Head of Engineering at On, Claus Höfele, talks about leadership, team management, and defining success in engineering. He shares his journey from software engineer to leader, insights on context switching, and tips for managing escalations and hiring phases.
Transitioning from software engineer to leadership role with playful leadership education approaches.
Adapting to cultural diversity and challenges in international work environments while balancing people-oriented skills and project management as an engineering leader.
Deep dives
Klaus's Sketch Notes and Leadership Journey
Klaus, an engineering director at ON, shares his journey transitioning from a software engineer to a leadership role. He delves into his inspiration behind creating sketch notes to summarize leadership concepts visually. Through sketch notes and his newsletter, Klaus aims to make leadership learning more engaging and less serious, emphasizing the importance of playful approaches in leadership education.
Klaus's International Work Experience
Klaus discusses his extensive international work experience, highlighting his time in Japan and Australia before relocating to Berlin. He reflects on the cultural diversity and challenges faced during his tenure in different countries, emphasizing the importance of adapting and learning from varied work environments.
Defining Leadership and Managing Teams
Klaus defines leadership as a blend of people-oriented skills and management of tasks, emphasizing the balance between culture-building and project management. As an engineering leader, he focuses on empowering individuals and ensuring team success through structured collaboration and strategic planning. Klaus shares insights on handling team escalations, context switching, and measuring success through qualitative team interactions rather than stringent metrics.
This episode features Claus Höfele, Head of Engineering at On and the author of the newsletter ‘Drawn to Leadership’. He has a rich technical background at the Doctari Group, eBay Classifieds, Sony Ericsson, and more.
The episode begins with Claus sharing the core function of his company ‘On’ and the inspiration behind his newsletter. Following that, he explores his definition of ‘Leadership’ and describes his journey from a software engineer to a leader. He also offers insights into his role as a Director of Engineering, managing multiple teams, context switching, and escalations, particularly in lean structures or during hiring phases.
Lastly, Claus delves into defining success for engineering teams and discusses his significant success as an Engineering Director and the contributing factors.