Getting Airbnb’s Platform team to drive more impact: Reorganizing, defining strategy, and metrics
Mar 7, 2025
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Anna Sulkina, Developer Productivity leader at Airbnb, shares her insights on transforming her team's impact. She reveals the struggles of previous operations, highlighting the need for clarity and alignment. The conversation explores strategic reorganization, role definitions, and developing an effective infrastructure strategy. Anna discusses improvements in developer satisfaction and the evolution of their developer experience survey, which has become essential for gathering actionable insights and enhancing collaboration within the organization.
Effective developer productivity leadership hinges on empathy and communication to understand and advocate for developers' needs.
Reorganizing teams and clarifying roles fosters alignment and collaboration, enhancing productivity and developer experience satisfaction at Airbnb.
Deep dives
Qualities of Effective Leadership in Developer Productivity
Successful leadership in developer productivity requires a combination of technical expertise and strong interpersonal skills. Empathy for developers is crucial, as understanding their challenges enables leaders to advocate for their needs effectively. Experience in both end-user product development and internal tools contributes to a holistic view of product lifecycle and best practices. Communication skills are essential for storytelling and aligning various stakeholders, ensuring that everyone is informed and engaged in the process.
Challenges and Opportunities for Developer Productivity
Upon joining Airbnb, the leadership team faced significant challenges in developer productivity, particularly the need for clearer direction and collaboration. Many employees expressed feelings of siloing, which hindered effective teamwork and overall success. Additionally, there was confusion regarding roles and responsibilities among product managers and technical leads, creating opportunities for improved alignment. Addressing these issues led to a more cohesive strategy, ultimately enhancing the team's productivity and effectiveness.
Strategies for Enhancing Developer Experience
Improving developer experience involved actively engaging with stakeholders to gather their input and address their pain points through regular communication. Creating collaborative partnerships across teams fostered a sense of shared responsibility and involvement in problem-solving. A transparent feedback loop helped developers feel heard, which contributed to changing perceptions of developer experience at Airbnb. By delivering on commitments and iterating on solutions, the organization was able to achieve significant progress and enhance overall developer satisfaction.
In this episode, Airbnb Developer Productivity leader Anna Sulkina shares the story of how her team transformed itself and became more impactful within the organization. She starts by describing how the team previously operated, where teams were delivering but felt they needed more clarity and alignment across teams. Then, the conversation digs into the key changes they made, including reorganizing the team, clarifying team roles, defining strategy, and improving their measurement systems.