You’re Killing Collaboration (And How To Fix It)
Are you killing collaboration on your software engineering teams when it comes to problem solving? Don't multiple a negative impact! Let's fix it.
Perspective and insights into different aspects of leadership and management, especially as it pertains to building teams around software engineering.
Are you killing collaboration on your software engineering teams when it comes to problem solving? Don't multiple a negative impact! Let's fix it.
Informal leadership in software engineering is a critical part of becoming more senior in your role. But what's involved and why is it so beneficial?
Want to know how you can deliver value to your end users rapidly? Let's dive into vertical slices and see what high performing engineering teams are using!
As an engineering leader, does it make sense to approach things as hands-on management and writing code? Let's see when it makes sense, and when it doesn't.
You've heard about OKRs but you're not exactly sure where to get started. Don't sweat it. Here's a brief intro on how you can get going!
Want to understand what does an engineering manager do and what's expected in an engineering manager role? Let's learn about the role of an engineering manager!
I recently wrote about TODO lists and how they can help with focus now that many of us are working from home. I had a former colleague on LinkedIn mention this concept of "timeboxing" (which I think many people are familiar with the general idea) and how that can improve the effectiveness of a TODO list. I had made a post on LinkedIn sharing my blog article, and here's a comment that came in right away from Graeme Harvey: This obviously got me thinking because sure, Elon Musk is a pretty smart dude, but I also have a lot of respect for Graeme and his perspective on things. So I decided I'd try something out! TODO Lists v1.0 My original TODO lists didn't factor in any timeboxing techniques, but they had some benefits. The engineering mind in me says this…
What's your approach to keeping a TODO list? We all need something that we can stick to, or else the list itself doesn't serve us any purpose!
Background I wrote a post a long while back about how I started to use Google Keep to get myself organized. Google Keep has been a go-to app for me on my phone for a long time now. I love using it to make lists of things, and I find it much more convenient than a paper notebook. Don't get me wrong--I think a paper notebook still has plenty of uses! I love my notebook for long running meetings with open-ended discussions or brain storming sessions. It's great to be able to take a pen/pencil and doodle down any idea that comes to mind. When I'm having a free-form conversation, I need a free-form way to take notes. However, my phone is something I almost always have with me--and my paper notebook isn't. My phone allows me to take my Google…
Background I'm a "middle manager" where I work, but that means a whole bunch of things. My everyday tasks primarily consist of programming, but I do a bunch of work to interface with other departments and teams, and I play a role in managing people on... well, the "people" side of things. For the latter part, I refer to that as people leadership. I think it's pretty easy to look at some of the aspects of people leadership and dismiss them as "fluffy" or needless... I consider myself a logical/technical thinker, so I have that frame of mind sometimes. However, I do see the value in actually being able to support my team so that they can operate at the best of their abilities. I try to find ways to do that without it seeming to them like I'm doing "fluffy leadership things",…