In this episode of the Vernon Richard Show, Vernon and Richard discuss various topics, including personal updates, mental health, the role of gatekeeping in quality assurance, mentoring experiences, and effective onboarding strategies. They emphasise the importance of community support, advocating for mental health awareness, and the nuances of being a gatekeeper in professional settings. The conversation also delves into the dynamics of mentoring, the significance of setting clear goals, and the art of making suggestions in new environments.00:00 - Intro01:06 - Where have we been for a month?06:16 - Men's Mental Health09:46 - The Questions!10:10 - QUESTION: To gate-keep, or not to gate-keep? That is the question from Deb Sherwood22:05 - Olly impersonates Emily22:33 - QUESTION: Mentorship advice27:25 - Coaching vs Mentoring28:10 - Vern's good and bad with experiences mentoring28:57 - What role does accountability play in this?29:38 - Informal mentoring30:48 - Rich shares his experience mentoring a colleague31:46 - Rich's good and bad experiences with mentoring33:44 - Putting 💰 on the line35:45 - Energy Vampires 🧛🏾37:16 - The upside of being a mentor39:17 - QUESTION: Onboarding into a new team or to a new product40:40 - Rich's two-step process when he's in this situation43:50 - Vern's kids teach him a valuable communication technique45:24 - "Asking" & "Suggesting"48:28 - The danger of suggesting things blindly51:15 - Leadership inception54:40 - OutroLinks to stuff we mentioned during the pod:06:16 - Manchester Tech FestivalThe MTF Mixer: Male Mental Health featuringKofi JosephsKofi's website for Why Not IKofi's InstagramKofi's LinkedInJamie Lee DennisJamie's LinkedInJamie's website for Mandem MeetupDmitry LeykoDmitry's LinkedInJames DaviesJames' LinkedIn08:56 - Vern's travelsFrankfurt for German Testing Days with Beren Van DaeleRiskStorming OnlinePrague to meet my Phrase teammatesManchester Tech Festival in... Manchester!Zurich for GreaTest ConferenceLiverpool to celebrate Liverpool FC winning the Premier League!10:10 - Deb SherwoodDeb's LinkedIn15:37 - Jobs To Be Done (JTBD)Courtesy of Perplexity, here are some references you might find useful that explain the JTBD concept25:00 - S.M.A.R.T. goals27:25 - The coaching vs mentoring rabbit hole on earlier episodes29:13 - Ryan CoxRyan's website (if you check him out, tell him Vern sent you!)Ryan's LinkedIn35:45 - The Software Testers Journey book, written by Nicola Lindgren and me40:30 - Automation in Testing references (via Perplexity)41:18 - Resources about the 10 Ps of TestabilityArticle on testability featuring the 10 PsThe book Team Guide to Software Testability by Ash Winter & Rob Meaney

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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