Managing Up

Travis, Nick, and Brandon discuss a tough-but-frequent listener question: "How do I coach senior developers and tech leads to work better with each other when they have opposing personality types or passions?" They explore the personality types of "ship it" vs. "perfect it". Brandon talks about what happens in the 1 out of 5 times when the conflict is ego- and control-driven rather than just slightly different values (hint: it's not great news). They discuss techniques to draw out the benefits of these personality differences to lower drama, build trust, and balance a team's ability to focus on outcomes with technical and product excellence.Notes:Your high bar is wrecking your teamhttp://brandonhays.com/blog/2018/06/19/your-high-bar-is-wrecking-your-team/

Nick pays homage to one of his heroes, Captain Al Haynes, who saved hundreds of lives by managing a crisis during a famous airplane crash. Captain Haynes demonstrated one of the canonical examples of Crew Resource Management and "just culture". They ask why we still adhere to the "unquestionable captain" myth and point out some of the (very public) disasters that created. Nick talks to the group about how he pivots into "questions/curiosity" mode from "assumptions/making a point" mode. They discuss the impact and legacy of Captain Haynes and how that's impacted the way we choose to lead and live.Notes:Capt Al Hayneshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_HaynesCrew Resource Mgmthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crew_resource_managementUnited 232https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_232United 173https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_173Tenerife airport disaster (worst air disaster)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_airport_disasterTurn the Ship Around!https://www.amazon.com/Turn-Ship-Aro

Travis, Nick, and Brandon talk about vacations after a summer full of them. When is it OK for managers to take vacations? How do you set things up to actually let yourself relax? What if something breaks while you're gone? Nick talks about the power of asking "When's the last time you took time off?" and how to clearly set the cultural expectations in "unlimited PTO" policies. The group discusses vacations as part of an overall self-care strategy. Notes: Nick's "self care" Twitter thread https://twitter.com/nmeans/status/1161331494406840320

There is a healthy and active debate in the management community around Manager READMEs. Are they self-indulgent excuses for asking people to "deal with" your shortcomings? Or an essential tool to guide future conversations? Nick and Brandon explore the nuance in there and how their views about Manager READMEs have evolved (and continue to evolve) as they're exposed to more examples of them in practice. Notes: Jay Desai's Indespensable Guide for the Modern Manager https://firstround.com/review/the-indispensable-document-for-the-modern-manager/ Calmille Fournier's I Hate Manager READMEs https://medium.com/@skamille/i-hate-manager-readmes-20a0dd9a70d0

A thread on the "orange website" got Nick thinking: What are signs a manager is succeeding? What are red flags that they're on the wrong track? They ask the big question: How do you know when you are doing a good job? Are there any actual, useful measures you can use to know a manager is effective? And once you have an idea of what success looks like, how can we help scale that across an organization? Notes: The original HN thread about "What are the signs that you have a great manager?": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20230133 Brandon's reply https://twitter.com/tehviking/status/1142480785733234689

Nick, Travis, and Brandon explore trust as a pillar of successful teams. What does a high trust environment look like? How do you build trust? How do managers accidentally lower trust on their teams? How do you build (or rebuild) trust between a team and the rest of the organization? They relay the "marble jar" metaphor and explore what that means for teams. Show notes: John Cutler's trust flowchart https://twitter.com/johncutlefish/status/1144292646120120320 Turn the ship around https://www.amazon.com/Turn-Ship-Around-Turning-Followers-ebook/dp/B00AFPVP0Y No Hard Feelings https://www.amazon.com/No-Hard-Feelings-Embracing-Emotions/dp/0525533834 The Power of Vulnerability (Seminar) https://www.amazon.com/Power-Vulnerability-Teachings-Authenticity-Connection/dp/B00D1Z9RFU

This week, Nick, Travis, and Brandon respond to a listener's question about when and how to successfully use performance reviews. Nick shares the idea of using "pattern matching" as a basis for evaluating performance. They discuss whether to tie performance to raises, and how to gather and provide feedback outside the performance review process. Notes: Listener question: I just had a fairly junior engineer ask in our 1:1 for something like a performance review. This is not something I - or my company - have done before. How do I provide good feedback for eager juniors and jaded seniors? How do I set clear expectations and give small feedback regularly in 1:1s so there are no surprises? How do I keep my experience/perspective from having too much influence? Is it a bad idea to tie raises to just one evaluation? Is there a way to give periodic bigger-picture evaluation and advice to those who want it without doing formal reviews? Thanks!

Nick, Travis, and Brandon explore how they've tried to improve at assessing the technical abilities of potential hires during the interview process. They talk take-home tests, pair programming exercises, and Nick shares a technique that has worked better for his teams than either of those. Notes: Yahtzee problem http://codingdojo.org/kata/Yahtzee/ Trek Glowacki: "Tired: Engineering Interviews; Hired: Engineering Auditions" https://medium.com/@trek/tired-engineering-interviews-hired-engineering-auditions-5f9f00147a57 Kevin Goldsmith: The right ingredients for your perfect team https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnCYxM9z1dEp Kevin Goldsmith: Let's build a product development organization (workshop) https://www.slideshare.net/kevingoldsmith/lets-build-a-product-development-organization

Travis, Nick, and Brandon talk about Rule #1 in running software teams: The Software Must Ship. How much of that is on you, the manager? They explore that question and talk about their experiences managing work backlogs, delivery cadences, and giving teams slack to help them go faster. Ron Jeffries's tweet: https://twitter.com/RonJeffries/status/1120486947569446914 Accelerate by Nicole Forsgren, et al. https://www.amazon.com/Accelerate-Software-Performing-Technology-Organizations/dp/1942788339

Nick, Travis, and Brandon talk about the vast array of "priorities" that can overwhelm a manager. The group talk through strategies they use to wrangle the "manager's calendar" and reclaim control over your time. Nick talks about how useful procrastination can be as a signal, and the group talks about using focus to make an impact in the face of "busy-ness". Notes: Effective DevOps https://www.amazon.com/Effective-DevOps-Building-Collaboration-Affinity/dp/1491926309 Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker https://www.amazon.com/Managing-Oneself-Peter-Ferdinand-Drucker-dp-1633694836/dp/1633694836 Possible Minds by John Brockman https://www.amazon.com/Possible-Minds-Twenty-Five-Ways-Looking/dp/0525557997 Deep Work by Cal Newport https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/1455586692 Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator

Nick, Travis, and Brandon talk about their successes and failures working alongside product teams. They discuss what keeps engineering teams from feeling empowered and how to avoid becoming an "onshore offshore" team. They talk about how to achieve collaborative, healthy tension between product, marketing, and design, and how this work is at the heart of good engineering management. Show notes: Lara Hogan's venn diagrams https://twitter.com/lara_hogan/status/966837809603600386?lang=en https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE27GQKB3p0 https://larahogan.me/blog/team-leader-venn-diagram/ What would you say it is ya do here? https://jonathancshan.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/what-would-you-say-you-do-here.jpg Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/384067-if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up

Travis, Nick, and Brandon respond to a thought-provoking question about jumping in to manage a team that's already established. They also talk about what to do when the team needs culture or performance improvements. Amy Unger's question: "Walking into a new to you but established team, whether you were hired into a job or you got a team as part of a re-org, how do you approach coming into an established dynamic as a person of formal authority, but little knowledge or informal influence?" The coaching habit https://www.amazon.com/Coaching-Habit-Less-Change-Forever/dp/0978440749/ Atomic habits https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299/ Learned Helplessness: https://www.amazon.com/Learned-Helplessness-Theory-Personal-Control/dp/0195044673

Now that you're a leader, you may be surprised to find that your words sometimes carry weight that you didn't intend, feeling like the proverbial "Bull in a china shop". Nick, Brandon, and Travis share stories about this, and discuss power dynamics and how to shift power to the people who can actually do the work. Show Notes: Transforming the Difficult Child https://www.amazon.com/Transforming-Difficult-Child-Nurtured-Approach-ebook/dp/B079DT5TXT/ The Power of Moments https://www.amazon.com/Power-Moments-Certain-Experiences-Extraordinary/dp/1501147765

Estimation is the bane of many software developers' existence. Nick, Travis, and Brandon discuss (and argue) about why estimation can be valuable, whether it's too expensive, and what you can do to help your team deliver consistent value whether or not you're expected to estimate software. We estimated this episode should last about 30 minutes, so naturally it's just over 50. John Cutler on twitter: Hybrid Kanban board https://twitter.com/johncutlefish/status/1080740227092639744 Scrum Guide (It's actually good and a quick read) https://www.scrumguides.org/docs/scrumguide/v2017/2017-Scrum-Guide-US.pdf Dave Thomas: Agile is Dead (Long Live Agility) https://pragdave.me/blog/2014/03/04/time-to-kill-agile.html Martin Fowler: The State of Agile in 2018 https://martinfowler.com/articles/agile-aus-2018.html Welcome to Scrum, where everything is made up and the points don't matter https://memegenerator.net/instance/46928911/welcome-to-whose-line-welcome-to-scrum-where-everything-is-made-up-and-the-points

With Travis out this week, Nick and Brandon discuss a strongly-worded Twitter thread calling out bad leaders, what they've done that has and hasn't worked, and how listening and vulnerability play into more effective leadership (and parenting). Simon Wardley's Twitter thread calling out bad leadership https://twitter.com/swardley/status/1083124264142815233 Accelerate by Nicole Forsgren, PhD, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim https://www.amazon.com/Accelerate-Software-Performing-Technology-Organizations/dp/1942788339 Leadership and Self Deception by the Arbinger Institute https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Self-Deception-Getting-Out-Box/dp/1523097809 The Power of Vulnerability by Dr. Brené Brown https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23500254-the-power-of-vulnerability

Blithe Rocher, Engineering Manager at Fastly joins Nick, Brandon, and Travis to discuss how and when to transition to management, what to expect, and what advice she'd give her past self as she started managing her peers. Blithe Rocher https://twitter.com/blithe If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look On My Face? https://www.amazon.com/Understood-Would-Have-This-Look/dp/1524781924 Harrison Metal: General Management Course https://www.harrisonmetal.com/classes/foundations-general-management

Travis and Brandon talk with Nick about his recent Lead Developer talk about Gustav Eiffel, the story of his iconic tower, and how that led to learning to fearlessly and authentically engage in "politics" to accomplish great things in your career. Eiffel's Tower by Nick Means https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RslVT-L2A40 You Can Negotiate Anything by Herb Cohen https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Negotiate-Anything-Negotiator/dp/0553281097 Controversial tweet by Jason Fried https://twitter.com/jasonfried/status/1058816651284623361 Daring Greatly by Brené Brown https://www.amazon.com/Daring-Greatly-Courage-Vulnerable-Transforms-ebook/dp/B007P7HRS4/

Engineering leaders Sean Massa and Trek Glowacki join Travis, Nick, and Brandon to discuss what they've learned from their research on engineering ladders and growth tracks across dozens of companies. Hosts: Nick Means https://twitter.com/nmeans Travis Swicegood https://twitter.com/tswicegood Brandon Hays https://twitter.com/tehviking Guests: Sean Massa https://twitter.com/endangeredmassa Trek Glowacki https://twitter.com/trek Show notes: Rent the Runway engineering ladder http://dresscode.renttherunway.com/blog/ladder Medium's skill point based engineering growth framework https://medium.com/s/engineering-growth-framework

Travis, Nick, and Brandon discuss the technical requirements of being a manager, the cultural impact of a manager's technical skills, and why hiring engineering managers is so difficult. Notes: DevOps Transformation/ DevOps Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M9ASFQ3/ The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F1WZGNC/

Nick, Travis, and Brandon discuss the purpose of one on ones, how to help get the most from them, avoiding common pitfalls, and share resources on improving them for you and your team. Show notes: Radical Candor by Kim Scott https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kim-Scott/dp/B01KTIEFEE/ Questions for your first 1:1 https://larahogan.me/blog/first-one-on-one-questions/ 87 Questions great managers ask https://getlighthouse.com/blog/one-on-one-meeting-questions-great-managers-ask/