Surprisingly Effective managers

Surprisingly Effective tips and tactics for engineering managers working at technology companies

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• Write linked notes so you don’t have to remember
  Writing linked notes helps engineering makers and managers alike develop the super-powers of augmented memory and the appearance of effective multitasking. I’m revisiting Simon Willison’s essay and conference talk Massively increase your productivity on personal projects with … Continue reading Write linked notes so you don’t have to remember →
• Leadership keywords
  My current theory of leading software teams and projects has four keywords: Trust: I assume everyone is working to get the job done. They assume I will help them get the job done. This starts off more … Continue reading Leadership keywords →
• Don’t be spooky
  It’s possibly the best advice for managers I’ve given so far. When you’re communicating with your team, lead with context and reassurance. Never message someone on your team, “let’s talk when you get a minute”. That’s void … Continue reading Don’t be spooky →
• “Rationalize and solve” doesn’t help someone who is venting
  If you’re doing the whole servant leadership thing, you’re gonna hear some people venting frustrations. Yihwan Kim, When a 1:1 turns into a vent session: As an engineering manager, I’m learning that a big part of my … Continue reading “Rationalize and solve” doesn’t help someone who is venting →
• One priority is like wind in the sails
  It’s true that I can scale myself, teams, and organizations to walk and chew gum at the same time, but it is surprisingly effective to focus on one thing at a time. This is the essence of … Continue reading One priority is like wind in the sails →
• Planning focuses our ideas
  Planning is essential. But, not too much. Mostly in the next 90-day window (with apologies to Michael Pollan). Humans are, with few exceptions, awful at planning. It’s impossible to see the future. We rely on our previous … Continue reading Planning focuses our ideas →
• Let them go their own way
  A mistake many newly minted (and some experienced) engineering managers (EMs) make is listening to their team (good!), discussing potential solutions and tradeoffs (good!), and then telling them how to solve the problem. Whoops!

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