Matrix Foundation Governing Board Nomination.

I’ve spent the past 10 years involved in a project called Matrix, an open standard for secure, decentralised communication. Starting out as a community member, I’ve worked professionally in the Matrix eco-system since ~2017.

Initially, Element (my employer) was founded to hire the Matrix core team to further the protocol. As Matrix has matured and given rise to a thriving ecosystem, it has gradually been building a governance system independent of Element in the form of the Matrix Foundation

With Josh Simmons joining as full-time managing director of the foundation in 2023, Matrix is now at the point where it can appoint a governing board. This is a crucial step in ensuring the long-term resilience and durability of the project, independent of any specific supporting organisation. 

You can read more about the governing board here.

I am a nominee for the governing board as the Element representative under the Platinum Member constituency.

I thought it would be good to share my nominee application so that folks have some idea of what I hope to bring to the board. 

“Element wants to see Matrix have the same impact on the world in the next 50 years as email has had on the previous 50.

In the early days, out of pragmatism, there was a high level of overlap between Matrix and Element. Element was formed from the Matrix founding team, and even today 90%+ of github.com/matrix-org is attributable to Element staff. However, in the long run, it is essential for Matrix to have a strong Foundation independent of any specific organisation. Which is why the Governing Board is so important.

To achieve the long-term goals of Matrix, we need not only a strong Foundation, a vibrant ecosystem, and a protocol that continues to evolve and innovate but also for Matrix to become a mainstream technology for the benefit of all.

Element should continue to try to help make Matrix the best it can be, contributing to its evolution from promising but niche technology to something truly mainstream.

Speaking personally, my experience at Element has given me first-hand practical insight into delivering large-scale Matrix projects benefiting millions of people, essential for the broader adoption of Matrix in the wild.

I have dedicated my professional life to furthering Matrix, and it would be an honour to serve on the governing board.”

Additionally, I am personally interested in finding ways to make it easier for members of the community to contribute to the core of Matrix. Would a working group model seen by projects such as Python or Rust work for Matrix? Relatedly, what would it take to make it easy and rewarding to contribute to enabling projects that help improve Matrix implementations across the board? I’m thinking specifically about things like Complement or Traffic Light, but it could apply to a range of projects.

If anyone from the Matrix community would like to ask me questions about the above, please feel free to ping me in the Platinum Nominee room or via DM.

What being in a band taught me about management

The only way to learn to manage is to do it;
and the only way to do it, is to do in front of people;
and the only way to do it front of people, is make a bunch of mistakes in a very public forum;
and the only saving grace is that, as an inexperienced manager, it’s really not clear quite how many mistakes are being made.

Me, ranting, in a pub, in West London

This, of course, is of small consolation to the manager’s team.

So the question is, how do we train people for team management without causing pain and suffering to the team? I don’t think there’s a simple answer, but it definitely helped me to have a chance to learn something outside of my professional life.

Back in the days when I had silly hair and green shoes, I used to play guitar in a band. Much like software teams, the problems a band faces are as much social as they are technical. A band needs someone to draw the group together, drive things forward and turn a bunch of dreamy-eyed losers into a bunch of dreamy-eyed losers who, you know, might get a gig. I’d love to think that I was in the band for my guitar excellence, but in truth my job was to keep things together. Sadly the Lonely Crowd never quite made it beyond the indie dives of London town, but it taught me a huge amount that I would later apply in managing teams of software developers.

Trust is key

Without trust it’s not possible for the group to work effectively. I’m not talking about trusting someone with a winning lottery ticket, more that I know I can rely on that person in the context of the project. Once the trust is gone the band is gone, it’s not coming back. Similarly, as a manager, my effectiveness is directly related to the trust within the team.

No need to motivate, just don’t demotivate

Generally, people who form bands are motivated passionate people, no-ones’s getting paid to be there, and even those more interested in impressing girls/boys than music, need to make sure the band is as good as it can be. The easier it is for the group to concentrate on turning ideas into songs and turning songs into set lists, the more satisfying the whole thing will be. So don’t worry about motivation, focus on removing obstacles and dealing with cranky promoters.

Provide a vision

Often the line between creative spark and creative fleurgh is very thin. Someone has to provide a vision for the group to work towards. In my case this meant coming to the band with rough song ideas, I’d bleed over these things in my bedroom, secretly very proud of my work, only for the rest of the guys to mutate it into something excellent. The point is that without that first step nothing would have happened. Remember that the aim is not to be the best musician, it’s to make the best musicians better.

Roles and responsibilities

A band has distinct roles, when people talk about the Beatles they rarely start with George Harrison, but his considered rhythm guitar parts made it possible for Lennon and McCartney to steal the show, similarly Bill and Ted were never going to get anywhere on their own. The point is that everyone needs to understand where they fit and exactly what they bring to the group, if the drummer is thinking like a lead guitarist, the band will sound awful no matter what.

Feedback

Without good feedback the music will suffer, either through a lack of innovation or through a lack of quality control. The key is finding a way to express your thoughts, good or bad, without it being taken personally. Thinking managerially, the aim should be that the whole group can provide good feedback. Doing so effectively requires a high level of trust within the group as well as a sense of when to intervene if the criticism becomes destructive.

Limit work in progress

Getting a song to a performable state is massive step. It brings the group together and feels like progress. It’s better to have three presentable songs than nine nearly finished ‘things’, not least because it then provides a means for feedback from outside of the group.

Manage internal tensions

Where passionate people collaborate there will always be differences in opinion. Impassioned debate is healthy and a sign that band mates care about the project, but sometimes things get out of hand and it’s necessary for a third party to mediate. Generally it comes down to a breakdown in communication and trust, problems are often best fixed away from the rehearsal room and after the event once all concerned have had a chance to calm down.

So what are you saying Neil, before a new manager starts out they should spend three years in Spinal Tap? Hardly, but training for people management is a tricky subject. At some point it’s necessary to dive in with a real team, accept that mistakes will be made and aim to learn very quickly indeed. The thing is there are plenty of opportunities to gain an introduction outside of work, for me it was guitar wrangling, I’d love to hear what other people have found helpful.