A mentor was helping a fresh graduate transition from college to professional life. The mentor took notes on the issues the mentee was facing and identified the core problem as a lack of a mentor or coach to guide her. The mentor then provided advice on how to align expectations with her manager, invest in learning, and provide effective feedback. In the end, the mentee was able to gain credibility and set herself up for professional success. The mentor learned the importance of listening and paying attention to detail, educating mentees on providing effective feedback, and helping them maintain professional boundaries.

Plato

Hal Eisen

VP of Engineering at Memgraph

Contractors: Know When to Hold ‘Em, Know When to Fold ‘Em

The author was promoted to Director and inherited a team of 10 contractors and one junior FTE. After assessing the situation, the author created a hiring plan to reduce contractor headcount and hire more senior full-time engineers. Through creative problem solving, the author was able to bring up a new group of engineers in New York City and increase customer satisfaction by 50%. The author learned that contractors can be a quick fix but their incentives are not always aligned with the business, and that it is important to think outside the box to use resources that might not be obvious.

Plato

Kean Wong

Former VP of SW Engineering at Pebble

How to Attain Alignment of Vision and Strategy in the Engineering Organization

The VP of SW Engineering at Pebble had to influence the center of gravity of the engineering organization to achieve alignment and singularity of actions toward a set of common objectives. To do this, he used a methodical approach to get buy-in from the CEO, surface and highlight issues with existing processes and tools, communicate his overall vision and goals, allocate time for technical team members to explore options, and drive to a decision. He also used a layered approach to disclose and execute his vision to the CEO and technical staff, adjusting the communication style to the sensitivities of each team member. The lesson learned is that transparency and engagement from team leaders is important for changes in practices and tools, and empowering the team to collaborate and get to the right solution works better than directing them.

Plato

Pete Woodhouse

Chief Technology Officer at Prosper

Be Upfront About Product Delivery Constraints

The CTO of Paypal Credit was under pressure to scale a successful proof of concept product, but needed to replatform, restructure and rewrite it first. He had a one-on-one with the business owner to explain the situation and then went to the President of the business unit to get permission to spend nine months on the replatforming. Despite engineers not liking the fixed timeframe, the product launch was successful and the business leader was very complimentary. The CTO learned to start conversations with business leaders earlier to avoid difficult conversations.

Plato

Veronika Fleisher

Director of Engineering at BitSight Technologies

Implementing a Clear Promotion Process in a Growing Company

This article discusses the challenges a company faced when trying to promote employees in a systematic way across all leadership. To address this, the company created an engineering ladder and a promotion readiness document to provide clarity on expectations for everyone. This system opened up honest conversations between individuals and their managers, and it was so successful that other departments adopted similar approaches. As a result, people felt more inspired to challenge themselves and go after certain things.

Plato

Tido Carriero

Chief Product Officer at Segment

Proving Yourself When Onboarding

When hiring a new Engineering Manager, it is important to set clear expectations that they will be coding for 3-6 months before transitioning into a tech lead and then management role. This helps to build trust in the team and ensure the manager is familiar with the organization. This approach has been successful in helping new managers gain trust from the team and eventually revamp engineering processes.

Plato

Laurent Paris

SVP Engineering at Datadog

Hiring Senior Leadership When Scaling Massively

As CTO of a company that grew from 140 to 800 engineers in two years, the author had to anticipate the size of the team and assess the existing leadership potential. It took nine months to hire six VPs and restructure the organization, and two years later the plan worked out. The author learned that it is important to anticipate growth and hire people in advance, rather than waiting until they are needed.

Plato

Gaurav Anand

Senior Growth Product Manager at Udemy

Manage Expectation of your stakeholders (Internal and External)

A manager was assigned a new responsibility without being informed and was sent emails with information that caused alarm. After researching the scope of the work, it became clear that the project was too big and vague. The manager had to explain to their boss that they couldn't take on the work and reached out to the other department to let them know. This experience taught the manager to pay attention to emails from senior positions and to understand the context of the work before taking it on.

Plato

Who to follow

Seth Sakamoto

Ex-VPE/CTO at multiple startups, 2 decades+ senior engineering leadership exp

Shannon Vettes

My >20yrs in product and tech have created enough trial-by-fire experiences to fill several books.

Sue Nallapeta

Passionate about scalable engineering systems, diversity/inclusion. ex-Zoosk ApartmentList

Trey Tacon

High Performance, Empathetic Engineering Leader

Bavyaa Vasudevan

Head of Engineering at Point Digital Finance, SheTO Brand Ambassador & Mentor, Advocate for Mentorship & Women Leaders.

Jose Ciccio

Sr. Engineering Manager | Software Engineering Lead | Game Developer | University Teacher

Connect and Learn with the Best Eng Leaders

We will send you a weekly newsletter with new mentors, circles, peer groups, content, webinars,bounties and free events.

Latest Stories

Limor Bergman Gross

Executive Coach at LBG Consulting Service Ltd

Navigating the Challenges of Transitioning to an Engineering Manager Role

Transitioning to an engineering manager role comes with its own set of challenges, but by being strategic, building relationships, and advocating for oneself, success can be achieved. It is important to proactively plan one's career and advocate for personal growth and development. Building relationships with key stakeholders and finding allies within the organization can greatly help in advocating for oneself and influencing change. Understanding the motivations of others and aligning interests can also aid in gaining support for ideas. If promotion opportunities are limited, focusing on expanding responsibilities and taking on more challenging tasks can showcase potential for future growth. Seeking out mentors within the organization can provide guidance and support throughout the career transition process. Overall, being proactive, building relationships, and advocating for oneself are key to navigating the challenges of transitioning to an engineering manager role.

Plato

Harsha Shekar

Senior Engineering Manager at Atlassian

Effective Metrics for Engineering Teams

This article explores the topic of effective metrics for engineering teams. It discusses the importance of metrics in evaluating team performance, the different types of metrics that can be used, and the challenges associated with their use. The article also suggests leveraging personality tests and establishing clear role definitions to improve collaboration and provide guidance for team members. By using metrics in a fair and unbiased manner and implementing these strategies, engineering teams can enhance their performance and achieve their goals more effectively.

Plato

Burag Cetinkaya

Sr. Engineering Manager at LinkedIn | ex-Instagram at LinkedIn

Managers or Messengers?

The text discusses the frustration of seeing managers act as messengers between their team and upper management, and encourages engineering managers to seek more accountability and decision-making authority. It suggests asking four questions to determine if one is merely a communication channel, and advises managers to take on additional areas of true management to improve the situation. The text also advises directors and VPs of Engineering to delegate more responsibility in order to focus on higher-level tasks.

Plato

Vladimir Baranov

CIO/COO at SCOUT Space Inc

How to enter the field of software development after a bootcamp?

The text discusses the challenges faced by a recent coding bootcamp graduate in finding a job in the software industry. It emphasizes the importance of reducing the risk for potential employers and suggests several strategies to improve the situation. These strategies include building a personal brand and recognition through networking, updating resumes and online profiles to highlight relevant skills, and focusing on projects that showcase experience in a specific area. The text also suggests participating in hackathons, working on side projects, volunteering for charities or political campaigns, and exploring opportunities in start-up incubators. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of researching potential employers and demonstrating good communication and timeliness skills. Finally, it advises finding the right fit between the job seeker and the employer.

Plato

CD (Chris Dolezalek)

EVP, R&D at Hum Capital, Inc

Making New Hires Effective Quickly

This article discusses the importance of assigning a mentor or "buddy" to new hires in a fast-growing startup. It also outlines the concept of "Leave a Trace," which is a practice of having new hires improve the new hire process. The article further discusses the importance of fostering a growth mindset and having a well-defined spin-up process. It also provides links to various resources related to developer productivity.

Plato

Product

Home Circles 1-on-1 Mentorship Bounties

Explore

Engineering Management Leadership & Strategy Career Growth Roles & Titles Technical Expertise Diversity & Inclusion

Company

Blog Contact us

Legal

LinkedIn Twitter YouTube