Staff Engineer

Coaching a recently hired engineer on their areas of improvement

A manager arrived to a team of high performers and noticed that one junior employee was not fitting in with the company culture. The manager took action by creating a relationship of trust and setting clear goals and expectations for the employee. Through coaching and setting measurable paths, the employee has improved in collaboration, accountability, and quality of work. The manager learned that it is important to help young employees work in an open and trusted environment, and to have career discussions on an ongoing basis.

Pleading With Your Executive Team

This story is about a company that specialized in mobile app downloads and wanted to get into programmatic ad-buying. The author was recruited to manage the product and business development, and worked closely with the engineering team to increase the throughput of the system. Despite the author's efforts to optimize the system and acquire users for as little as a dollar, the CEO chose to ignore the data and shut the product down a few months later. The author learned that leaders can make ego-driven decisions, and it can be difficult to disagree with them.

The time I was about to decline an opportunity because I thought it would not make me grow

The narrator was initially hesitant to accept a new position as manager of the Web Services team, as it did not seem to align with their goals of promotion and salary increase. However, they eventually realized that this position would provide them with the opportunity to collaborate with more senior staff and expand their network, and that it was their duty as a manager to help the organization when it needed them. This experience taught them the importance of putting the organization's needs before their own.

Fostering a Healthy One-on-One Mentorship

This article discusses the importance of establishing a one-on-one relationship with employees in order to increase interconnectivity between departments and provide immediate access to advice, direction, and support. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding the individual needs of employees and providing them with the tools they need to succeed. Finally, it suggests pairing employees with mentors who have already found success in their desired area of specialization.

Being In Two Minds On Becoming a Manager

This article tells the story of an engineer who was unsure of whether to pursue a career in management. After being flagged by leaders as a potential manager, they were exposed to different versions of what a management position could look like and decided to take the plunge. To prepare, they found a mentor, attended classes, and interviewed other managers to gain insight into the job. Ultimately, they learned that it is important to be clear about what you want, document a plan, and look for mentors to help you reach your goals.

Building a Functionality-Rich Product From Scratch

This article discusses the approach taken by a team building an energy management tool for commercial buildings. The team decided to start small by focusing on a single customer, building, and HVAC zone. This enabled them to answer technical questions and gather customer feedback without being overwhelmed by complexity. The article also provides lessons learned, such as starting small, being ruthless about what to eliminate, and being strategic about what to cut out.