Jess stresses upon the experience that informal leadership is way too different from formal leadership. Jess points out that formal leadership is usually about titles, roles and job responsibilities. On the other hand, informal leadership emerges as an outcome of living life fully and seeing relationship building, problem-solving, knowledge sharing and empathizing with people as a very natural thinking and acting process of human professionals.
In short, Informal leadership is about Influencing people and making an impact through your behaviour. Some characteristics of Informal leaders are…
– They are a relationship builder, and they develop relationships through respectful interactions with people who might not share the same perspective
– They are Trustworthy Problem Solvers who solve problems with cross-functional teams that are beyond their day to day circle of influence
– They continuously assess the knowledge gaps, share knowledge freely and proactively
– They point out problems and contribute to solving those
Takeaways:
Â
Jess Ingrassellino, EdD, is a leader in the software and education industries. She is currently a software engineer at Manifold.ai, and has a reputation for delivering excellent software, on deadline, to meet the critical needs of businesses small and large, worldwide.
In 2012, Jess launched TeachCode, and has since worked as an author (Python Projects for Kids, various articles), Python teacher, and Software Testing teacher. For two years she chaired the PyCon Education Summit, and has done work with educators and programmers worldwide to help bring high-quality curricula to the world’s students. A violin scholarship student at the University of Vermont, Jess started her career as a music teacher at the age of 18, and continues to weave her teaching knowledge into her daily life and work.
Receiving advanced academic research training in education (EdD, 2015, Columbia University, Music Education/Assessment), Jess has transformed the experiences from her teaching career into her technological career, focusing her continued technological work on community, collaboration, and improvisational practices for enriching professional life. A frequent speaker at international technical, testing, and education conferences, Jess has created courses including Differentiated Management and Company Testing Strategies. Jess’s key strength is her ability to dive into new subjects and understand both their depth and their breadth, seeing new and seemingly disparate connections among disciplines, leading to insightful and inventive practices that have been recognized by professional leaders in the engineering industry.
Jess enjoys playing violin and viola with regional orchestras, including the Massapequa Philharmonic and the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony.
