, in two different teams – with two vastly different results. If we take that experience and [...]
