Open Source Leadership with Bruce Momjian

Talking Postgres with Claire Giordano

What does it take to lead a global open source project like Postgres? In Episode 26 of Talking Postgres with Claire Giordano, we sit down with Bruce Momjian—co-founder and core team member of the PostgreSQL Global Development Group—to explore the art of leadership in a volunteer-run open source community. Bruce shares what “servant leadership” really means; how saying I’m sorry can help make problems go away; and how letting go of who-gets-the-credit can fuel collaboration. We also dive into Bruce’s origin story, from shaping Postgres’s early days to mastering the art of public speaking. Pro tip: if you see a man in a bow tie at a Postgres conference, be sure to say hello—it’s probably Bruce Momjian!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Open source project website: postgresql.org
• Website: Bruce Momjian
• Video of talk: Building Open Source Teams at FOSDEM 2023
• Slides: FOSDEM talk on Building Open Source Teams
• Wikipedia: John C. Maxwell
• Harry Truman quote: It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit
• The New Stack: How to Generate AI From a Database
• EDB Blog: Bruce Momjian’s Insights from PGConf India 2025
• Conference schedule: PGConf India 2025
• Book: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
• Video of talk: Why Database Teams Need Crew Resource Management by Chris Travers
• Wikipedia: Anna Karenina principle
• Talking Postgres podcast: Why mentor Postgres developers with Robert Haas
• Discord invite: PostgreSQL Hacking server
• Mailing lists: PostgreSQL mailing lists
• Conference: PostgreSQL Conference Nepal 2025 happening May 5-6
• Conference: PostgreSQL Conference Germany 2025 on May 8-9
• Conference: POSETTE: An Event for Postgres 2025 on Jun 10-12
• Upcoming POSETTE 2025 keynote: Databases in the AI Trenches by Bruce Momjian
• Conference: SouthEast | LinuxFest on Jun 13-15 in Charlotte NC
• Conference: Swiss PGDay 2025 happening Jun 26-27
• Conference: PGDay Austria 2025 happening in Vienna on Sep 4
• Conference: PGDay UK 2025 happening in London on Sep 9
• Conference: PGDay Lowlands 2025 happening in Rotterdam on Sep 12
• Video from PGConf.dev 2024: Making PostgreSQL Hacking More Inclusive
• Talking Postgres podcast: How I got started as a developer (& in Postgres) with David Rowley
• Wikipedia: O'Reilly Open Source Convention (OSCON)
• Calendar invite: LIVE recording of Ep27 of Talking Postgres to happen on Wed May 07 with guest Peter Farkas. The topic: “How I got started with FerretDB (& why we chose Postgres)”