Managing Up

Nick, Travis, and Brandon talk about their successes and failures working alongside product teams. They discuss what keeps engineering teams from feeling empowered and how to avoid becoming an "onshore offshore" team. They talk about how to achieve collaborative, healthy tension between product, marketing, and design, and how this work is at the heart of good engineering management. Show notes: Lara Hogan's venn diagrams https://twitter.com/lara_hogan/status/966837809603600386?lang=en https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE27GQKB3p0 https://larahogan.me/blog/team-leader-venn-diagram/ What would you say it is ya do here? https://jonathancshan.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/what-would-you-say-you-do-here.jpg Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/384067-if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up

The podcast discusses the challenges of stepping into a new managerial role, including how to navigate an established team with little knowledge or influence. They also talk about "boxing out" toxic behavior, applying preschool concepts to management, focusing on the software development process, and giving advice for new managers taking over a team.

Now that you're a leader, you may be surprised to find that your words sometimes carry weight that you didn't intend, feeling like the proverbial "Bull in a china shop". Nick, Brandon, and Travis share stories about this, and discuss power dynamics and how to shift power to the people who can actually do the work. Show Notes: Transforming the Difficult Child https://www.amazon.com/Transforming-Difficult-Child-Nurtured-Approach-ebook/dp/B079DT5TXT/ The Power of Moments https://www.amazon.com/Power-Moments-Certain-Experiences-Extraordinary/dp/1501147765

Estimation is the bane of many software developers' existence. Nick, Travis, and Brandon discuss (and argue) about why estimation can be valuable, whether it's too expensive, and what you can do to help your team deliver consistent value whether or not you're expected to estimate software. We estimated this episode should last about 30 minutes, so naturally it's just over 50. John Cutler on twitter: Hybrid Kanban board https://twitter.com/johncutlefish/status/1080740227092639744 Scrum Guide (It's actually good and a quick read) https://www.scrumguides.org/docs/scrumguide/v2017/2017-Scrum-Guide-US.pdf Dave Thomas: Agile is Dead (Long Live Agility) https://pragdave.me/blog/2014/03/04/time-to-kill-agile.html Martin Fowler: The State of Agile in 2018 https://martinfowler.com/articles/agile-aus-2018.html Welcome to Scrum, where everything is made up and the points don't matter https://memegenerator.net/instance/46928911/welcome-to-whose-line-welcome-to-scrum-where-everything-is-made-up-and-the-points-dont-matter Nickolas Means: The Original Skunk Works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL3Yzjk5R4M Soft Skills Engineering podcast https://softskills.audio/

With Travis out this week, Nick and Brandon discuss a strongly-worded Twitter thread calling out bad leaders, what they've done that has and hasn't worked, and how listening and vulnerability play into more effective leadership (and parenting). Simon Wardley's Twitter thread calling out bad leadership https://twitter.com/swardley/status/1083124264142815233 Accelerate by Nicole Forsgren, PhD, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim https://www.amazon.com/Accelerate-Software-Performing-Technology-Organizations/dp/1942788339 Leadership and Self Deception by the Arbinger Institute https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Self-Deception-Getting-Out-Box/dp/1523097809 The Power of Vulnerability by Dr. Brené Brown https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23500254-the-power-of-vulnerability

Blithe Rocher, Engineering Manager at Fastly joins Nick, Brandon, and Travis to discuss how and when to transition to management, what to expect, and what advice she'd give her past self as she started managing her peers. Blithe Rocher https://twitter.com/blithe If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look On My Face? https://www.amazon.com/Understood-Would-Have-This-Look/dp/1524781924 Harrison Metal: General Management Course https://www.harrisonmetal.com/classes/foundations-general-management

Travis and Brandon talk with Nick about his recent Lead Developer talk about Gustav Eiffel, the story of his iconic tower, and how that led to learning to fearlessly and authentically engage in "politics" to accomplish great things in your career. Eiffel's Tower by Nick Means https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RslVT-L2A40 You Can Negotiate Anything by Herb Cohen https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Negotiate-Anything-Negotiator/dp/0553281097 Controversial tweet by Jason Fried https://twitter.com/jasonfried/status/1058816651284623361 Daring Greatly by Brené Brown https://www.amazon.com/Daring-Greatly-Courage-Vulnerable-Transforms-ebook/dp/B007P7HRS4/

Engineering leaders Sean Massa and Trek Glowacki join Travis, Nick, and Brandon to discuss what they've learned from their research on engineering ladders and growth tracks across dozens of companies. Hosts: Nick Means https://twitter.com/nmeans Travis Swicegood https://twitter.com/tswicegood Brandon Hays https://twitter.com/tehviking Guests: Sean Massa https://twitter.com/endangeredmassa Trek Glowacki https://twitter.com/trek Show notes: Rent the Runway engineering ladder http://dresscode.renttherunway.com/blog/ladder Medium's skill point based engineering growth framework https://medium.com/s/engineering-growth-framework

Travis, Nick, and Brandon discuss the technical requirements of being a manager, the cultural impact of a manager's technical skills, and why hiring engineering managers is so difficult. Notes: DevOps Transformation/ DevOps Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M9ASFQ3/ The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F1WZGNC/

Dive into the world of one-on-one meetings, where open dialogue fosters stronger connections between managers and team members. Discover the importance of employee-driven agendas to enhance productivity. Explore strategies for meaningful conversations, especially in remote settings, while considering individual preferences. Learn to distinguish between status updates and prioritization discussions for impactful interactions. Finally, emphasize the art of listening to create engaging dialogues and improve workplace dynamics.