Troubleshooting Agile Tech Lead, Team Lead, Manager, Mentor
7 snips
Jul 21, 2021 The discussion kicks off with a lively rant about matrix management, highlighting its pitfalls. A refreshing perspective on self-managing team structures emerges, emphasizing clarity in roles. The speakers advocate for shared responsibilities, promoting cooperative communication to enhance team dynamics. They also tackle the drawbacks of centralized decision-making, stressing the need for inclusive collaboration. Overall, the conversation reveals how redefining roles can lead to greater alignment and effectiveness in agile software development.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Squirrel's Matrix Management Rant
- Douglas Squirrel rants about complicated matrix management structures with multiple overlapping roles like tech lead, delivery manager, engineering manager, and mentors from different departments.
- He finds these org charts with many dashed lines confusing and counterproductive, preferring simpler models used by smaller teams.
Splitting Engineering Manager Roles
- Jeffrey Fredrick explains decomposing the traditional engineering manager role into separate people manager, technical lead, and project lead roles.
- He notices these roles require different skill sets and paths, which may benefit from specialization rather than being combined.
Match Leadership to Passion
- Allow people to focus on the part of leadership they care about most, such as people management or technical leadership.
- Avoid forcing a tech-focused person to also handle people management, which often leads to neglecting important one-on-one development.
