Staff Engineer

Why Establishing Long-Term Relationship With Your Manager Can Benefit You

In 2008, Mike was hired as a front-end developer and eventually moved into a management role. Over the years, the author and Mike developed a mentor-mentee relationship that allowed them to trust each other and have honest conversations. This relationship enabled them to move up in their respective roles and eventually Mike took over a more significant scope than the author. The author learned that the best way to build a team is by trusting people and that the relationships you establish are more important than any other work. It is also beneficial to have a mentor who can help you learn in a more efficient way.

What to do with an employee who wants to step-up

A good engineer was interested in becoming a senior engineer, so the manager discussed the criteria for promotion with him line-by-line. They had several follow-up conversations and the manager made it clear that the promotion was up to the employee's work. This showed the importance of setting clear expectations when promoting an employee.

I had to let go of an employee that I had personally advised the company to hire

When a small start-up hired a QA engineer from a larger company, the engineer was unable to adapt to the new context and the team started to complain about his standard of quality checking. After trying to support him, the engineer had to be let go. The lesson learned was to not underestimate the cultural difference between companies and to take action as soon as a problem is detected. The engineer was given a reference for a job better suited to his skills, where he is now thriving.

Coaching Before Radical Candor

This article discusses the author's experience with managing a team of PMs, and how they failed to meet their deadline due to lack of feedback. The author then took action by providing feedback on the spot, publicly explaining the consequences of underperformance, and shifting their mindset to become more proactive. The article also highlights the importance of challenging the status quo, being responsible for the team as a whole, and investing in emotional intelligence.

Journeying Between Companies of Different Size

This article discusses the challenges of navigating different size companies and the importance of taking the time to understand the culture of the new company. It emphasizes the need to observe and listen before jumping in and trying to prove value, and highlights the benefits of working at both small and large companies.

Building a Functionality-Rich Product From Scratch

This article discusses the approach taken by a team building an energy management tool for commercial buildings. The team decided to start small by focusing on a single customer, building, and HVAC zone. This enabled them to answer technical questions and gather customer feedback without being overwhelmed by complexity. The article also provides lessons learned, such as starting small, being ruthless about what to eliminate, and being strategic about what to cut out.