Professional Development – 2023 – Week 7

Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54585499@N04/

.NET

You Completely Misunderstand How Strings Work in C# (via Nick Chapsas)

  • Strings are always allocated on the heap.
  • If you have two variables with the same string literal, they will get the same pointer in memory — this is called string interning.
  • WinDebug allows you to attach to running processes to see the strings on the heap.
  • There are cases — concatenation, for example — where the compiler won’t intern it. To force interning, make the strings of type const string. This makes .Equals run faster because the first thing it does is check if the reference types are the same
  • See also String.Intern() and String.IsInterned()

Leadership

The Power of Options (via HBR)

When faced with a crisis or opportunity, most leaders fall back on their default style. However, each situation is nuanced, such that the default style may prove unhelpful. The author defines four styles that a successful leader can exercise as well as situations to use (or not use each one): lean in (deciding, confronting), lean back (collecting data, delaying decisions), lean with (empathizing, coaching), and don’t lean (contemplating, breathing).

Learning

How to Help Your Team Learn in the Flow of Work (via HBR)

I like this concept of integrating learning into the work itself. Learning is active and routine.

Managing people

Hold Your Team Accountable with Compassion, Not Fear (via HBR)

  • Set clear expectations
  • Maintain attention
  • Create psychological safety
  • Be a coach, not a micromanager
  • Use appropriate consequences
  • When all else fails, allow for a graceful exit