Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives

Being the Only Woman In the Room

This article discusses the challenges that women face in the workplace and offers advice on how to overcome them. It suggests that women should focus on doing things that are smart and be themselves, rather than trying to prove themselves. It also encourages women to be transparent and direct with their colleagues, and to remain calm if something unfair or embarrassing happens. Finally, it suggests that women should give people the benefit of the doubt and not let emotions influence their decisions.

Building Trust and Credibility in Remote Engineering Teams

In today's remote work environment, it is crucial to build trust and credibility within engineering teams. This can be achieved through strategies such as building relationships, promoting transparency, embracing vulnerability, maintaining consistency, and practicing effective communication. Building personal connections, being open and honest, sharing failures, keeping commitments, and fostering clear and transparent communication are all essential for creating a culture of trust and credibility within remote engineering teams.

Dealing with Personal Conflict

In a previous role, a manager was taking ownership of projects and trying to take control of the team, which caused a power struggle. The manager was also passing up promotions for people of color and giving them pay increases under the table. The speaker took action by talking to their team and CTO, and eventually confronting the manager privately. They learned to never be aggressive with their manager, to submit but not to the point of suffocation, and to be aware of discrimination.

Navigating Disagreements When It Comes to Priorities

When stakeholders disagree on priorities, it is important to take the time to understand where they are coming from and discuss both points of view. Give team members the chance to test out their suggestions and build a transparent framework or system that invites others into the process. This will help to unify the departments on decision-making and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals.

Supporting Your Team in the Midst of Change

When the business shifted the focus of the team from a successful product to something completely new, the manager faced a challenge of helping the team adjust and ramp up quickly. To do this, the manager was open and transparent with the team, prioritized the company's interests over individual teams or products, and worked to build trust with the team. Despite some resistance, the manager was able to help the team adjust to the new circumstances.

Creating an In-House Mentorship Program

This article describes the process of creating a mentorship program at a company with two hundred engineers. After receiving positive feedback from the VP of Engineering, the author created a Google form to match mentees and mentors, and then created an automated tool to make the process more efficient. The author also included a checkbox for underrepresented groups and other minor tweaks to the program. The author learned that the program was well-received and beneficial, and that mentorship is a great way to improve morale and help people grow in their careers.