Knowledge shared by our community

Turning a team around

When taking over a team of 60 engineers, the VP of Engineering noticed a lack of motivation and excellence. After observing interactions and having one-on-one conversations, it was determined that external factors such as a lack of purpose, goals, and challenges were causing the problem. To address this, modern tools were implemented, hiring practices were strengthened, job bands and compensation ranges were established, teams were reorganized, and the strongest people were put into influential positions. As a result, motivation and efficiency increased, and the team was better differentiated. Lessons learned include building relationships, ensuring a sense of purpose, challenging the team, and maximizing talent.

Handling not giving a raise to an average employee who thinks he deserves one

This article discusses how to have a conversation with an average employee who believes they deserve a raise. The manager explains that raises are performance driven and not an entitlement, and encourages the employee to look for opportunities to improve the product and the process, and demonstrate leadership potential. The manager also provides examples of ways the employee can go above and beyond their job description, such as helping a new hire, analyzing why the build is breaking, taking initiative to fix the coffee machine, and driving team building activities. The manager emphasizes the importance of having a baseline review with every employee and keeping a close pulse on them.

I managed to convince top notch engineers to accept my offer

In a tricky negotiation to hire three rockstar engineers from a failed start-up, the negotiator leveraged different aspects to convince them to accept the offer. These included emphasizing the challenging role and professional growth, showing that the stock value would be higher, putting them in contact with people who had faced a similar situation, and looking for positions for their significant others. The negotiation was successful, and the negotiator learned the importance of listening to the person's concerns and finding ways to show that the company cares about their wellbeing.

How to share information with other tech teams in an efficient way

This article discusses a problem faced by a 50-person R&D team split into 10 sub-teams: how to share technical details with each other to prevent reinventing the wheel, overbuilding, and stepping on each other's toes. To solve this problem, the team established a tech lead for each sub-team who was responsible for putting together a 15-minute presentation at the end of each quarter. The presentations covered the technical aspects of the work the team had done, as well as planned work ahead. The lesson learned was to start sharing knowledge as early as possible and pay attention to technical silos.

Finding start-up leaders

This article discusses the challenges of restructuring a large engineering team of 30 people into smaller, more focused groups. It outlines the steps taken to identify the right people to lead the groups, including assessing their strengths and weaknesses. It also provides lessons learned from the experience, such as the need to socialize the concept of hierarchy, give new leaders support and breathing room, and match the team members and subject matter to the style of the lead. Finally, it emphasizes that it takes time to get things right.

Internal politics affecting work productivity

Three engineering teams, managed by different executives, were working together on a project, but their internal politics caused technical issues. Ultimately, the teams had to start over and work together as one team, which resulted in a better technical outcome and a more pleasant working atmosphere. The lesson learned is that executive decisions should not be seen as sacred, and engineering managers should be brave enough to challenge them if they are too far from the engineers' everyday work to understand the impacts of their decisions.

Handling Layoffs with Compassion

This article discusses the experience of a manager who had to lay off 25 people from their team. They decided to handle it differently than their previous boss or their husband's company, by informing the managers beforehand, pulling people in one by one to tell them, and having a going away lunch a week later. The article emphasizes the importance of treating people with respect and consideration when laying them off.

Use 1-1s to have hard conversations

One-on-ones should be used to discuss hard topics and uncomfortable conversations that can lead to improvement. Managers should ask their team members questions that go beyond how they are doing and probe to identify areas of improvement. Doing this will ensure that one-on-ones are more effective and encourage people to think about how to improve.

A promising engineer who totally loses his temper

When one of his employees, Collin, displayed cold, arrogant, and dismissive behavior during a critical project meeting, the manager took action. He met with HR, had a conversation with Collin, and met with the team. He offered Collin a chance to work from home more often, and a long-term roadmap for his project. This helped Collin become more productive and cordial with his colleagues, and the situation was resolved.

When an individual’s aspiration to jump on new technologies can jeopardize your team’s dynamics

A team engineer wanted to work on a new "hot topic" and the team leader allowed it, but it created tension among the other team members. To solve the problem, the team leader moved the engineer to a different team that was more research-focused. The lesson learned is that teams should work for a "what" and not a "how" and that people's new roles should fit within the team's mission. If not, it can jeopardize the team's dynamics.

How to improve a negative team atmosphere?

This article discusses a problem of a negative culture of blame and victimization within an engineering team. The author took direct action to address the problem, such as speaking to the manager who was promoting negativity. The lesson learned is that it is important to not tolerate the promotion of negativity, and to be diligent, attentive, and patient in reshaping the team's thinking towards solution-oriented problem solving and encouraging self-agency.

A good performer who lost passion for his company

A good performer in the company had been losing his passion for the project he was working on due to strategic decisions and personal problems. The manager gave him a lead role on a new project to motivate him, but after a couple of months it was clear he wasn't meeting the bar. The engineer eventually left the company, and the manager learned that he should have pushed the engineer harder to make a decision and should have been more aware of his personal situation before giving him more responsibility.

Firing someone who has become indispensable

A manager faced the challenge of having to let go of an employee who had become indispensable due to siloing of critical information and ownership of infrastructure. After releasing the engineer, it was discovered that the problem was due to lack of cross-training, sharing information, and documentation. To combat this, organizations must create a culture where everyone strives to make themselves replaceable by sharing critical pieces of information and cross-training.

Reorganization: what not to do.

When designing an organization structure, it is important to understand the goals and objectives of the project. A clustering exercise was attempted with 30 people, but it was too complex and no decisions were made. Three people proposed organization charts, but none of them were perfect. It was eventually decided to use one of them, but this resulted in more reorganizations three months later. The lesson learned is to clearly define goals and have two or three people work on the reorganization, as having too many people involved will prevent the structure from being informed by a point of view.

Stumbling into chaos

The new director of engineering at a startup had to jump in on day one when the team had just done a re-org and re-oriented the product roadmap. He met with the CTO and engineering leads to understand why the new structure had been put in place, then worked with the product managers to focus on pieces they had high certainty of needing. He also added weekly planning meetings for each product team and daily standups to create structure and accountability. Through retros and feedback, he tailored these initial short-term fixes to their needs. He learned that plans often go awry and we have to adapt, look for short-term engineering work when long-term plans change, and creating a predictable process cadence can help create stability.

The complexity of self-organization

The author, a former developer who became a manager, learned to prioritize tasks and choose their battles in order to get things done. This was a difficult process, but it has proven to be the best way to manage their workload and handle unexpected events.

Sharing the bigger picture when delegating

A project to rewrite a sharing and permission system was split between two teams, but the end result was not what was initially intended. This was due to a lack of communication about the long-term goal of the project, leading to choices that were not aligned with the overall goal. The lesson learned is that good delegation requires stakeholders to have a clear understanding of the bigger picture before beginning a project.

Whiteboard interviews, how to and how not to do it

A few years ago, a company in France decided to implement whiteboard interviews, but the engineers had no experience with them and the candidates were horrified. To address the issue, the company paused whiteboard interviews, did training, and devised rules for them. They also sent detailed emails with sample questions to the candidates to prepare them. The company learned that the whiteboard should be used to solve a problem together, not to prove the candidate can't do something. After implementing these changes, the company was able to successfully hire good engineers and received positive feedback from rejected candidates.

Go beyond salary to build up a complete job offer that candidates won’t decline

This article provides advice on how to handle salary negotiations. It suggests paying a fair wage based on experience, title, company stage, country, and city. It also suggests taking the time to understand what motivates the candidate and what they are looking for in a job, and then building an offer that includes a fair salary, equity, career opportunities, and learning opportunities. The article emphasizes that people should not be hired for cash, as they will likely leave soon after.

The power of saying no

A product manager wanted to take a lead developer away from their current project to work on a new one. The manager of the engineering team intervened and said no, as the current project was more important. This caused a short-term rift with the product team, but it also established a framework for future work. It is important for managers to protect their team and prioritize tasks, even if it means saying no to requests from the product team.

Turning a team around

When taking over a team of 60 engineers, the VP of Engineering noticed a lack of motivation and excellence. After observing interactions and having one-on-one conversations, it was determined that external factors such as a lack of purpose, goals, and challenges were causing the problem. To address this, modern tools were implemented, hiring practices were strengthened, job bands and compensation ranges were established, teams were reorganized, and the strongest people were put into influential positions. As a result, motivation and efficiency increased, and the team was better differentiated. Lessons learned include building relationships, ensuring a sense of purpose, challenging the team, and maximizing talent.

Handling not giving a raise to an average employee who thinks he deserves one

This article discusses how to have a conversation with an average employee who believes they deserve a raise. The manager explains that raises are performance driven and not an entitlement, and encourages the employee to look for opportunities to improve the product and the process, and demonstrate leadership potential. The manager also provides examples of ways the employee can go above and beyond their job description, such as helping a new hire, analyzing why the build is breaking, taking initiative to fix the coffee machine, and driving team building activities. The manager emphasizes the importance of having a baseline review with every employee and keeping a close pulse on them.

I managed to convince top notch engineers to accept my offer

In a tricky negotiation to hire three rockstar engineers from a failed start-up, the negotiator leveraged different aspects to convince them to accept the offer. These included emphasizing the challenging role and professional growth, showing that the stock value would be higher, putting them in contact with people who had faced a similar situation, and looking for positions for their significant others. The negotiation was successful, and the negotiator learned the importance of listening to the person's concerns and finding ways to show that the company cares about their wellbeing.

How to share information with other tech teams in an efficient way

This article discusses a problem faced by a 50-person R&D team split into 10 sub-teams: how to share technical details with each other to prevent reinventing the wheel, overbuilding, and stepping on each other's toes. To solve this problem, the team established a tech lead for each sub-team who was responsible for putting together a 15-minute presentation at the end of each quarter. The presentations covered the technical aspects of the work the team had done, as well as planned work ahead. The lesson learned was to start sharing knowledge as early as possible and pay attention to technical silos.

Finding start-up leaders

This article discusses the challenges of restructuring a large engineering team of 30 people into smaller, more focused groups. It outlines the steps taken to identify the right people to lead the groups, including assessing their strengths and weaknesses. It also provides lessons learned from the experience, such as the need to socialize the concept of hierarchy, give new leaders support and breathing room, and match the team members and subject matter to the style of the lead. Finally, it emphasizes that it takes time to get things right.

Internal politics affecting work productivity

Three engineering teams, managed by different executives, were working together on a project, but their internal politics caused technical issues. Ultimately, the teams had to start over and work together as one team, which resulted in a better technical outcome and a more pleasant working atmosphere. The lesson learned is that executive decisions should not be seen as sacred, and engineering managers should be brave enough to challenge them if they are too far from the engineers' everyday work to understand the impacts of their decisions.

Handling Layoffs with Compassion

This article discusses the experience of a manager who had to lay off 25 people from their team. They decided to handle it differently than their previous boss or their husband's company, by informing the managers beforehand, pulling people in one by one to tell them, and having a going away lunch a week later. The article emphasizes the importance of treating people with respect and consideration when laying them off.

Use 1-1s to have hard conversations

One-on-ones should be used to discuss hard topics and uncomfortable conversations that can lead to improvement. Managers should ask their team members questions that go beyond how they are doing and probe to identify areas of improvement. Doing this will ensure that one-on-ones are more effective and encourage people to think about how to improve.

A promising engineer who totally loses his temper

When one of his employees, Collin, displayed cold, arrogant, and dismissive behavior during a critical project meeting, the manager took action. He met with HR, had a conversation with Collin, and met with the team. He offered Collin a chance to work from home more often, and a long-term roadmap for his project. This helped Collin become more productive and cordial with his colleagues, and the situation was resolved.

When an individual’s aspiration to jump on new technologies can jeopardize your team’s dynamics

A team engineer wanted to work on a new "hot topic" and the team leader allowed it, but it created tension among the other team members. To solve the problem, the team leader moved the engineer to a different team that was more research-focused. The lesson learned is that teams should work for a "what" and not a "how" and that people's new roles should fit within the team's mission. If not, it can jeopardize the team's dynamics.

How to improve a negative team atmosphere?

This article discusses a problem of a negative culture of blame and victimization within an engineering team. The author took direct action to address the problem, such as speaking to the manager who was promoting negativity. The lesson learned is that it is important to not tolerate the promotion of negativity, and to be diligent, attentive, and patient in reshaping the team's thinking towards solution-oriented problem solving and encouraging self-agency.

A good performer who lost passion for his company

A good performer in the company had been losing his passion for the project he was working on due to strategic decisions and personal problems. The manager gave him a lead role on a new project to motivate him, but after a couple of months it was clear he wasn't meeting the bar. The engineer eventually left the company, and the manager learned that he should have pushed the engineer harder to make a decision and should have been more aware of his personal situation before giving him more responsibility.

Firing someone who has become indispensable

A manager faced the challenge of having to let go of an employee who had become indispensable due to siloing of critical information and ownership of infrastructure. After releasing the engineer, it was discovered that the problem was due to lack of cross-training, sharing information, and documentation. To combat this, organizations must create a culture where everyone strives to make themselves replaceable by sharing critical pieces of information and cross-training.

Reorganization: what not to do.

When designing an organization structure, it is important to understand the goals and objectives of the project. A clustering exercise was attempted with 30 people, but it was too complex and no decisions were made. Three people proposed organization charts, but none of them were perfect. It was eventually decided to use one of them, but this resulted in more reorganizations three months later. The lesson learned is to clearly define goals and have two or three people work on the reorganization, as having too many people involved will prevent the structure from being informed by a point of view.

Stumbling into chaos

The new director of engineering at a startup had to jump in on day one when the team had just done a re-org and re-oriented the product roadmap. He met with the CTO and engineering leads to understand why the new structure had been put in place, then worked with the product managers to focus on pieces they had high certainty of needing. He also added weekly planning meetings for each product team and daily standups to create structure and accountability. Through retros and feedback, he tailored these initial short-term fixes to their needs. He learned that plans often go awry and we have to adapt, look for short-term engineering work when long-term plans change, and creating a predictable process cadence can help create stability.

The complexity of self-organization

The author, a former developer who became a manager, learned to prioritize tasks and choose their battles in order to get things done. This was a difficult process, but it has proven to be the best way to manage their workload and handle unexpected events.

Sharing the bigger picture when delegating

A project to rewrite a sharing and permission system was split between two teams, but the end result was not what was initially intended. This was due to a lack of communication about the long-term goal of the project, leading to choices that were not aligned with the overall goal. The lesson learned is that good delegation requires stakeholders to have a clear understanding of the bigger picture before beginning a project.

Whiteboard interviews, how to and how not to do it

A few years ago, a company in France decided to implement whiteboard interviews, but the engineers had no experience with them and the candidates were horrified. To address the issue, the company paused whiteboard interviews, did training, and devised rules for them. They also sent detailed emails with sample questions to the candidates to prepare them. The company learned that the whiteboard should be used to solve a problem together, not to prove the candidate can't do something. After implementing these changes, the company was able to successfully hire good engineers and received positive feedback from rejected candidates.

Go beyond salary to build up a complete job offer that candidates won’t decline

This article provides advice on how to handle salary negotiations. It suggests paying a fair wage based on experience, title, company stage, country, and city. It also suggests taking the time to understand what motivates the candidate and what they are looking for in a job, and then building an offer that includes a fair salary, equity, career opportunities, and learning opportunities. The article emphasizes that people should not be hired for cash, as they will likely leave soon after.

The power of saying no

A product manager wanted to take a lead developer away from their current project to work on a new one. The manager of the engineering team intervened and said no, as the current project was more important. This caused a short-term rift with the product team, but it also established a framework for future work. It is important for managers to protect their team and prioritize tasks, even if it means saying no to requests from the product team.

Turning a team around

When taking over a team of 60 engineers, the VP of Engineering noticed a lack of motivation and excellence. After observing interactions and having one-on-one conversations, it was determined that external factors such as a lack of purpose, goals, and challenges were causing the problem. To address this, modern tools were implemented, hiring practices were strengthened, job bands and compensation ranges were established, teams were reorganized, and the strongest people were put into influential positions. As a result, motivation and efficiency increased, and the team was better differentiated. Lessons learned include building relationships, ensuring a sense of purpose, challenging the team, and maximizing talent.

Handling not giving a raise to an average employee who thinks he deserves one

This article discusses how to have a conversation with an average employee who believes they deserve a raise. The manager explains that raises are performance driven and not an entitlement, and encourages the employee to look for opportunities to improve the product and the process, and demonstrate leadership potential. The manager also provides examples of ways the employee can go above and beyond their job description, such as helping a new hire, analyzing why the build is breaking, taking initiative to fix the coffee machine, and driving team building activities. The manager emphasizes the importance of having a baseline review with every employee and keeping a close pulse on them.

I managed to convince top notch engineers to accept my offer

In a tricky negotiation to hire three rockstar engineers from a failed start-up, the negotiator leveraged different aspects to convince them to accept the offer. These included emphasizing the challenging role and professional growth, showing that the stock value would be higher, putting them in contact with people who had faced a similar situation, and looking for positions for their significant others. The negotiation was successful, and the negotiator learned the importance of listening to the person's concerns and finding ways to show that the company cares about their wellbeing.

How to share information with other tech teams in an efficient way

This article discusses a problem faced by a 50-person R&D team split into 10 sub-teams: how to share technical details with each other to prevent reinventing the wheel, overbuilding, and stepping on each other's toes. To solve this problem, the team established a tech lead for each sub-team who was responsible for putting together a 15-minute presentation at the end of each quarter. The presentations covered the technical aspects of the work the team had done, as well as planned work ahead. The lesson learned was to start sharing knowledge as early as possible and pay attention to technical silos.

Finding start-up leaders

This article discusses the challenges of restructuring a large engineering team of 30 people into smaller, more focused groups. It outlines the steps taken to identify the right people to lead the groups, including assessing their strengths and weaknesses. It also provides lessons learned from the experience, such as the need to socialize the concept of hierarchy, give new leaders support and breathing room, and match the team members and subject matter to the style of the lead. Finally, it emphasizes that it takes time to get things right.

Internal politics affecting work productivity

Three engineering teams, managed by different executives, were working together on a project, but their internal politics caused technical issues. Ultimately, the teams had to start over and work together as one team, which resulted in a better technical outcome and a more pleasant working atmosphere. The lesson learned is that executive decisions should not be seen as sacred, and engineering managers should be brave enough to challenge them if they are too far from the engineers' everyday work to understand the impacts of their decisions.

Handling Layoffs with Compassion

This article discusses the experience of a manager who had to lay off 25 people from their team. They decided to handle it differently than their previous boss or their husband's company, by informing the managers beforehand, pulling people in one by one to tell them, and having a going away lunch a week later. The article emphasizes the importance of treating people with respect and consideration when laying them off.

Use 1-1s to have hard conversations

One-on-ones should be used to discuss hard topics and uncomfortable conversations that can lead to improvement. Managers should ask their team members questions that go beyond how they are doing and probe to identify areas of improvement. Doing this will ensure that one-on-ones are more effective and encourage people to think about how to improve.

A promising engineer who totally loses his temper

When one of his employees, Collin, displayed cold, arrogant, and dismissive behavior during a critical project meeting, the manager took action. He met with HR, had a conversation with Collin, and met with the team. He offered Collin a chance to work from home more often, and a long-term roadmap for his project. This helped Collin become more productive and cordial with his colleagues, and the situation was resolved.

When an individual’s aspiration to jump on new technologies can jeopardize your team’s dynamics

A team engineer wanted to work on a new "hot topic" and the team leader allowed it, but it created tension among the other team members. To solve the problem, the team leader moved the engineer to a different team that was more research-focused. The lesson learned is that teams should work for a "what" and not a "how" and that people's new roles should fit within the team's mission. If not, it can jeopardize the team's dynamics.

How to improve a negative team atmosphere?

This article discusses a problem of a negative culture of blame and victimization within an engineering team. The author took direct action to address the problem, such as speaking to the manager who was promoting negativity. The lesson learned is that it is important to not tolerate the promotion of negativity, and to be diligent, attentive, and patient in reshaping the team's thinking towards solution-oriented problem solving and encouraging self-agency.

A good performer who lost passion for his company

A good performer in the company had been losing his passion for the project he was working on due to strategic decisions and personal problems. The manager gave him a lead role on a new project to motivate him, but after a couple of months it was clear he wasn't meeting the bar. The engineer eventually left the company, and the manager learned that he should have pushed the engineer harder to make a decision and should have been more aware of his personal situation before giving him more responsibility.

Firing someone who has become indispensable

A manager faced the challenge of having to let go of an employee who had become indispensable due to siloing of critical information and ownership of infrastructure. After releasing the engineer, it was discovered that the problem was due to lack of cross-training, sharing information, and documentation. To combat this, organizations must create a culture where everyone strives to make themselves replaceable by sharing critical pieces of information and cross-training.

Reorganization: what not to do.

When designing an organization structure, it is important to understand the goals and objectives of the project. A clustering exercise was attempted with 30 people, but it was too complex and no decisions were made. Three people proposed organization charts, but none of them were perfect. It was eventually decided to use one of them, but this resulted in more reorganizations three months later. The lesson learned is to clearly define goals and have two or three people work on the reorganization, as having too many people involved will prevent the structure from being informed by a point of view.

Stumbling into chaos

The new director of engineering at a startup had to jump in on day one when the team had just done a re-org and re-oriented the product roadmap. He met with the CTO and engineering leads to understand why the new structure had been put in place, then worked with the product managers to focus on pieces they had high certainty of needing. He also added weekly planning meetings for each product team and daily standups to create structure and accountability. Through retros and feedback, he tailored these initial short-term fixes to their needs. He learned that plans often go awry and we have to adapt, look for short-term engineering work when long-term plans change, and creating a predictable process cadence can help create stability.

The complexity of self-organization

The author, a former developer who became a manager, learned to prioritize tasks and choose their battles in order to get things done. This was a difficult process, but it has proven to be the best way to manage their workload and handle unexpected events.

Sharing the bigger picture when delegating

A project to rewrite a sharing and permission system was split between two teams, but the end result was not what was initially intended. This was due to a lack of communication about the long-term goal of the project, leading to choices that were not aligned with the overall goal. The lesson learned is that good delegation requires stakeholders to have a clear understanding of the bigger picture before beginning a project.

Whiteboard interviews, how to and how not to do it

A few years ago, a company in France decided to implement whiteboard interviews, but the engineers had no experience with them and the candidates were horrified. To address the issue, the company paused whiteboard interviews, did training, and devised rules for them. They also sent detailed emails with sample questions to the candidates to prepare them. The company learned that the whiteboard should be used to solve a problem together, not to prove the candidate can't do something. After implementing these changes, the company was able to successfully hire good engineers and received positive feedback from rejected candidates.

Go beyond salary to build up a complete job offer that candidates won’t decline

This article provides advice on how to handle salary negotiations. It suggests paying a fair wage based on experience, title, company stage, country, and city. It also suggests taking the time to understand what motivates the candidate and what they are looking for in a job, and then building an offer that includes a fair salary, equity, career opportunities, and learning opportunities. The article emphasizes that people should not be hired for cash, as they will likely leave soon after.

The power of saying no

A product manager wanted to take a lead developer away from their current project to work on a new one. The manager of the engineering team intervened and said no, as the current project was more important. This caused a short-term rift with the product team, but it also established a framework for future work. It is important for managers to protect their team and prioritize tasks, even if it means saying no to requests from the product team.

Turning a team around

When taking over a team of 60 engineers, the VP of Engineering noticed a lack of motivation and excellence. After observing interactions and having one-on-one conversations, it was determined that external factors such as a lack of purpose, goals, and challenges were causing the problem. To address this, modern tools were implemented, hiring practices were strengthened, job bands and compensation ranges were established, teams were reorganized, and the strongest people were put into influential positions. As a result, motivation and efficiency increased, and the team was better differentiated. Lessons learned include building relationships, ensuring a sense of purpose, challenging the team, and maximizing talent.

Handling not giving a raise to an average employee who thinks he deserves one

This article discusses how to have a conversation with an average employee who believes they deserve a raise. The manager explains that raises are performance driven and not an entitlement, and encourages the employee to look for opportunities to improve the product and the process, and demonstrate leadership potential. The manager also provides examples of ways the employee can go above and beyond their job description, such as helping a new hire, analyzing why the build is breaking, taking initiative to fix the coffee machine, and driving team building activities. The manager emphasizes the importance of having a baseline review with every employee and keeping a close pulse on them.

I managed to convince top notch engineers to accept my offer

In a tricky negotiation to hire three rockstar engineers from a failed start-up, the negotiator leveraged different aspects to convince them to accept the offer. These included emphasizing the challenging role and professional growth, showing that the stock value would be higher, putting them in contact with people who had faced a similar situation, and looking for positions for their significant others. The negotiation was successful, and the negotiator learned the importance of listening to the person's concerns and finding ways to show that the company cares about their wellbeing.

How to share information with other tech teams in an efficient way

This article discusses a problem faced by a 50-person R&D team split into 10 sub-teams: how to share technical details with each other to prevent reinventing the wheel, overbuilding, and stepping on each other's toes. To solve this problem, the team established a tech lead for each sub-team who was responsible for putting together a 15-minute presentation at the end of each quarter. The presentations covered the technical aspects of the work the team had done, as well as planned work ahead. The lesson learned was to start sharing knowledge as early as possible and pay attention to technical silos.

Finding start-up leaders

This article discusses the challenges of restructuring a large engineering team of 30 people into smaller, more focused groups. It outlines the steps taken to identify the right people to lead the groups, including assessing their strengths and weaknesses. It also provides lessons learned from the experience, such as the need to socialize the concept of hierarchy, give new leaders support and breathing room, and match the team members and subject matter to the style of the lead. Finally, it emphasizes that it takes time to get things right.

Internal politics affecting work productivity

Three engineering teams, managed by different executives, were working together on a project, but their internal politics caused technical issues. Ultimately, the teams had to start over and work together as one team, which resulted in a better technical outcome and a more pleasant working atmosphere. The lesson learned is that executive decisions should not be seen as sacred, and engineering managers should be brave enough to challenge them if they are too far from the engineers' everyday work to understand the impacts of their decisions.

Handling Layoffs with Compassion

This article discusses the experience of a manager who had to lay off 25 people from their team. They decided to handle it differently than their previous boss or their husband's company, by informing the managers beforehand, pulling people in one by one to tell them, and having a going away lunch a week later. The article emphasizes the importance of treating people with respect and consideration when laying them off.

Use 1-1s to have hard conversations

One-on-ones should be used to discuss hard topics and uncomfortable conversations that can lead to improvement. Managers should ask their team members questions that go beyond how they are doing and probe to identify areas of improvement. Doing this will ensure that one-on-ones are more effective and encourage people to think about how to improve.

A promising engineer who totally loses his temper

When one of his employees, Collin, displayed cold, arrogant, and dismissive behavior during a critical project meeting, the manager took action. He met with HR, had a conversation with Collin, and met with the team. He offered Collin a chance to work from home more often, and a long-term roadmap for his project. This helped Collin become more productive and cordial with his colleagues, and the situation was resolved.

When an individual’s aspiration to jump on new technologies can jeopardize your team’s dynamics

A team engineer wanted to work on a new "hot topic" and the team leader allowed it, but it created tension among the other team members. To solve the problem, the team leader moved the engineer to a different team that was more research-focused. The lesson learned is that teams should work for a "what" and not a "how" and that people's new roles should fit within the team's mission. If not, it can jeopardize the team's dynamics.

How to improve a negative team atmosphere?

This article discusses a problem of a negative culture of blame and victimization within an engineering team. The author took direct action to address the problem, such as speaking to the manager who was promoting negativity. The lesson learned is that it is important to not tolerate the promotion of negativity, and to be diligent, attentive, and patient in reshaping the team's thinking towards solution-oriented problem solving and encouraging self-agency.

A good performer who lost passion for his company

A good performer in the company had been losing his passion for the project he was working on due to strategic decisions and personal problems. The manager gave him a lead role on a new project to motivate him, but after a couple of months it was clear he wasn't meeting the bar. The engineer eventually left the company, and the manager learned that he should have pushed the engineer harder to make a decision and should have been more aware of his personal situation before giving him more responsibility.

Firing someone who has become indispensable

A manager faced the challenge of having to let go of an employee who had become indispensable due to siloing of critical information and ownership of infrastructure. After releasing the engineer, it was discovered that the problem was due to lack of cross-training, sharing information, and documentation. To combat this, organizations must create a culture where everyone strives to make themselves replaceable by sharing critical pieces of information and cross-training.

Reorganization: what not to do.

When designing an organization structure, it is important to understand the goals and objectives of the project. A clustering exercise was attempted with 30 people, but it was too complex and no decisions were made. Three people proposed organization charts, but none of them were perfect. It was eventually decided to use one of them, but this resulted in more reorganizations three months later. The lesson learned is to clearly define goals and have two or three people work on the reorganization, as having too many people involved will prevent the structure from being informed by a point of view.

Stumbling into chaos

The new director of engineering at a startup had to jump in on day one when the team had just done a re-org and re-oriented the product roadmap. He met with the CTO and engineering leads to understand why the new structure had been put in place, then worked with the product managers to focus on pieces they had high certainty of needing. He also added weekly planning meetings for each product team and daily standups to create structure and accountability. Through retros and feedback, he tailored these initial short-term fixes to their needs. He learned that plans often go awry and we have to adapt, look for short-term engineering work when long-term plans change, and creating a predictable process cadence can help create stability.

The complexity of self-organization

The author, a former developer who became a manager, learned to prioritize tasks and choose their battles in order to get things done. This was a difficult process, but it has proven to be the best way to manage their workload and handle unexpected events.

Sharing the bigger picture when delegating

A project to rewrite a sharing and permission system was split between two teams, but the end result was not what was initially intended. This was due to a lack of communication about the long-term goal of the project, leading to choices that were not aligned with the overall goal. The lesson learned is that good delegation requires stakeholders to have a clear understanding of the bigger picture before beginning a project.

Whiteboard interviews, how to and how not to do it

A few years ago, a company in France decided to implement whiteboard interviews, but the engineers had no experience with them and the candidates were horrified. To address the issue, the company paused whiteboard interviews, did training, and devised rules for them. They also sent detailed emails with sample questions to the candidates to prepare them. The company learned that the whiteboard should be used to solve a problem together, not to prove the candidate can't do something. After implementing these changes, the company was able to successfully hire good engineers and received positive feedback from rejected candidates.

Go beyond salary to build up a complete job offer that candidates won’t decline

This article provides advice on how to handle salary negotiations. It suggests paying a fair wage based on experience, title, company stage, country, and city. It also suggests taking the time to understand what motivates the candidate and what they are looking for in a job, and then building an offer that includes a fair salary, equity, career opportunities, and learning opportunities. The article emphasizes that people should not be hired for cash, as they will likely leave soon after.

The power of saying no

A product manager wanted to take a lead developer away from their current project to work on a new one. The manager of the engineering team intervened and said no, as the current project was more important. This caused a short-term rift with the product team, but it also established a framework for future work. It is important for managers to protect their team and prioritize tasks, even if it means saying no to requests from the product team.

Turning a team around

When taking over a team of 60 engineers, the VP of Engineering noticed a lack of motivation and excellence. After observing interactions and having one-on-one conversations, it was determined that external factors such as a lack of purpose, goals, and challenges were causing the problem. To address this, modern tools were implemented, hiring practices were strengthened, job bands and compensation ranges were established, teams were reorganized, and the strongest people were put into influential positions. As a result, motivation and efficiency increased, and the team was better differentiated. Lessons learned include building relationships, ensuring a sense of purpose, challenging the team, and maximizing talent.

Handling not giving a raise to an average employee who thinks he deserves one

This article discusses how to have a conversation with an average employee who believes they deserve a raise. The manager explains that raises are performance driven and not an entitlement, and encourages the employee to look for opportunities to improve the product and the process, and demonstrate leadership potential. The manager also provides examples of ways the employee can go above and beyond their job description, such as helping a new hire, analyzing why the build is breaking, taking initiative to fix the coffee machine, and driving team building activities. The manager emphasizes the importance of having a baseline review with every employee and keeping a close pulse on them.

I managed to convince top notch engineers to accept my offer

In a tricky negotiation to hire three rockstar engineers from a failed start-up, the negotiator leveraged different aspects to convince them to accept the offer. These included emphasizing the challenging role and professional growth, showing that the stock value would be higher, putting them in contact with people who had faced a similar situation, and looking for positions for their significant others. The negotiation was successful, and the negotiator learned the importance of listening to the person's concerns and finding ways to show that the company cares about their wellbeing.

How to share information with other tech teams in an efficient way

This article discusses a problem faced by a 50-person R&D team split into 10 sub-teams: how to share technical details with each other to prevent reinventing the wheel, overbuilding, and stepping on each other's toes. To solve this problem, the team established a tech lead for each sub-team who was responsible for putting together a 15-minute presentation at the end of each quarter. The presentations covered the technical aspects of the work the team had done, as well as planned work ahead. The lesson learned was to start sharing knowledge as early as possible and pay attention to technical silos.

Finding start-up leaders

This article discusses the challenges of restructuring a large engineering team of 30 people into smaller, more focused groups. It outlines the steps taken to identify the right people to lead the groups, including assessing their strengths and weaknesses. It also provides lessons learned from the experience, such as the need to socialize the concept of hierarchy, give new leaders support and breathing room, and match the team members and subject matter to the style of the lead. Finally, it emphasizes that it takes time to get things right.

Internal politics affecting work productivity

Three engineering teams, managed by different executives, were working together on a project, but their internal politics caused technical issues. Ultimately, the teams had to start over and work together as one team, which resulted in a better technical outcome and a more pleasant working atmosphere. The lesson learned is that executive decisions should not be seen as sacred, and engineering managers should be brave enough to challenge them if they are too far from the engineers' everyday work to understand the impacts of their decisions.

Handling Layoffs with Compassion

This article discusses the experience of a manager who had to lay off 25 people from their team. They decided to handle it differently than their previous boss or their husband's company, by informing the managers beforehand, pulling people in one by one to tell them, and having a going away lunch a week later. The article emphasizes the importance of treating people with respect and consideration when laying them off.

Use 1-1s to have hard conversations

One-on-ones should be used to discuss hard topics and uncomfortable conversations that can lead to improvement. Managers should ask their team members questions that go beyond how they are doing and probe to identify areas of improvement. Doing this will ensure that one-on-ones are more effective and encourage people to think about how to improve.

A promising engineer who totally loses his temper

When one of his employees, Collin, displayed cold, arrogant, and dismissive behavior during a critical project meeting, the manager took action. He met with HR, had a conversation with Collin, and met with the team. He offered Collin a chance to work from home more often, and a long-term roadmap for his project. This helped Collin become more productive and cordial with his colleagues, and the situation was resolved.

When an individual’s aspiration to jump on new technologies can jeopardize your team’s dynamics

A team engineer wanted to work on a new "hot topic" and the team leader allowed it, but it created tension among the other team members. To solve the problem, the team leader moved the engineer to a different team that was more research-focused. The lesson learned is that teams should work for a "what" and not a "how" and that people's new roles should fit within the team's mission. If not, it can jeopardize the team's dynamics.

How to improve a negative team atmosphere?

This article discusses a problem of a negative culture of blame and victimization within an engineering team. The author took direct action to address the problem, such as speaking to the manager who was promoting negativity. The lesson learned is that it is important to not tolerate the promotion of negativity, and to be diligent, attentive, and patient in reshaping the team's thinking towards solution-oriented problem solving and encouraging self-agency.

A good performer who lost passion for his company

A good performer in the company had been losing his passion for the project he was working on due to strategic decisions and personal problems. The manager gave him a lead role on a new project to motivate him, but after a couple of months it was clear he wasn't meeting the bar. The engineer eventually left the company, and the manager learned that he should have pushed the engineer harder to make a decision and should have been more aware of his personal situation before giving him more responsibility.

Firing someone who has become indispensable

A manager faced the challenge of having to let go of an employee who had become indispensable due to siloing of critical information and ownership of infrastructure. After releasing the engineer, it was discovered that the problem was due to lack of cross-training, sharing information, and documentation. To combat this, organizations must create a culture where everyone strives to make themselves replaceable by sharing critical pieces of information and cross-training.

Reorganization: what not to do.

When designing an organization structure, it is important to understand the goals and objectives of the project. A clustering exercise was attempted with 30 people, but it was too complex and no decisions were made. Three people proposed organization charts, but none of them were perfect. It was eventually decided to use one of them, but this resulted in more reorganizations three months later. The lesson learned is to clearly define goals and have two or three people work on the reorganization, as having too many people involved will prevent the structure from being informed by a point of view.

Stumbling into chaos

The new director of engineering at a startup had to jump in on day one when the team had just done a re-org and re-oriented the product roadmap. He met with the CTO and engineering leads to understand why the new structure had been put in place, then worked with the product managers to focus on pieces they had high certainty of needing. He also added weekly planning meetings for each product team and daily standups to create structure and accountability. Through retros and feedback, he tailored these initial short-term fixes to their needs. He learned that plans often go awry and we have to adapt, look for short-term engineering work when long-term plans change, and creating a predictable process cadence can help create stability.

The complexity of self-organization

The author, a former developer who became a manager, learned to prioritize tasks and choose their battles in order to get things done. This was a difficult process, but it has proven to be the best way to manage their workload and handle unexpected events.

Sharing the bigger picture when delegating

A project to rewrite a sharing and permission system was split between two teams, but the end result was not what was initially intended. This was due to a lack of communication about the long-term goal of the project, leading to choices that were not aligned with the overall goal. The lesson learned is that good delegation requires stakeholders to have a clear understanding of the bigger picture before beginning a project.

Whiteboard interviews, how to and how not to do it

A few years ago, a company in France decided to implement whiteboard interviews, but the engineers had no experience with them and the candidates were horrified. To address the issue, the company paused whiteboard interviews, did training, and devised rules for them. They also sent detailed emails with sample questions to the candidates to prepare them. The company learned that the whiteboard should be used to solve a problem together, not to prove the candidate can't do something. After implementing these changes, the company was able to successfully hire good engineers and received positive feedback from rejected candidates.

Go beyond salary to build up a complete job offer that candidates won’t decline

This article provides advice on how to handle salary negotiations. It suggests paying a fair wage based on experience, title, company stage, country, and city. It also suggests taking the time to understand what motivates the candidate and what they are looking for in a job, and then building an offer that includes a fair salary, equity, career opportunities, and learning opportunities. The article emphasizes that people should not be hired for cash, as they will likely leave soon after.

The power of saying no

A product manager wanted to take a lead developer away from their current project to work on a new one. The manager of the engineering team intervened and said no, as the current project was more important. This caused a short-term rift with the product team, but it also established a framework for future work. It is important for managers to protect their team and prioritize tasks, even if it means saying no to requests from the product team.

Turning a team around

When taking over a team of 60 engineers, the VP of Engineering noticed a lack of motivation and excellence. After observing interactions and having one-on-one conversations, it was determined that external factors such as a lack of purpose, goals, and challenges were causing the problem. To address this, modern tools were implemented, hiring practices were strengthened, job bands and compensation ranges were established, teams were reorganized, and the strongest people were put into influential positions. As a result, motivation and efficiency increased, and the team was better differentiated. Lessons learned include building relationships, ensuring a sense of purpose, challenging the team, and maximizing talent.

Handling not giving a raise to an average employee who thinks he deserves one

This article discusses how to have a conversation with an average employee who believes they deserve a raise. The manager explains that raises are performance driven and not an entitlement, and encourages the employee to look for opportunities to improve the product and the process, and demonstrate leadership potential. The manager also provides examples of ways the employee can go above and beyond their job description, such as helping a new hire, analyzing why the build is breaking, taking initiative to fix the coffee machine, and driving team building activities. The manager emphasizes the importance of having a baseline review with every employee and keeping a close pulse on them.

I managed to convince top notch engineers to accept my offer

In a tricky negotiation to hire three rockstar engineers from a failed start-up, the negotiator leveraged different aspects to convince them to accept the offer. These included emphasizing the challenging role and professional growth, showing that the stock value would be higher, putting them in contact with people who had faced a similar situation, and looking for positions for their significant others. The negotiation was successful, and the negotiator learned the importance of listening to the person's concerns and finding ways to show that the company cares about their wellbeing.

How to share information with other tech teams in an efficient way

This article discusses a problem faced by a 50-person R&D team split into 10 sub-teams: how to share technical details with each other to prevent reinventing the wheel, overbuilding, and stepping on each other's toes. To solve this problem, the team established a tech lead for each sub-team who was responsible for putting together a 15-minute presentation at the end of each quarter. The presentations covered the technical aspects of the work the team had done, as well as planned work ahead. The lesson learned was to start sharing knowledge as early as possible and pay attention to technical silos.

Finding start-up leaders

This article discusses the challenges of restructuring a large engineering team of 30 people into smaller, more focused groups. It outlines the steps taken to identify the right people to lead the groups, including assessing their strengths and weaknesses. It also provides lessons learned from the experience, such as the need to socialize the concept of hierarchy, give new leaders support and breathing room, and match the team members and subject matter to the style of the lead. Finally, it emphasizes that it takes time to get things right.

Internal politics affecting work productivity

Three engineering teams, managed by different executives, were working together on a project, but their internal politics caused technical issues. Ultimately, the teams had to start over and work together as one team, which resulted in a better technical outcome and a more pleasant working atmosphere. The lesson learned is that executive decisions should not be seen as sacred, and engineering managers should be brave enough to challenge them if they are too far from the engineers' everyday work to understand the impacts of their decisions.

Handling Layoffs with Compassion

This article discusses the experience of a manager who had to lay off 25 people from their team. They decided to handle it differently than their previous boss or their husband's company, by informing the managers beforehand, pulling people in one by one to tell them, and having a going away lunch a week later. The article emphasizes the importance of treating people with respect and consideration when laying them off.

Use 1-1s to have hard conversations

One-on-ones should be used to discuss hard topics and uncomfortable conversations that can lead to improvement. Managers should ask their team members questions that go beyond how they are doing and probe to identify areas of improvement. Doing this will ensure that one-on-ones are more effective and encourage people to think about how to improve.

A promising engineer who totally loses his temper

When one of his employees, Collin, displayed cold, arrogant, and dismissive behavior during a critical project meeting, the manager took action. He met with HR, had a conversation with Collin, and met with the team. He offered Collin a chance to work from home more often, and a long-term roadmap for his project. This helped Collin become more productive and cordial with his colleagues, and the situation was resolved.

When an individual’s aspiration to jump on new technologies can jeopardize your team’s dynamics

A team engineer wanted to work on a new "hot topic" and the team leader allowed it, but it created tension among the other team members. To solve the problem, the team leader moved the engineer to a different team that was more research-focused. The lesson learned is that teams should work for a "what" and not a "how" and that people's new roles should fit within the team's mission. If not, it can jeopardize the team's dynamics.

How to improve a negative team atmosphere?

This article discusses a problem of a negative culture of blame and victimization within an engineering team. The author took direct action to address the problem, such as speaking to the manager who was promoting negativity. The lesson learned is that it is important to not tolerate the promotion of negativity, and to be diligent, attentive, and patient in reshaping the team's thinking towards solution-oriented problem solving and encouraging self-agency.

A good performer who lost passion for his company

A good performer in the company had been losing his passion for the project he was working on due to strategic decisions and personal problems. The manager gave him a lead role on a new project to motivate him, but after a couple of months it was clear he wasn't meeting the bar. The engineer eventually left the company, and the manager learned that he should have pushed the engineer harder to make a decision and should have been more aware of his personal situation before giving him more responsibility.

Firing someone who has become indispensable

A manager faced the challenge of having to let go of an employee who had become indispensable due to siloing of critical information and ownership of infrastructure. After releasing the engineer, it was discovered that the problem was due to lack of cross-training, sharing information, and documentation. To combat this, organizations must create a culture where everyone strives to make themselves replaceable by sharing critical pieces of information and cross-training.

Reorganization: what not to do.

When designing an organization structure, it is important to understand the goals and objectives of the project. A clustering exercise was attempted with 30 people, but it was too complex and no decisions were made. Three people proposed organization charts, but none of them were perfect. It was eventually decided to use one of them, but this resulted in more reorganizations three months later. The lesson learned is to clearly define goals and have two or three people work on the reorganization, as having too many people involved will prevent the structure from being informed by a point of view.

Stumbling into chaos

The new director of engineering at a startup had to jump in on day one when the team had just done a re-org and re-oriented the product roadmap. He met with the CTO and engineering leads to understand why the new structure had been put in place, then worked with the product managers to focus on pieces they had high certainty of needing. He also added weekly planning meetings for each product team and daily standups to create structure and accountability. Through retros and feedback, he tailored these initial short-term fixes to their needs. He learned that plans often go awry and we have to adapt, look for short-term engineering work when long-term plans change, and creating a predictable process cadence can help create stability.

The complexity of self-organization

The author, a former developer who became a manager, learned to prioritize tasks and choose their battles in order to get things done. This was a difficult process, but it has proven to be the best way to manage their workload and handle unexpected events.

Sharing the bigger picture when delegating

A project to rewrite a sharing and permission system was split between two teams, but the end result was not what was initially intended. This was due to a lack of communication about the long-term goal of the project, leading to choices that were not aligned with the overall goal. The lesson learned is that good delegation requires stakeholders to have a clear understanding of the bigger picture before beginning a project.

Whiteboard interviews, how to and how not to do it

A few years ago, a company in France decided to implement whiteboard interviews, but the engineers had no experience with them and the candidates were horrified. To address the issue, the company paused whiteboard interviews, did training, and devised rules for them. They also sent detailed emails with sample questions to the candidates to prepare them. The company learned that the whiteboard should be used to solve a problem together, not to prove the candidate can't do something. After implementing these changes, the company was able to successfully hire good engineers and received positive feedback from rejected candidates.

Go beyond salary to build up a complete job offer that candidates won’t decline

This article provides advice on how to handle salary negotiations. It suggests paying a fair wage based on experience, title, company stage, country, and city. It also suggests taking the time to understand what motivates the candidate and what they are looking for in a job, and then building an offer that includes a fair salary, equity, career opportunities, and learning opportunities. The article emphasizes that people should not be hired for cash, as they will likely leave soon after.

The power of saying no

A product manager wanted to take a lead developer away from their current project to work on a new one. The manager of the engineering team intervened and said no, as the current project was more important. This caused a short-term rift with the product team, but it also established a framework for future work. It is important for managers to protect their team and prioritize tasks, even if it means saying no to requests from the product team.