Knowledge shared by our community

The Push to Production Process Not Respected

When errors were occurring during the push to production process, a checklist was created to help the developers. However, people started to bypass the checklist, so an "production push algorithm" was created instead. This algorithm was more explicit and efficient, and now it is used for tasks beyond just development.

How to handle tension caused by cultural differences

A team split between Buenos Aires and Dallas had a negative impression of an engineer in Dallas due to his lack of knowledge of industry standards and his direct, even mean, attitude towards the Argentinian engineers. After discussing cultural differences, the engineer changed his behavior and the team was able to work together. It is important to set expectations for different cultures to interact and to discuss cultural differences in order to prevent misunderstandings.

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.

How I improved at giving negative feedback

This article discusses the importance of giving negative feedback, even to people you care about. It suggests starting with your top performers and emphasizes that feedback is a gift. It also highlights the importance of giving feedback early on, rather than waiting until someone is on a performance plan and in line to be dismissed.

I took too much time trying to detect the origin of a problem

When a new manager arrived in a team, they noticed that the tech lead was more concerned with political matters than the quality of the code shipped. After a long process of trying to help the tech lead boost their performance, they had to be let go. The manager learned that it was important to build a genuine relationship with the team to understand where problems are coming from.

Adjusting Best Practices as a Company Grows

The engineering manager at Blablacar held a weekly meeting with the engineering team, but as the team grew, the value of the meeting was not appreciated and it was eventually stopped. The author learned that when leading a meeting with a large team, it is better to suggest solutions rather than ask for them.

Coaching a recently hired engineer on their areas of improvement

A manager arrived to a team of high performers and noticed that one junior employee was not fitting in with the company culture. The manager took action by creating a relationship of trust and setting clear goals and expectations for the employee. Through coaching and setting measurable paths, the employee has improved in collaboration, accountability, and quality of work. The manager learned that it is important to help young employees work in an open and trusted environment, and to have career discussions on an ongoing basis.

Be agile in your processes

Scrum is the most popular agile software development methodology, but it is important to consider if it is the right approach for the product being built. Flexibility is key, as sprint duration, start and end times, and retrospectives should be tailored to the team and the business. Two-week sprints are a good compromise between too much time between projects and too much time spent in meetings. Mid-week sprint starts are preferable to avoid holidays and keep people energized. Sprint reviews should be used to adjust the product, and retrospectives to adjust the process.

The first time you have to let go of someone

A manager was faced with the difficult task of firing an underperforming employee. With the help of their manager and former manager, they were able to handle the situation and fire the employee. The manager learned the importance of being determined and giving constructive feedback before firing someone.

A team member struggling with working remotely

A team of engineers was managed remotely, and one member was performing poorly and inconsistently. After providing direct feedback and learning that it was her first remote job, the manager was unable to directly fire her and had to get authorization. Ultimately, the team member was fired and the manager learned that working remotely is not for everyone and that the team member needed more structure in her life to succeed.

Ensuring all your teams work together as a single unit

In this case study, the author was leading an engineering team that was performing well but felt burned out. After meeting with the leads of the other teams (Product Management, User Experience, Support, QA, Documentation, etc.), the author implemented design sessions that included all relevant teams and organized team lunches to restore trust. As a result, the product was well-received and the documentation was impeccable. The lesson learned is to always involve all teams in the organization, as each team has something to contribute.

The Importance of Gathering Honest Feedback

A co-founder of Box had difficulty with a back-end engineering manager and eventually decided to let him go. However, the day after, a bunch of back-end engineers were going to quit due to the co-founder's actions. To understand why, the co-founder sat down with each of the engineers and heard from lots of different people who said that they didn't like the job that he was doing. He realized that he had failed to be cognizant of the power dynamic between himself and the new engineers and hired a coach to get feedback on his performance. He worked hard to make improvements in his areas of weakness and started proactively asking for feedback. He learned that his title and status in the company can inhibit people from providing him with feedback and that he must be proactive in reaching out for it.

How to deal with a team with broken communication

When the author joined a team that had not had a dedicated manager for six months, they noticed that communication between its members was broken. To fix the problem, the author sought to understand the team and each team member's perspective, and used weekly team meetings to educate them on teamwork and how to give effective feedback and have difficult conversations. After a few weeks, the team was able to interact effectively without conflict, and gave each other peer-to-peer recognition. The author was able to work with the team to improve communication and build strong working relationships.

The time I was about to decline an opportunity because I thought it would not make me grow

The narrator was initially hesitant to accept a new position as manager of the Web Services team, as it did not seem to align with their goals of promotion and salary increase. However, they eventually realized that this position would provide them with the opportunity to collaborate with more senior staff and expand their network, and that it was their duty as a manager to help the organization when it needed them. This experience taught them the importance of putting the organization's needs before their own.

The Dismissal of a “Fireman Developer”

A "fireman developer" was laid off two years ago due to his inability to take ownership of projects and other flaws. The decision created a gap between managers and engineers, and a group of developers left the company in response. The lesson learned was that there are two options when dealing with an underperforming employee: keep them as a team binder, or fire them and accept the consequences.

The wrong way to introduce new processes

The speaker was responsible for managing multiple projects with different processes, which was time-consuming and difficult to manage. To simplify the process, they decided to create a single development process for everyone. However, the teams were resistant to the change and the speaker had to use their authority to force everyone to use the new process. In hindsight, they realized that they should have gathered feedback from the teams before implementing the change and presented it as an experiment.

Visualizing where your team stands to tackles the salary raise period

This article discusses a method for approaching salary evaluations at a company. The author suggests benchmarking salaries and plotting them on a graph based on seniority and market value. For those who don't receive a raise, the author suggests providing materials to discuss areas of improvement and a plan to get there. The author also believes engineers are motivated by learning opportunities, having an impact, and recognition, rather than salary. As a result, salary should reflect their long-term value, and bonuses can be used to reward exceptional work.

Build up the best team using the “Boat” metaphor

This article discusses a method for deciding who to keep and who to let go in a workforce review. The author suggests using the "boat" metaphor, where one evaluates their direct reports based on their potential, responsiveness to feedback, and ability to evolve, rather than just their technical expertise. This method can lead to surprising results.

Being fair when identifying weaknesses in a direct report.

This article discusses the experience of a project manager who was put in charge of a team. To evaluate the team fairly, the manager ran short meetings to define the work and measure the quality of the work, and kept a journal of observations about each individual. The manager learned that taking the time to define the work and observe the people allowed them to identify strengths and weaknesses, and gave them the information they needed to give direct feedback.

Do not make compromises when hiring under pressure

The Director of Engineering at Polaris Wireless was under pressure to quickly hire a new mobile engineering team of five iOS and five Android engineers. To mitigate the pressure, the Director hired contractors and reassured stakeholders that the product delivery date would not be affected. After taking the time to find the right people, the Director was able to hire a great team, and some of the contractors were offered full-time work. The lesson learned was to not hire in a hurry, and to make sure to keep standards high.

The Push to Production Process Not Respected

When errors were occurring during the push to production process, a checklist was created to help the developers. However, people started to bypass the checklist, so an "production push algorithm" was created instead. This algorithm was more explicit and efficient, and now it is used for tasks beyond just development.

How to handle tension caused by cultural differences

A team split between Buenos Aires and Dallas had a negative impression of an engineer in Dallas due to his lack of knowledge of industry standards and his direct, even mean, attitude towards the Argentinian engineers. After discussing cultural differences, the engineer changed his behavior and the team was able to work together. It is important to set expectations for different cultures to interact and to discuss cultural differences in order to prevent misunderstandings.

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.

How I improved at giving negative feedback

This article discusses the importance of giving negative feedback, even to people you care about. It suggests starting with your top performers and emphasizes that feedback is a gift. It also highlights the importance of giving feedback early on, rather than waiting until someone is on a performance plan and in line to be dismissed.

I took too much time trying to detect the origin of a problem

When a new manager arrived in a team, they noticed that the tech lead was more concerned with political matters than the quality of the code shipped. After a long process of trying to help the tech lead boost their performance, they had to be let go. The manager learned that it was important to build a genuine relationship with the team to understand where problems are coming from.

Adjusting Best Practices as a Company Grows

The engineering manager at Blablacar held a weekly meeting with the engineering team, but as the team grew, the value of the meeting was not appreciated and it was eventually stopped. The author learned that when leading a meeting with a large team, it is better to suggest solutions rather than ask for them.

Coaching a recently hired engineer on their areas of improvement

A manager arrived to a team of high performers and noticed that one junior employee was not fitting in with the company culture. The manager took action by creating a relationship of trust and setting clear goals and expectations for the employee. Through coaching and setting measurable paths, the employee has improved in collaboration, accountability, and quality of work. The manager learned that it is important to help young employees work in an open and trusted environment, and to have career discussions on an ongoing basis.

Be agile in your processes

Scrum is the most popular agile software development methodology, but it is important to consider if it is the right approach for the product being built. Flexibility is key, as sprint duration, start and end times, and retrospectives should be tailored to the team and the business. Two-week sprints are a good compromise between too much time between projects and too much time spent in meetings. Mid-week sprint starts are preferable to avoid holidays and keep people energized. Sprint reviews should be used to adjust the product, and retrospectives to adjust the process.

The first time you have to let go of someone

A manager was faced with the difficult task of firing an underperforming employee. With the help of their manager and former manager, they were able to handle the situation and fire the employee. The manager learned the importance of being determined and giving constructive feedback before firing someone.

A team member struggling with working remotely

A team of engineers was managed remotely, and one member was performing poorly and inconsistently. After providing direct feedback and learning that it was her first remote job, the manager was unable to directly fire her and had to get authorization. Ultimately, the team member was fired and the manager learned that working remotely is not for everyone and that the team member needed more structure in her life to succeed.

Ensuring all your teams work together as a single unit

In this case study, the author was leading an engineering team that was performing well but felt burned out. After meeting with the leads of the other teams (Product Management, User Experience, Support, QA, Documentation, etc.), the author implemented design sessions that included all relevant teams and organized team lunches to restore trust. As a result, the product was well-received and the documentation was impeccable. The lesson learned is to always involve all teams in the organization, as each team has something to contribute.

The Importance of Gathering Honest Feedback

A co-founder of Box had difficulty with a back-end engineering manager and eventually decided to let him go. However, the day after, a bunch of back-end engineers were going to quit due to the co-founder's actions. To understand why, the co-founder sat down with each of the engineers and heard from lots of different people who said that they didn't like the job that he was doing. He realized that he had failed to be cognizant of the power dynamic between himself and the new engineers and hired a coach to get feedback on his performance. He worked hard to make improvements in his areas of weakness and started proactively asking for feedback. He learned that his title and status in the company can inhibit people from providing him with feedback and that he must be proactive in reaching out for it.

How to deal with a team with broken communication

When the author joined a team that had not had a dedicated manager for six months, they noticed that communication between its members was broken. To fix the problem, the author sought to understand the team and each team member's perspective, and used weekly team meetings to educate them on teamwork and how to give effective feedback and have difficult conversations. After a few weeks, the team was able to interact effectively without conflict, and gave each other peer-to-peer recognition. The author was able to work with the team to improve communication and build strong working relationships.

The time I was about to decline an opportunity because I thought it would not make me grow

The narrator was initially hesitant to accept a new position as manager of the Web Services team, as it did not seem to align with their goals of promotion and salary increase. However, they eventually realized that this position would provide them with the opportunity to collaborate with more senior staff and expand their network, and that it was their duty as a manager to help the organization when it needed them. This experience taught them the importance of putting the organization's needs before their own.

The Dismissal of a “Fireman Developer”

A "fireman developer" was laid off two years ago due to his inability to take ownership of projects and other flaws. The decision created a gap between managers and engineers, and a group of developers left the company in response. The lesson learned was that there are two options when dealing with an underperforming employee: keep them as a team binder, or fire them and accept the consequences.

The wrong way to introduce new processes

The speaker was responsible for managing multiple projects with different processes, which was time-consuming and difficult to manage. To simplify the process, they decided to create a single development process for everyone. However, the teams were resistant to the change and the speaker had to use their authority to force everyone to use the new process. In hindsight, they realized that they should have gathered feedback from the teams before implementing the change and presented it as an experiment.

Visualizing where your team stands to tackles the salary raise period

This article discusses a method for approaching salary evaluations at a company. The author suggests benchmarking salaries and plotting them on a graph based on seniority and market value. For those who don't receive a raise, the author suggests providing materials to discuss areas of improvement and a plan to get there. The author also believes engineers are motivated by learning opportunities, having an impact, and recognition, rather than salary. As a result, salary should reflect their long-term value, and bonuses can be used to reward exceptional work.

Build up the best team using the “Boat” metaphor

This article discusses a method for deciding who to keep and who to let go in a workforce review. The author suggests using the "boat" metaphor, where one evaluates their direct reports based on their potential, responsiveness to feedback, and ability to evolve, rather than just their technical expertise. This method can lead to surprising results.

Being fair when identifying weaknesses in a direct report.

This article discusses the experience of a project manager who was put in charge of a team. To evaluate the team fairly, the manager ran short meetings to define the work and measure the quality of the work, and kept a journal of observations about each individual. The manager learned that taking the time to define the work and observe the people allowed them to identify strengths and weaknesses, and gave them the information they needed to give direct feedback.

Do not make compromises when hiring under pressure

The Director of Engineering at Polaris Wireless was under pressure to quickly hire a new mobile engineering team of five iOS and five Android engineers. To mitigate the pressure, the Director hired contractors and reassured stakeholders that the product delivery date would not be affected. After taking the time to find the right people, the Director was able to hire a great team, and some of the contractors were offered full-time work. The lesson learned was to not hire in a hurry, and to make sure to keep standards high.

The Push to Production Process Not Respected

When errors were occurring during the push to production process, a checklist was created to help the developers. However, people started to bypass the checklist, so an "production push algorithm" was created instead. This algorithm was more explicit and efficient, and now it is used for tasks beyond just development.

How to handle tension caused by cultural differences

A team split between Buenos Aires and Dallas had a negative impression of an engineer in Dallas due to his lack of knowledge of industry standards and his direct, even mean, attitude towards the Argentinian engineers. After discussing cultural differences, the engineer changed his behavior and the team was able to work together. It is important to set expectations for different cultures to interact and to discuss cultural differences in order to prevent misunderstandings.

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.

How I improved at giving negative feedback

This article discusses the importance of giving negative feedback, even to people you care about. It suggests starting with your top performers and emphasizes that feedback is a gift. It also highlights the importance of giving feedback early on, rather than waiting until someone is on a performance plan and in line to be dismissed.

I took too much time trying to detect the origin of a problem

When a new manager arrived in a team, they noticed that the tech lead was more concerned with political matters than the quality of the code shipped. After a long process of trying to help the tech lead boost their performance, they had to be let go. The manager learned that it was important to build a genuine relationship with the team to understand where problems are coming from.

Adjusting Best Practices as a Company Grows

The engineering manager at Blablacar held a weekly meeting with the engineering team, but as the team grew, the value of the meeting was not appreciated and it was eventually stopped. The author learned that when leading a meeting with a large team, it is better to suggest solutions rather than ask for them.

Coaching a recently hired engineer on their areas of improvement

A manager arrived to a team of high performers and noticed that one junior employee was not fitting in with the company culture. The manager took action by creating a relationship of trust and setting clear goals and expectations for the employee. Through coaching and setting measurable paths, the employee has improved in collaboration, accountability, and quality of work. The manager learned that it is important to help young employees work in an open and trusted environment, and to have career discussions on an ongoing basis.

Be agile in your processes

Scrum is the most popular agile software development methodology, but it is important to consider if it is the right approach for the product being built. Flexibility is key, as sprint duration, start and end times, and retrospectives should be tailored to the team and the business. Two-week sprints are a good compromise between too much time between projects and too much time spent in meetings. Mid-week sprint starts are preferable to avoid holidays and keep people energized. Sprint reviews should be used to adjust the product, and retrospectives to adjust the process.

The first time you have to let go of someone

A manager was faced with the difficult task of firing an underperforming employee. With the help of their manager and former manager, they were able to handle the situation and fire the employee. The manager learned the importance of being determined and giving constructive feedback before firing someone.

A team member struggling with working remotely

A team of engineers was managed remotely, and one member was performing poorly and inconsistently. After providing direct feedback and learning that it was her first remote job, the manager was unable to directly fire her and had to get authorization. Ultimately, the team member was fired and the manager learned that working remotely is not for everyone and that the team member needed more structure in her life to succeed.

Ensuring all your teams work together as a single unit

In this case study, the author was leading an engineering team that was performing well but felt burned out. After meeting with the leads of the other teams (Product Management, User Experience, Support, QA, Documentation, etc.), the author implemented design sessions that included all relevant teams and organized team lunches to restore trust. As a result, the product was well-received and the documentation was impeccable. The lesson learned is to always involve all teams in the organization, as each team has something to contribute.

The Importance of Gathering Honest Feedback

A co-founder of Box had difficulty with a back-end engineering manager and eventually decided to let him go. However, the day after, a bunch of back-end engineers were going to quit due to the co-founder's actions. To understand why, the co-founder sat down with each of the engineers and heard from lots of different people who said that they didn't like the job that he was doing. He realized that he had failed to be cognizant of the power dynamic between himself and the new engineers and hired a coach to get feedback on his performance. He worked hard to make improvements in his areas of weakness and started proactively asking for feedback. He learned that his title and status in the company can inhibit people from providing him with feedback and that he must be proactive in reaching out for it.

How to deal with a team with broken communication

When the author joined a team that had not had a dedicated manager for six months, they noticed that communication between its members was broken. To fix the problem, the author sought to understand the team and each team member's perspective, and used weekly team meetings to educate them on teamwork and how to give effective feedback and have difficult conversations. After a few weeks, the team was able to interact effectively without conflict, and gave each other peer-to-peer recognition. The author was able to work with the team to improve communication and build strong working relationships.

The time I was about to decline an opportunity because I thought it would not make me grow

The narrator was initially hesitant to accept a new position as manager of the Web Services team, as it did not seem to align with their goals of promotion and salary increase. However, they eventually realized that this position would provide them with the opportunity to collaborate with more senior staff and expand their network, and that it was their duty as a manager to help the organization when it needed them. This experience taught them the importance of putting the organization's needs before their own.

The Dismissal of a “Fireman Developer”

A "fireman developer" was laid off two years ago due to his inability to take ownership of projects and other flaws. The decision created a gap between managers and engineers, and a group of developers left the company in response. The lesson learned was that there are two options when dealing with an underperforming employee: keep them as a team binder, or fire them and accept the consequences.

The wrong way to introduce new processes

The speaker was responsible for managing multiple projects with different processes, which was time-consuming and difficult to manage. To simplify the process, they decided to create a single development process for everyone. However, the teams were resistant to the change and the speaker had to use their authority to force everyone to use the new process. In hindsight, they realized that they should have gathered feedback from the teams before implementing the change and presented it as an experiment.

Visualizing where your team stands to tackles the salary raise period

This article discusses a method for approaching salary evaluations at a company. The author suggests benchmarking salaries and plotting them on a graph based on seniority and market value. For those who don't receive a raise, the author suggests providing materials to discuss areas of improvement and a plan to get there. The author also believes engineers are motivated by learning opportunities, having an impact, and recognition, rather than salary. As a result, salary should reflect their long-term value, and bonuses can be used to reward exceptional work.

Build up the best team using the “Boat” metaphor

This article discusses a method for deciding who to keep and who to let go in a workforce review. The author suggests using the "boat" metaphor, where one evaluates their direct reports based on their potential, responsiveness to feedback, and ability to evolve, rather than just their technical expertise. This method can lead to surprising results.

Being fair when identifying weaknesses in a direct report.

This article discusses the experience of a project manager who was put in charge of a team. To evaluate the team fairly, the manager ran short meetings to define the work and measure the quality of the work, and kept a journal of observations about each individual. The manager learned that taking the time to define the work and observe the people allowed them to identify strengths and weaknesses, and gave them the information they needed to give direct feedback.

Do not make compromises when hiring under pressure

The Director of Engineering at Polaris Wireless was under pressure to quickly hire a new mobile engineering team of five iOS and five Android engineers. To mitigate the pressure, the Director hired contractors and reassured stakeholders that the product delivery date would not be affected. After taking the time to find the right people, the Director was able to hire a great team, and some of the contractors were offered full-time work. The lesson learned was to not hire in a hurry, and to make sure to keep standards high.

The Push to Production Process Not Respected

When errors were occurring during the push to production process, a checklist was created to help the developers. However, people started to bypass the checklist, so an "production push algorithm" was created instead. This algorithm was more explicit and efficient, and now it is used for tasks beyond just development.

How to handle tension caused by cultural differences

A team split between Buenos Aires and Dallas had a negative impression of an engineer in Dallas due to his lack of knowledge of industry standards and his direct, even mean, attitude towards the Argentinian engineers. After discussing cultural differences, the engineer changed his behavior and the team was able to work together. It is important to set expectations for different cultures to interact and to discuss cultural differences in order to prevent misunderstandings.

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.

How I improved at giving negative feedback

This article discusses the importance of giving negative feedback, even to people you care about. It suggests starting with your top performers and emphasizes that feedback is a gift. It also highlights the importance of giving feedback early on, rather than waiting until someone is on a performance plan and in line to be dismissed.

I took too much time trying to detect the origin of a problem

When a new manager arrived in a team, they noticed that the tech lead was more concerned with political matters than the quality of the code shipped. After a long process of trying to help the tech lead boost their performance, they had to be let go. The manager learned that it was important to build a genuine relationship with the team to understand where problems are coming from.

Adjusting Best Practices as a Company Grows

The engineering manager at Blablacar held a weekly meeting with the engineering team, but as the team grew, the value of the meeting was not appreciated and it was eventually stopped. The author learned that when leading a meeting with a large team, it is better to suggest solutions rather than ask for them.

Coaching a recently hired engineer on their areas of improvement

A manager arrived to a team of high performers and noticed that one junior employee was not fitting in with the company culture. The manager took action by creating a relationship of trust and setting clear goals and expectations for the employee. Through coaching and setting measurable paths, the employee has improved in collaboration, accountability, and quality of work. The manager learned that it is important to help young employees work in an open and trusted environment, and to have career discussions on an ongoing basis.

Be agile in your processes

Scrum is the most popular agile software development methodology, but it is important to consider if it is the right approach for the product being built. Flexibility is key, as sprint duration, start and end times, and retrospectives should be tailored to the team and the business. Two-week sprints are a good compromise between too much time between projects and too much time spent in meetings. Mid-week sprint starts are preferable to avoid holidays and keep people energized. Sprint reviews should be used to adjust the product, and retrospectives to adjust the process.

The first time you have to let go of someone

A manager was faced with the difficult task of firing an underperforming employee. With the help of their manager and former manager, they were able to handle the situation and fire the employee. The manager learned the importance of being determined and giving constructive feedback before firing someone.

A team member struggling with working remotely

A team of engineers was managed remotely, and one member was performing poorly and inconsistently. After providing direct feedback and learning that it was her first remote job, the manager was unable to directly fire her and had to get authorization. Ultimately, the team member was fired and the manager learned that working remotely is not for everyone and that the team member needed more structure in her life to succeed.

Ensuring all your teams work together as a single unit

In this case study, the author was leading an engineering team that was performing well but felt burned out. After meeting with the leads of the other teams (Product Management, User Experience, Support, QA, Documentation, etc.), the author implemented design sessions that included all relevant teams and organized team lunches to restore trust. As a result, the product was well-received and the documentation was impeccable. The lesson learned is to always involve all teams in the organization, as each team has something to contribute.

The Importance of Gathering Honest Feedback

A co-founder of Box had difficulty with a back-end engineering manager and eventually decided to let him go. However, the day after, a bunch of back-end engineers were going to quit due to the co-founder's actions. To understand why, the co-founder sat down with each of the engineers and heard from lots of different people who said that they didn't like the job that he was doing. He realized that he had failed to be cognizant of the power dynamic between himself and the new engineers and hired a coach to get feedback on his performance. He worked hard to make improvements in his areas of weakness and started proactively asking for feedback. He learned that his title and status in the company can inhibit people from providing him with feedback and that he must be proactive in reaching out for it.

How to deal with a team with broken communication

When the author joined a team that had not had a dedicated manager for six months, they noticed that communication between its members was broken. To fix the problem, the author sought to understand the team and each team member's perspective, and used weekly team meetings to educate them on teamwork and how to give effective feedback and have difficult conversations. After a few weeks, the team was able to interact effectively without conflict, and gave each other peer-to-peer recognition. The author was able to work with the team to improve communication and build strong working relationships.

The time I was about to decline an opportunity because I thought it would not make me grow

The narrator was initially hesitant to accept a new position as manager of the Web Services team, as it did not seem to align with their goals of promotion and salary increase. However, they eventually realized that this position would provide them with the opportunity to collaborate with more senior staff and expand their network, and that it was their duty as a manager to help the organization when it needed them. This experience taught them the importance of putting the organization's needs before their own.

The Dismissal of a “Fireman Developer”

A "fireman developer" was laid off two years ago due to his inability to take ownership of projects and other flaws. The decision created a gap between managers and engineers, and a group of developers left the company in response. The lesson learned was that there are two options when dealing with an underperforming employee: keep them as a team binder, or fire them and accept the consequences.

The wrong way to introduce new processes

The speaker was responsible for managing multiple projects with different processes, which was time-consuming and difficult to manage. To simplify the process, they decided to create a single development process for everyone. However, the teams were resistant to the change and the speaker had to use their authority to force everyone to use the new process. In hindsight, they realized that they should have gathered feedback from the teams before implementing the change and presented it as an experiment.

Visualizing where your team stands to tackles the salary raise period

This article discusses a method for approaching salary evaluations at a company. The author suggests benchmarking salaries and plotting them on a graph based on seniority and market value. For those who don't receive a raise, the author suggests providing materials to discuss areas of improvement and a plan to get there. The author also believes engineers are motivated by learning opportunities, having an impact, and recognition, rather than salary. As a result, salary should reflect their long-term value, and bonuses can be used to reward exceptional work.

Build up the best team using the “Boat” metaphor

This article discusses a method for deciding who to keep and who to let go in a workforce review. The author suggests using the "boat" metaphor, where one evaluates their direct reports based on their potential, responsiveness to feedback, and ability to evolve, rather than just their technical expertise. This method can lead to surprising results.

Being fair when identifying weaknesses in a direct report.

This article discusses the experience of a project manager who was put in charge of a team. To evaluate the team fairly, the manager ran short meetings to define the work and measure the quality of the work, and kept a journal of observations about each individual. The manager learned that taking the time to define the work and observe the people allowed them to identify strengths and weaknesses, and gave them the information they needed to give direct feedback.

Do not make compromises when hiring under pressure

The Director of Engineering at Polaris Wireless was under pressure to quickly hire a new mobile engineering team of five iOS and five Android engineers. To mitigate the pressure, the Director hired contractors and reassured stakeholders that the product delivery date would not be affected. After taking the time to find the right people, the Director was able to hire a great team, and some of the contractors were offered full-time work. The lesson learned was to not hire in a hurry, and to make sure to keep standards high.

The Push to Production Process Not Respected

When errors were occurring during the push to production process, a checklist was created to help the developers. However, people started to bypass the checklist, so an "production push algorithm" was created instead. This algorithm was more explicit and efficient, and now it is used for tasks beyond just development.

How to handle tension caused by cultural differences

A team split between Buenos Aires and Dallas had a negative impression of an engineer in Dallas due to his lack of knowledge of industry standards and his direct, even mean, attitude towards the Argentinian engineers. After discussing cultural differences, the engineer changed his behavior and the team was able to work together. It is important to set expectations for different cultures to interact and to discuss cultural differences in order to prevent misunderstandings.

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.

How I improved at giving negative feedback

This article discusses the importance of giving negative feedback, even to people you care about. It suggests starting with your top performers and emphasizes that feedback is a gift. It also highlights the importance of giving feedback early on, rather than waiting until someone is on a performance plan and in line to be dismissed.

I took too much time trying to detect the origin of a problem

When a new manager arrived in a team, they noticed that the tech lead was more concerned with political matters than the quality of the code shipped. After a long process of trying to help the tech lead boost their performance, they had to be let go. The manager learned that it was important to build a genuine relationship with the team to understand where problems are coming from.

Adjusting Best Practices as a Company Grows

The engineering manager at Blablacar held a weekly meeting with the engineering team, but as the team grew, the value of the meeting was not appreciated and it was eventually stopped. The author learned that when leading a meeting with a large team, it is better to suggest solutions rather than ask for them.

Coaching a recently hired engineer on their areas of improvement

A manager arrived to a team of high performers and noticed that one junior employee was not fitting in with the company culture. The manager took action by creating a relationship of trust and setting clear goals and expectations for the employee. Through coaching and setting measurable paths, the employee has improved in collaboration, accountability, and quality of work. The manager learned that it is important to help young employees work in an open and trusted environment, and to have career discussions on an ongoing basis.

Be agile in your processes

Scrum is the most popular agile software development methodology, but it is important to consider if it is the right approach for the product being built. Flexibility is key, as sprint duration, start and end times, and retrospectives should be tailored to the team and the business. Two-week sprints are a good compromise between too much time between projects and too much time spent in meetings. Mid-week sprint starts are preferable to avoid holidays and keep people energized. Sprint reviews should be used to adjust the product, and retrospectives to adjust the process.

The first time you have to let go of someone

A manager was faced with the difficult task of firing an underperforming employee. With the help of their manager and former manager, they were able to handle the situation and fire the employee. The manager learned the importance of being determined and giving constructive feedback before firing someone.

A team member struggling with working remotely

A team of engineers was managed remotely, and one member was performing poorly and inconsistently. After providing direct feedback and learning that it was her first remote job, the manager was unable to directly fire her and had to get authorization. Ultimately, the team member was fired and the manager learned that working remotely is not for everyone and that the team member needed more structure in her life to succeed.

Ensuring all your teams work together as a single unit

In this case study, the author was leading an engineering team that was performing well but felt burned out. After meeting with the leads of the other teams (Product Management, User Experience, Support, QA, Documentation, etc.), the author implemented design sessions that included all relevant teams and organized team lunches to restore trust. As a result, the product was well-received and the documentation was impeccable. The lesson learned is to always involve all teams in the organization, as each team has something to contribute.

The Importance of Gathering Honest Feedback

A co-founder of Box had difficulty with a back-end engineering manager and eventually decided to let him go. However, the day after, a bunch of back-end engineers were going to quit due to the co-founder's actions. To understand why, the co-founder sat down with each of the engineers and heard from lots of different people who said that they didn't like the job that he was doing. He realized that he had failed to be cognizant of the power dynamic between himself and the new engineers and hired a coach to get feedback on his performance. He worked hard to make improvements in his areas of weakness and started proactively asking for feedback. He learned that his title and status in the company can inhibit people from providing him with feedback and that he must be proactive in reaching out for it.

How to deal with a team with broken communication

When the author joined a team that had not had a dedicated manager for six months, they noticed that communication between its members was broken. To fix the problem, the author sought to understand the team and each team member's perspective, and used weekly team meetings to educate them on teamwork and how to give effective feedback and have difficult conversations. After a few weeks, the team was able to interact effectively without conflict, and gave each other peer-to-peer recognition. The author was able to work with the team to improve communication and build strong working relationships.

The time I was about to decline an opportunity because I thought it would not make me grow

The narrator was initially hesitant to accept a new position as manager of the Web Services team, as it did not seem to align with their goals of promotion and salary increase. However, they eventually realized that this position would provide them with the opportunity to collaborate with more senior staff and expand their network, and that it was their duty as a manager to help the organization when it needed them. This experience taught them the importance of putting the organization's needs before their own.

The Dismissal of a “Fireman Developer”

A "fireman developer" was laid off two years ago due to his inability to take ownership of projects and other flaws. The decision created a gap between managers and engineers, and a group of developers left the company in response. The lesson learned was that there are two options when dealing with an underperforming employee: keep them as a team binder, or fire them and accept the consequences.

The wrong way to introduce new processes

The speaker was responsible for managing multiple projects with different processes, which was time-consuming and difficult to manage. To simplify the process, they decided to create a single development process for everyone. However, the teams were resistant to the change and the speaker had to use their authority to force everyone to use the new process. In hindsight, they realized that they should have gathered feedback from the teams before implementing the change and presented it as an experiment.

Visualizing where your team stands to tackles the salary raise period

This article discusses a method for approaching salary evaluations at a company. The author suggests benchmarking salaries and plotting them on a graph based on seniority and market value. For those who don't receive a raise, the author suggests providing materials to discuss areas of improvement and a plan to get there. The author also believes engineers are motivated by learning opportunities, having an impact, and recognition, rather than salary. As a result, salary should reflect their long-term value, and bonuses can be used to reward exceptional work.

Build up the best team using the “Boat” metaphor

This article discusses a method for deciding who to keep and who to let go in a workforce review. The author suggests using the "boat" metaphor, where one evaluates their direct reports based on their potential, responsiveness to feedback, and ability to evolve, rather than just their technical expertise. This method can lead to surprising results.

Being fair when identifying weaknesses in a direct report.

This article discusses the experience of a project manager who was put in charge of a team. To evaluate the team fairly, the manager ran short meetings to define the work and measure the quality of the work, and kept a journal of observations about each individual. The manager learned that taking the time to define the work and observe the people allowed them to identify strengths and weaknesses, and gave them the information they needed to give direct feedback.

Do not make compromises when hiring under pressure

The Director of Engineering at Polaris Wireless was under pressure to quickly hire a new mobile engineering team of five iOS and five Android engineers. To mitigate the pressure, the Director hired contractors and reassured stakeholders that the product delivery date would not be affected. After taking the time to find the right people, the Director was able to hire a great team, and some of the contractors were offered full-time work. The lesson learned was to not hire in a hurry, and to make sure to keep standards high.

The Push to Production Process Not Respected

When errors were occurring during the push to production process, a checklist was created to help the developers. However, people started to bypass the checklist, so an "production push algorithm" was created instead. This algorithm was more explicit and efficient, and now it is used for tasks beyond just development.

How to handle tension caused by cultural differences

A team split between Buenos Aires and Dallas had a negative impression of an engineer in Dallas due to his lack of knowledge of industry standards and his direct, even mean, attitude towards the Argentinian engineers. After discussing cultural differences, the engineer changed his behavior and the team was able to work together. It is important to set expectations for different cultures to interact and to discuss cultural differences in order to prevent misunderstandings.

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.

How I improved at giving negative feedback

This article discusses the importance of giving negative feedback, even to people you care about. It suggests starting with your top performers and emphasizes that feedback is a gift. It also highlights the importance of giving feedback early on, rather than waiting until someone is on a performance plan and in line to be dismissed.

I took too much time trying to detect the origin of a problem

When a new manager arrived in a team, they noticed that the tech lead was more concerned with political matters than the quality of the code shipped. After a long process of trying to help the tech lead boost their performance, they had to be let go. The manager learned that it was important to build a genuine relationship with the team to understand where problems are coming from.

Adjusting Best Practices as a Company Grows

The engineering manager at Blablacar held a weekly meeting with the engineering team, but as the team grew, the value of the meeting was not appreciated and it was eventually stopped. The author learned that when leading a meeting with a large team, it is better to suggest solutions rather than ask for them.

Coaching a recently hired engineer on their areas of improvement

A manager arrived to a team of high performers and noticed that one junior employee was not fitting in with the company culture. The manager took action by creating a relationship of trust and setting clear goals and expectations for the employee. Through coaching and setting measurable paths, the employee has improved in collaboration, accountability, and quality of work. The manager learned that it is important to help young employees work in an open and trusted environment, and to have career discussions on an ongoing basis.

Be agile in your processes

Scrum is the most popular agile software development methodology, but it is important to consider if it is the right approach for the product being built. Flexibility is key, as sprint duration, start and end times, and retrospectives should be tailored to the team and the business. Two-week sprints are a good compromise between too much time between projects and too much time spent in meetings. Mid-week sprint starts are preferable to avoid holidays and keep people energized. Sprint reviews should be used to adjust the product, and retrospectives to adjust the process.

The first time you have to let go of someone

A manager was faced with the difficult task of firing an underperforming employee. With the help of their manager and former manager, they were able to handle the situation and fire the employee. The manager learned the importance of being determined and giving constructive feedback before firing someone.

A team member struggling with working remotely

A team of engineers was managed remotely, and one member was performing poorly and inconsistently. After providing direct feedback and learning that it was her first remote job, the manager was unable to directly fire her and had to get authorization. Ultimately, the team member was fired and the manager learned that working remotely is not for everyone and that the team member needed more structure in her life to succeed.

Ensuring all your teams work together as a single unit

In this case study, the author was leading an engineering team that was performing well but felt burned out. After meeting with the leads of the other teams (Product Management, User Experience, Support, QA, Documentation, etc.), the author implemented design sessions that included all relevant teams and organized team lunches to restore trust. As a result, the product was well-received and the documentation was impeccable. The lesson learned is to always involve all teams in the organization, as each team has something to contribute.

The Importance of Gathering Honest Feedback

A co-founder of Box had difficulty with a back-end engineering manager and eventually decided to let him go. However, the day after, a bunch of back-end engineers were going to quit due to the co-founder's actions. To understand why, the co-founder sat down with each of the engineers and heard from lots of different people who said that they didn't like the job that he was doing. He realized that he had failed to be cognizant of the power dynamic between himself and the new engineers and hired a coach to get feedback on his performance. He worked hard to make improvements in his areas of weakness and started proactively asking for feedback. He learned that his title and status in the company can inhibit people from providing him with feedback and that he must be proactive in reaching out for it.

How to deal with a team with broken communication

When the author joined a team that had not had a dedicated manager for six months, they noticed that communication between its members was broken. To fix the problem, the author sought to understand the team and each team member's perspective, and used weekly team meetings to educate them on teamwork and how to give effective feedback and have difficult conversations. After a few weeks, the team was able to interact effectively without conflict, and gave each other peer-to-peer recognition. The author was able to work with the team to improve communication and build strong working relationships.

The time I was about to decline an opportunity because I thought it would not make me grow

The narrator was initially hesitant to accept a new position as manager of the Web Services team, as it did not seem to align with their goals of promotion and salary increase. However, they eventually realized that this position would provide them with the opportunity to collaborate with more senior staff and expand their network, and that it was their duty as a manager to help the organization when it needed them. This experience taught them the importance of putting the organization's needs before their own.

The Dismissal of a “Fireman Developer”

A "fireman developer" was laid off two years ago due to his inability to take ownership of projects and other flaws. The decision created a gap between managers and engineers, and a group of developers left the company in response. The lesson learned was that there are two options when dealing with an underperforming employee: keep them as a team binder, or fire them and accept the consequences.

The wrong way to introduce new processes

The speaker was responsible for managing multiple projects with different processes, which was time-consuming and difficult to manage. To simplify the process, they decided to create a single development process for everyone. However, the teams were resistant to the change and the speaker had to use their authority to force everyone to use the new process. In hindsight, they realized that they should have gathered feedback from the teams before implementing the change and presented it as an experiment.

Visualizing where your team stands to tackles the salary raise period

This article discusses a method for approaching salary evaluations at a company. The author suggests benchmarking salaries and plotting them on a graph based on seniority and market value. For those who don't receive a raise, the author suggests providing materials to discuss areas of improvement and a plan to get there. The author also believes engineers are motivated by learning opportunities, having an impact, and recognition, rather than salary. As a result, salary should reflect their long-term value, and bonuses can be used to reward exceptional work.

Build up the best team using the “Boat” metaphor

This article discusses a method for deciding who to keep and who to let go in a workforce review. The author suggests using the "boat" metaphor, where one evaluates their direct reports based on their potential, responsiveness to feedback, and ability to evolve, rather than just their technical expertise. This method can lead to surprising results.

Being fair when identifying weaknesses in a direct report.

This article discusses the experience of a project manager who was put in charge of a team. To evaluate the team fairly, the manager ran short meetings to define the work and measure the quality of the work, and kept a journal of observations about each individual. The manager learned that taking the time to define the work and observe the people allowed them to identify strengths and weaknesses, and gave them the information they needed to give direct feedback.

Do not make compromises when hiring under pressure

The Director of Engineering at Polaris Wireless was under pressure to quickly hire a new mobile engineering team of five iOS and five Android engineers. To mitigate the pressure, the Director hired contractors and reassured stakeholders that the product delivery date would not be affected. After taking the time to find the right people, the Director was able to hire a great team, and some of the contractors were offered full-time work. The lesson learned was to not hire in a hurry, and to make sure to keep standards high.