ManagersApp

Let’s Build a Perfect House Together

Tools used by today’s leaders do not create engagement, increase leader’s competencies or help leaders relate to the needs of their team members.

Process

Writing Self Assessments For Work

I was fortunate enough to work with very smart and driven people who cared about their personal and professional growth. So why did writing self assessment feel so cumbersome to so many?

Engineering Management

Ensuring Code Quality and Efficiency in Product-Centric Organizations

A product-centric team needs metrics that track code quality and efficiency just as much as it needs metrics to track business/north star goals.

Engineering Management

When You Are A New Manager

Being a new manager can be anxiety inducing for anyone. This is true whether you are joining a new company as a manager, switching from an individual contributor role to a management role, or you've take on a new team.

Performance Management

Team Check-In Meetings

The goal of regular check-in conversations is to ensure that your team members are performing at their grade.

Leadership

On the Importance Of Ownership

One characteristic of great teams is that its members assume ownership by default. A strong sense of ownership means that the individual deeply cares about and feels responsible for doing a good job for their customers, their team or their company.

Performance Management

OKR Overview: Setting Objectives & Key Results

There are many ways that a company can set itself above the rest, but in my experience setting, tracking, communicating and grading OKRs plays a critical role in achieving such distinction

Cross Functional Collaborations

Driving Cross Functional Collaborations to Success

It has been my experience that companies small or large tend to struggle with driving cross functional collaborations to success. When a project is taken on by a single team it is more likely to meet its deadline. What makes cross functional projects more difficult to manage?

Book Summary

Book Summary: Radical Candor Quadrants

Whether you are manager or an individual contributor I highly recommend reading the book Radical Candor by Kim Scott. Kim covers a lot of great concepts in her book but I would like to share a summary of the concept that helps managers give radically candor feedback to their people

Engineering Management

Personal Growth Plan

Witnessing a junior team member fresh out of school gain the skills and experiences they need to be able to take on larger scoped and bigger impact challenges is one of the most satisfying aspects of being an engineering manager.

Team

Creating Your Team Charter

A team charter is a document that outlines a team's overall mission, resources and scope. A team charter document should be treated as a living document because a charter document reflects the mission, goals/OKRs, and team members of the team the document is written for.

Team

Skip Level Meetings

Holding skip level meetings is a good tool for senior managers who want to stay in touch with the realities of their organizations.

Team

The Definition Of Done

The goal of this post is to highlight the importance of defining and being consistent about what done means at an engineering organization.

Leadership

Accountability vs Responsibility

Accountability and responsibility are often used interchangeably in conversations without fully recognizing what each word is actually communicating.

Engineering Management

Growing Individual Contributors As Leaders

The term individual contributor goes beyond someone who produces value through their technical ability alone. Yes, an individual's competency in their craft is very important but craftsmanship is just one of the pillars needed for someone to be successful as an individual contributor.

Engineering Management

Guide to Engineering Operations

Engineering operations is putting together tools and processes to help engineering organizations solve the right problems and solve them efficiently.

Management Books

Book Summary of High Output Management by Andrew Grove

High Output Management was suggested to me as a good read for managers when I joined Dropbox. The book is written by the late Andy S. Grove who was the former chairman and CEO of Intel.

Engineering Management

Expectations for an Engineering Manager

Start by defining a list of core areas that you expect your team members to be responsible for

Engineering Management

What Makes a Good Manager?

My ideal manager is committed to delivering impactful products and services through their team, and they always follow through and hold their team accountable to these commitments. They understand that

Performance Management

Managing 360 Degree Feedback

I don't have to spend a lot of time getting to know a person or building trust before offering Radically Candid guidance. In fact, a great way to get to know somebody and to build trust is to offer Radically Candid praise and criticism - Kim Scott

Performance Management

Continuous Performance Management

Investment in performance management varies from non-existent in some workplaces to months out of the year in others. Performance management season is the time of year when every manager's stress level sky-rockets and they start dreaming of vacation.

Engineering Management

Guide to Running Effective One On One Meetings

The importance of 1:1s are widely understood but unfortunately that does not necessarily mean 1:1s are being used effectively.

Engineering Management

Conducting Weekly Team Pulse Surveys ❤️

Receiving candid feedback from our team and acting on this feedback is crucial for creating a culture that cares to continuously improve itself and not fall victim to the gravitational pull towards mediocrity