Episode 374: Secret burnout and no room for failure
Sep 18, 2023
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Topics discussed: dealing with burnout and whether to inform your manager, challenges and tensions of joining a new team in a lead engineer role, strategies for success in leadership positions, the importance of humility and collaboration, and team building activities like science fairs.
Being open with your manager about burnout and discussing ways to manage workload together can increase productivity and make projects more successful.
Stepping into a lead role on a new team while respecting the expertise of existing engineers involves being humble, asking questions, building rapport, and earning trust.
Deep dives
Navigating burnout and career ambitions
A listener is experiencing burnout but also aiming for a promotion in the next cycle. They are unsure whether to inform their manager about their burnout, as it may impact their chances of promotion. The high-stakes and tight deadlines of the project make it difficult for them to take time off. The hosts advise being open with the manager about the burnout and discussing ways to manage the workload together. They point out that prioritizing self-care and taking time off may actually increase productivity and make the project more successful.
Stepping into a leadership role and team dynamics
A listener is about to be promoted to a lead engineer position but will have to join a new team. The team already has members who were passed over for the promotion and have been working longer. The listener is concerned about potential tension and wants advice on stepping into this role while not stepping on the toes of the other engineers. The hosts recommend being humble, acknowledging what you don't know, asking questions, and building a good rapport with the team. They emphasize the importance of listening to feedback, being open to learning, and building trust with the existing team members.
Finding support and learning from others
The hosts encourage the listener to seek support and guidance from experienced leaders and colleagues who have been in similar roles. They suggest joining professional networks or seeking mentors to learn from others' experiences. They also recommend being open about your own learning journey and sharing your progress with the team. Additionally, they highlight the value of being likable and building positive relationships with colleagues to create a supportive environment.
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:
Morning! I will cut straight to the chase: I’m burned out and tired. At the same time, I’m aiming to get a promotion during the next cycle. My manager is aware of the latter, but not the former. Should I tell them? I suspect that I would get a lighter work load and less responsibilities, but it might also impact my chances at getting a promotion. The project I’m working is a “high stakes, tight deadlines” mess. I usually would just take a week or two of PTO, but the tight deadlines make it hard. Do I grin and bear it till promotion cycle (another 4-6 months) or just tell my manager and risk losing the rewards?
I’m about to get promoted to L6, what my company calls Lead Engineer, but I have to move to another team for it to happen. The other team already has a few people who are applying for that same promotion, and they got skipped over for my promo. They’ve also been devs longer than me. (4 years for me) So, I’m worried about tension on that team when I join.
On top of that, I’ll be learning this role too! How can I make room for myself to have failures and make poor decisions, while also not undermining my expertise? How can I step into this lead role while not stepping on the toes of the engineers already on the team?
Any tips for someone leading a team for the first time, while also joining that team?
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