Tim brings a very positive attitude that encourages people to be better versions of themselves
Lilian · ontowhee.com · United States
Djangonaut Space member
Lilian is a friend and colleague of mine from the Django community. We met each other at a DjangoCon US, and then worked together in Djangonaut Space. Lilian’s a DSF individual member who has focused on improving the contributor experience of Django. We’ve had many discussions about open-source software and the Django community where she taught me what I now call The Lilian Method.
Who should and should not hire Tim as a mentor?
Why you should NOT hire Tim as a mentor:
- If you are looking for someone to give you instructions on exactly what to do.
- If you are looking to validate what you already believe, and are not open to different perspectives or challenging your pre-existing notions about yourself.
- If you don’t have a clear sense of ownership over your own ambitions and outcomes.
Why you SHOULD hire Tim as a mentor:
- If you value your time and the wisdom you’ll acquire from a software expert with extensive contributions to several open source projects and global communities.
- If you are looking to accelerate your personal and professional growth, and will take the initiative to incorporate Tim’s wisdom into your career.
- If you want mentorship from someone who is in the trenches, not someone who regurgitates self-help books.
- Tim is a wonderful mentor with experience founding and running a very successful global mentorship program with 100+ members and growing. He has helped many software engineers strengthen their technical skills and find confidence with navigating the software industry. His work has widespread impact.
What specific aspect did you like most about working with Tim?
I like Tim’s thoughtfulness. Tim takes time to consider a question or situation before answering. He forms his opinions, but also maintains respect for differing perspectives. Tim is very objective. He doesn’t sugarcoat things or say things that he thinks the other person wants to hear. He poses great questions that help others challenge their understanding. Tim brings a very positive attitude that encourages people to be better versions of themselves.
What would be three other benefits of working with Tim?
- As a Steering Council member, Tim oversees and engages in a lot of discussions about the future and direction of Django the web framework. He is also actively working on initiatives to help improve contributions to the ecosystem. He knows the pain points many developers face when working on team projects, whether it is for the industry or for open source.
- Tim is very capable of articulating his thoughts on both technical and non-technical topics.
- Tim is very calm and patient. He has a rare skill of navigating discussions on tough topics to get to the root of a mentee’s problem.
Why would you recommend working with Tim?
Tim is very kind and considerate of others. He’s not judgmental. His opinions are very valuable because he has mentored a lot of people, and he has seen a lot of the common struggles from software developers.