Managing Up

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...

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 tru...

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 fai...

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...

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, e...

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: Ef...

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...

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...

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/Transf...

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 twitte...

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 H...

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 Met...

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-C...

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 Glo...

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 a...

Travis and Brandon welcome new co-host Nickolas Means, Engineering Manager at GitHub, to talk about the tracks in engineering management, and the differing roles and responsibilities of the CTO and VP of Engineering. Show Notes: Eric Brooke: Software Engineering Leadership https://ericbrooke.wordpress.com/2018/09/16/software-engineering-leadership/ Camille Fournier: The Manager's Path https://www....

Travis and Brandon discuss how central coaching is to quality management, the 2-way nature of coaching, and the critical role listening plays in becoming a better coach. HBR: The 9 Skills of Great Coaches https://hbr.org/2018/08/managers-think-theyre-good-at-coaching-theyre-not listening questioning giving feedback assisting with goal setting showing empathy letting the coachee arrive at their own...

In this super-sized episode, Travis and Brandon discuss what makes a great manager, using 10 skills and traits developed by Google's Project Oxygen and updated over the last 10 years. What is the job of a manager? We discuss the role of a manager with this Google-developed evaluation framework as a guide: https://www.themuse.com/advice/10-behaviors-make-great-google-manager https://rework.withgoog...

Travis and Brandon introduce the podcast, discuss the book Measure what Matters by John Doerr, and talk about the value that OKRs can bring to a team. Notes: Measure What Matters: https://www.amazon.com/Measure-What-Matters-Google-Foundation-ebook/dp/B078FZ9SYB/ The Hard Thing About Hard Things: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205 Radical Focus: https://www.amazon...