Knowledge shared by our community

Providing regular employee feedback

Feedback can be difficult to give and receive, so it is important to create a culture of feedback in the workplace. This will help to "inoculate" employees and make them more prepared for more serious pieces of feedback. Breaking up deeper areas into smaller, more manageable pieces will help to reduce drama and make it easier to give and receive feedback.

The importance of proper processes and tooling in remote teams.

This article discusses the steps taken by a company to transition to a remote work culture. They modified existing processes, set up a daily check-in on Google Hangouts, encouraged conversations over Slack, and used various tools for communication and screen sharing. The key lesson learned was that communication is critical for efficient remote work and keeping all employees in the loop.

Assuming the Worst: Why My Boss’ Critical Feedback Wasn’t What I Thought

After developing a good relationship with his boss and receiving positive feedback, the protagonist suddenly started receiving a lot of critical feedback. He felt vulnerable and unappreciated, and was worried that his boss had lost confidence in him. He decided to address his frustrations and come to his own defense. After evaluating his position and realizing most of it was based on assumptions, he had a successful meeting with his boss and learned the lesson to never make assumptions when dealing with others.

Organizing an offsite meeting to align your team with your company’s objectives

To ensure that engineers understand how their work ties in with their company's goals, the author organizes offsite meetings to define the company's vision and goals, discuss successes and failures from the last quarter, and brainstorm ideas to support the company's objectives. The offsite meetings have the psychological effect of allowing everyone to be in the right state of mind and focus on the task at hand.

How to reassure your team in case of a big change

When Atlassian announced their acquisition of Trello, many employees had doubts and concerns. As a manager, the author took action to listen to their frustrations and provide as much information as possible. They also used Atlassian's values to reassure employees that the acquirer was not against them. To further reassure the most negative employee, the author asked the CEO to talk to them. This experience taught the author that it is important to give each employee personal attention during big changes to soothe their concerns.

How to react to the resignation of one of your best team members.

When one of the best engineers on the team announced his departure, the manager took time to process the situation and discussed it with the team. They offered a counter-offer, but the engineer decided to leave anyway. The manager learned that it is important to anticipate the needs of team members and to be explicit about it, to ensure that they are on the right career path.

Being direct during performance management

After a new hire on a product team at Lyft was not meeting expectations, the manager took steps to identify the issue and have a direct conversation with the employee. Through an honest and empathetic approach, the manager was able to build rapport and reconcile the situation. The lesson learned is that termination should be a last resort, and that communication should be honest and transparent while also retaining empathy.

Solving a conflict between a team of back-end engineers and a team of ops engineers

The VP of Engineering at Happn faced a conflict between the ops and back-end engineering teams. To resolve the conflict, the VP gathered an equal number of engineers from each team and had them use the "Six Thinking Hats Method" to identify action plans. The teams were able to resolve the conflict with the help of action plans and follow-up meetings. The VP learned three lessons from the experience: it's better to gather both teams in the same room, they must have a common objective, and action plans and follow-up meetings are key.

Reorganizing the engineering department for more agility

A manager at Square led a successful reorganization of teams from engineering disciplines to products. The manager was transparent with the team and allowed them to provide preferences for where they wanted to transfer. The reorganization took more time and effort, but enabled more agility in product development. The main lesson learned was to consider both the immediate and long-term effects of a reorganization.

Different meetings for different purposes

The manager of three teams in New York and Tel Aviv holds different types of meetings to ensure visibility between teams. Standups, sprint planning, and exceptional project meetings are used to communicate progress and involve people in decisions. The manager applies the principle of trust and encourages team members to communicate their progress during dedicated times.

Make sure each one of your employees feels recognized

Mike, a senior engineer, was becoming increasingly frustrated due to lack of recognition for his work. As his manager, I had a discussion with him and reassured him that his contributions were important. I also worked with my manager to give more recognition to individuals working on more operational tasks. After this, Mike felt better and stopped being confrontational. This story taught me the importance of public recognition and the need for a balanced company culture.

Reestablishing a healthy relationship between a PM and engineers.

This case study outlines the steps taken to build trust between a new engineering team and their PM. The root of the problem was identified through one-on-one conversations with team members, and the PM's lack of experience was addressed by providing the engineers with context behind the PM's decision making. New processes were established to ensure clear roles and communication, and team bonding activities were held to build relationships. The whole process took three weeks, and the result was an improved work environment and increased efficiency and effectiveness.

How to deal with an underperforming employee

The VP of Engineering at a computer software company needed to fill the position of scrum master and considered a software manager on their team, John, for the role. However, John was an underperforming manager and became an underperforming scrum master. The VP later realized that the best solution would have been to make John realize he was not happy with the company culture and to have let him go with a good severance package and recommendations.

How to tell someone they aren’t being promoted without demotivating them.

When an above average employee asked for a promotion, the manager had to make a difficult decision. To retain the employee, the manager presented the situation as a positive opportunity and gave advice on how to demonstrate thought leadership. The manager also followed up with concrete initiatives to help the employee expand their range of influence. In the end, the employee was retained, motivated, and taught, and even earned awards that year.

Turning a low-performer into a star

After a software developer was under-performing in her tasks, her manager took action to help her improve. Through trial and error, the manager eventually found a role that fit her strengths and she became an indispensable part of the team. This story serves as a lesson that when someone is underperforming, it does not mean they are not a good fit for the team or company, and it is important to consider their strengths instead of focusing on their weaknesses.

How to run effective one-on-ones

One-on-ones are important meetings between a manager and their engineer, but they can often be ineffective due to lack of preparation. To ensure effective one-on-ones, the manager should set a shared agenda, come prepared with topics to discuss, and start the conversation with a casual question. It is also important to book a conference room for the meeting, as this provides a specific space to discuss issues.

Never Delay Decisions

In 2012, the Director of Engineering for mobile platforms at Netflix faced a difficult situation with their iOS manager not performing and deadlines being missed. After eight weeks of firing the manager, hiring three iOS engineers, and taking over the iOS project, they managed to make their deadlines and ship on time. This experience taught the Director that delaying important decisions can have negative impacts and it is important to think of the collateral damage.

My employee assessment process

This article outlines a manager's process for assessing their team, which includes evaluating technical skills, team orientation, and cultural fit. Technical assessment is done with the help of GitPrime, which provides metrics based on coding activities. Team orientation is evaluated through surveys sent to peers, and cultural fit is evaluated through conversations with direct reports about exceeding expectations, attitude towards stretched goals, and feedback from product owners and scrum masters.

Helping your direct reports decide on management, senior IC, or lateral growth tracks, to guide their career development

During a one-on-one with a high performer, the manager discussed career development and presented three different tracks. The report wanted to follow the management track, but the manager was unsure of the reasons given. After further discussion and research, the report decided to become a senior individual contributor instead. This lesson taught the manager to not pressure their reports into making decisions and to ensure that decisions are based on correct and complete information.

Managing a team of engineers who are not technically aligned

When the author inherited a team that was not reliably shipping quality software, they decided to pause product development and rebuild the application using Business Driven Development. This transition was difficult as the team was reluctant to use the test-driven method, but it allowed them to ship software more reliably and faster. The author learned that as a manager, sometimes hard decisions have to be made and it is better to be criticized but lead the team to success than to be loved but lead the team nowhere.

Providing regular employee feedback

Feedback can be difficult to give and receive, so it is important to create a culture of feedback in the workplace. This will help to "inoculate" employees and make them more prepared for more serious pieces of feedback. Breaking up deeper areas into smaller, more manageable pieces will help to reduce drama and make it easier to give and receive feedback.

The importance of proper processes and tooling in remote teams.

This article discusses the steps taken by a company to transition to a remote work culture. They modified existing processes, set up a daily check-in on Google Hangouts, encouraged conversations over Slack, and used various tools for communication and screen sharing. The key lesson learned was that communication is critical for efficient remote work and keeping all employees in the loop.

Assuming the Worst: Why My Boss’ Critical Feedback Wasn’t What I Thought

After developing a good relationship with his boss and receiving positive feedback, the protagonist suddenly started receiving a lot of critical feedback. He felt vulnerable and unappreciated, and was worried that his boss had lost confidence in him. He decided to address his frustrations and come to his own defense. After evaluating his position and realizing most of it was based on assumptions, he had a successful meeting with his boss and learned the lesson to never make assumptions when dealing with others.

Organizing an offsite meeting to align your team with your company’s objectives

To ensure that engineers understand how their work ties in with their company's goals, the author organizes offsite meetings to define the company's vision and goals, discuss successes and failures from the last quarter, and brainstorm ideas to support the company's objectives. The offsite meetings have the psychological effect of allowing everyone to be in the right state of mind and focus on the task at hand.

How to reassure your team in case of a big change

When Atlassian announced their acquisition of Trello, many employees had doubts and concerns. As a manager, the author took action to listen to their frustrations and provide as much information as possible. They also used Atlassian's values to reassure employees that the acquirer was not against them. To further reassure the most negative employee, the author asked the CEO to talk to them. This experience taught the author that it is important to give each employee personal attention during big changes to soothe their concerns.

How to react to the resignation of one of your best team members.

When one of the best engineers on the team announced his departure, the manager took time to process the situation and discussed it with the team. They offered a counter-offer, but the engineer decided to leave anyway. The manager learned that it is important to anticipate the needs of team members and to be explicit about it, to ensure that they are on the right career path.

Being direct during performance management

After a new hire on a product team at Lyft was not meeting expectations, the manager took steps to identify the issue and have a direct conversation with the employee. Through an honest and empathetic approach, the manager was able to build rapport and reconcile the situation. The lesson learned is that termination should be a last resort, and that communication should be honest and transparent while also retaining empathy.

Solving a conflict between a team of back-end engineers and a team of ops engineers

The VP of Engineering at Happn faced a conflict between the ops and back-end engineering teams. To resolve the conflict, the VP gathered an equal number of engineers from each team and had them use the "Six Thinking Hats Method" to identify action plans. The teams were able to resolve the conflict with the help of action plans and follow-up meetings. The VP learned three lessons from the experience: it's better to gather both teams in the same room, they must have a common objective, and action plans and follow-up meetings are key.

Reorganizing the engineering department for more agility

A manager at Square led a successful reorganization of teams from engineering disciplines to products. The manager was transparent with the team and allowed them to provide preferences for where they wanted to transfer. The reorganization took more time and effort, but enabled more agility in product development. The main lesson learned was to consider both the immediate and long-term effects of a reorganization.

Different meetings for different purposes

The manager of three teams in New York and Tel Aviv holds different types of meetings to ensure visibility between teams. Standups, sprint planning, and exceptional project meetings are used to communicate progress and involve people in decisions. The manager applies the principle of trust and encourages team members to communicate their progress during dedicated times.

Make sure each one of your employees feels recognized

Mike, a senior engineer, was becoming increasingly frustrated due to lack of recognition for his work. As his manager, I had a discussion with him and reassured him that his contributions were important. I also worked with my manager to give more recognition to individuals working on more operational tasks. After this, Mike felt better and stopped being confrontational. This story taught me the importance of public recognition and the need for a balanced company culture.

Reestablishing a healthy relationship between a PM and engineers.

This case study outlines the steps taken to build trust between a new engineering team and their PM. The root of the problem was identified through one-on-one conversations with team members, and the PM's lack of experience was addressed by providing the engineers with context behind the PM's decision making. New processes were established to ensure clear roles and communication, and team bonding activities were held to build relationships. The whole process took three weeks, and the result was an improved work environment and increased efficiency and effectiveness.

How to deal with an underperforming employee

The VP of Engineering at a computer software company needed to fill the position of scrum master and considered a software manager on their team, John, for the role. However, John was an underperforming manager and became an underperforming scrum master. The VP later realized that the best solution would have been to make John realize he was not happy with the company culture and to have let him go with a good severance package and recommendations.

How to tell someone they aren’t being promoted without demotivating them.

When an above average employee asked for a promotion, the manager had to make a difficult decision. To retain the employee, the manager presented the situation as a positive opportunity and gave advice on how to demonstrate thought leadership. The manager also followed up with concrete initiatives to help the employee expand their range of influence. In the end, the employee was retained, motivated, and taught, and even earned awards that year.

Turning a low-performer into a star

After a software developer was under-performing in her tasks, her manager took action to help her improve. Through trial and error, the manager eventually found a role that fit her strengths and she became an indispensable part of the team. This story serves as a lesson that when someone is underperforming, it does not mean they are not a good fit for the team or company, and it is important to consider their strengths instead of focusing on their weaknesses.

How to run effective one-on-ones

One-on-ones are important meetings between a manager and their engineer, but they can often be ineffective due to lack of preparation. To ensure effective one-on-ones, the manager should set a shared agenda, come prepared with topics to discuss, and start the conversation with a casual question. It is also important to book a conference room for the meeting, as this provides a specific space to discuss issues.

Never Delay Decisions

In 2012, the Director of Engineering for mobile platforms at Netflix faced a difficult situation with their iOS manager not performing and deadlines being missed. After eight weeks of firing the manager, hiring three iOS engineers, and taking over the iOS project, they managed to make their deadlines and ship on time. This experience taught the Director that delaying important decisions can have negative impacts and it is important to think of the collateral damage.

My employee assessment process

This article outlines a manager's process for assessing their team, which includes evaluating technical skills, team orientation, and cultural fit. Technical assessment is done with the help of GitPrime, which provides metrics based on coding activities. Team orientation is evaluated through surveys sent to peers, and cultural fit is evaluated through conversations with direct reports about exceeding expectations, attitude towards stretched goals, and feedback from product owners and scrum masters.

Helping your direct reports decide on management, senior IC, or lateral growth tracks, to guide their career development

During a one-on-one with a high performer, the manager discussed career development and presented three different tracks. The report wanted to follow the management track, but the manager was unsure of the reasons given. After further discussion and research, the report decided to become a senior individual contributor instead. This lesson taught the manager to not pressure their reports into making decisions and to ensure that decisions are based on correct and complete information.

Managing a team of engineers who are not technically aligned

When the author inherited a team that was not reliably shipping quality software, they decided to pause product development and rebuild the application using Business Driven Development. This transition was difficult as the team was reluctant to use the test-driven method, but it allowed them to ship software more reliably and faster. The author learned that as a manager, sometimes hard decisions have to be made and it is better to be criticized but lead the team to success than to be loved but lead the team nowhere.

Providing regular employee feedback

Feedback can be difficult to give and receive, so it is important to create a culture of feedback in the workplace. This will help to "inoculate" employees and make them more prepared for more serious pieces of feedback. Breaking up deeper areas into smaller, more manageable pieces will help to reduce drama and make it easier to give and receive feedback.

The importance of proper processes and tooling in remote teams.

This article discusses the steps taken by a company to transition to a remote work culture. They modified existing processes, set up a daily check-in on Google Hangouts, encouraged conversations over Slack, and used various tools for communication and screen sharing. The key lesson learned was that communication is critical for efficient remote work and keeping all employees in the loop.

Assuming the Worst: Why My Boss’ Critical Feedback Wasn’t What I Thought

After developing a good relationship with his boss and receiving positive feedback, the protagonist suddenly started receiving a lot of critical feedback. He felt vulnerable and unappreciated, and was worried that his boss had lost confidence in him. He decided to address his frustrations and come to his own defense. After evaluating his position and realizing most of it was based on assumptions, he had a successful meeting with his boss and learned the lesson to never make assumptions when dealing with others.

Organizing an offsite meeting to align your team with your company’s objectives

To ensure that engineers understand how their work ties in with their company's goals, the author organizes offsite meetings to define the company's vision and goals, discuss successes and failures from the last quarter, and brainstorm ideas to support the company's objectives. The offsite meetings have the psychological effect of allowing everyone to be in the right state of mind and focus on the task at hand.

How to reassure your team in case of a big change

When Atlassian announced their acquisition of Trello, many employees had doubts and concerns. As a manager, the author took action to listen to their frustrations and provide as much information as possible. They also used Atlassian's values to reassure employees that the acquirer was not against them. To further reassure the most negative employee, the author asked the CEO to talk to them. This experience taught the author that it is important to give each employee personal attention during big changes to soothe their concerns.

How to react to the resignation of one of your best team members.

When one of the best engineers on the team announced his departure, the manager took time to process the situation and discussed it with the team. They offered a counter-offer, but the engineer decided to leave anyway. The manager learned that it is important to anticipate the needs of team members and to be explicit about it, to ensure that they are on the right career path.

Being direct during performance management

After a new hire on a product team at Lyft was not meeting expectations, the manager took steps to identify the issue and have a direct conversation with the employee. Through an honest and empathetic approach, the manager was able to build rapport and reconcile the situation. The lesson learned is that termination should be a last resort, and that communication should be honest and transparent while also retaining empathy.

Solving a conflict between a team of back-end engineers and a team of ops engineers

The VP of Engineering at Happn faced a conflict between the ops and back-end engineering teams. To resolve the conflict, the VP gathered an equal number of engineers from each team and had them use the "Six Thinking Hats Method" to identify action plans. The teams were able to resolve the conflict with the help of action plans and follow-up meetings. The VP learned three lessons from the experience: it's better to gather both teams in the same room, they must have a common objective, and action plans and follow-up meetings are key.

Reorganizing the engineering department for more agility

A manager at Square led a successful reorganization of teams from engineering disciplines to products. The manager was transparent with the team and allowed them to provide preferences for where they wanted to transfer. The reorganization took more time and effort, but enabled more agility in product development. The main lesson learned was to consider both the immediate and long-term effects of a reorganization.

Different meetings for different purposes

The manager of three teams in New York and Tel Aviv holds different types of meetings to ensure visibility between teams. Standups, sprint planning, and exceptional project meetings are used to communicate progress and involve people in decisions. The manager applies the principle of trust and encourages team members to communicate their progress during dedicated times.

Make sure each one of your employees feels recognized

Mike, a senior engineer, was becoming increasingly frustrated due to lack of recognition for his work. As his manager, I had a discussion with him and reassured him that his contributions were important. I also worked with my manager to give more recognition to individuals working on more operational tasks. After this, Mike felt better and stopped being confrontational. This story taught me the importance of public recognition and the need for a balanced company culture.

Reestablishing a healthy relationship between a PM and engineers.

This case study outlines the steps taken to build trust between a new engineering team and their PM. The root of the problem was identified through one-on-one conversations with team members, and the PM's lack of experience was addressed by providing the engineers with context behind the PM's decision making. New processes were established to ensure clear roles and communication, and team bonding activities were held to build relationships. The whole process took three weeks, and the result was an improved work environment and increased efficiency and effectiveness.

How to deal with an underperforming employee

The VP of Engineering at a computer software company needed to fill the position of scrum master and considered a software manager on their team, John, for the role. However, John was an underperforming manager and became an underperforming scrum master. The VP later realized that the best solution would have been to make John realize he was not happy with the company culture and to have let him go with a good severance package and recommendations.

How to tell someone they aren’t being promoted without demotivating them.

When an above average employee asked for a promotion, the manager had to make a difficult decision. To retain the employee, the manager presented the situation as a positive opportunity and gave advice on how to demonstrate thought leadership. The manager also followed up with concrete initiatives to help the employee expand their range of influence. In the end, the employee was retained, motivated, and taught, and even earned awards that year.

Turning a low-performer into a star

After a software developer was under-performing in her tasks, her manager took action to help her improve. Through trial and error, the manager eventually found a role that fit her strengths and she became an indispensable part of the team. This story serves as a lesson that when someone is underperforming, it does not mean they are not a good fit for the team or company, and it is important to consider their strengths instead of focusing on their weaknesses.

How to run effective one-on-ones

One-on-ones are important meetings between a manager and their engineer, but they can often be ineffective due to lack of preparation. To ensure effective one-on-ones, the manager should set a shared agenda, come prepared with topics to discuss, and start the conversation with a casual question. It is also important to book a conference room for the meeting, as this provides a specific space to discuss issues.

Never Delay Decisions

In 2012, the Director of Engineering for mobile platforms at Netflix faced a difficult situation with their iOS manager not performing and deadlines being missed. After eight weeks of firing the manager, hiring three iOS engineers, and taking over the iOS project, they managed to make their deadlines and ship on time. This experience taught the Director that delaying important decisions can have negative impacts and it is important to think of the collateral damage.

My employee assessment process

This article outlines a manager's process for assessing their team, which includes evaluating technical skills, team orientation, and cultural fit. Technical assessment is done with the help of GitPrime, which provides metrics based on coding activities. Team orientation is evaluated through surveys sent to peers, and cultural fit is evaluated through conversations with direct reports about exceeding expectations, attitude towards stretched goals, and feedback from product owners and scrum masters.

Helping your direct reports decide on management, senior IC, or lateral growth tracks, to guide their career development

During a one-on-one with a high performer, the manager discussed career development and presented three different tracks. The report wanted to follow the management track, but the manager was unsure of the reasons given. After further discussion and research, the report decided to become a senior individual contributor instead. This lesson taught the manager to not pressure their reports into making decisions and to ensure that decisions are based on correct and complete information.

Managing a team of engineers who are not technically aligned

When the author inherited a team that was not reliably shipping quality software, they decided to pause product development and rebuild the application using Business Driven Development. This transition was difficult as the team was reluctant to use the test-driven method, but it allowed them to ship software more reliably and faster. The author learned that as a manager, sometimes hard decisions have to be made and it is better to be criticized but lead the team to success than to be loved but lead the team nowhere.

Providing regular employee feedback

Feedback can be difficult to give and receive, so it is important to create a culture of feedback in the workplace. This will help to "inoculate" employees and make them more prepared for more serious pieces of feedback. Breaking up deeper areas into smaller, more manageable pieces will help to reduce drama and make it easier to give and receive feedback.

The importance of proper processes and tooling in remote teams.

This article discusses the steps taken by a company to transition to a remote work culture. They modified existing processes, set up a daily check-in on Google Hangouts, encouraged conversations over Slack, and used various tools for communication and screen sharing. The key lesson learned was that communication is critical for efficient remote work and keeping all employees in the loop.

Assuming the Worst: Why My Boss’ Critical Feedback Wasn’t What I Thought

After developing a good relationship with his boss and receiving positive feedback, the protagonist suddenly started receiving a lot of critical feedback. He felt vulnerable and unappreciated, and was worried that his boss had lost confidence in him. He decided to address his frustrations and come to his own defense. After evaluating his position and realizing most of it was based on assumptions, he had a successful meeting with his boss and learned the lesson to never make assumptions when dealing with others.

Organizing an offsite meeting to align your team with your company’s objectives

To ensure that engineers understand how their work ties in with their company's goals, the author organizes offsite meetings to define the company's vision and goals, discuss successes and failures from the last quarter, and brainstorm ideas to support the company's objectives. The offsite meetings have the psychological effect of allowing everyone to be in the right state of mind and focus on the task at hand.

How to reassure your team in case of a big change

When Atlassian announced their acquisition of Trello, many employees had doubts and concerns. As a manager, the author took action to listen to their frustrations and provide as much information as possible. They also used Atlassian's values to reassure employees that the acquirer was not against them. To further reassure the most negative employee, the author asked the CEO to talk to them. This experience taught the author that it is important to give each employee personal attention during big changes to soothe their concerns.

How to react to the resignation of one of your best team members.

When one of the best engineers on the team announced his departure, the manager took time to process the situation and discussed it with the team. They offered a counter-offer, but the engineer decided to leave anyway. The manager learned that it is important to anticipate the needs of team members and to be explicit about it, to ensure that they are on the right career path.

Being direct during performance management

After a new hire on a product team at Lyft was not meeting expectations, the manager took steps to identify the issue and have a direct conversation with the employee. Through an honest and empathetic approach, the manager was able to build rapport and reconcile the situation. The lesson learned is that termination should be a last resort, and that communication should be honest and transparent while also retaining empathy.

Solving a conflict between a team of back-end engineers and a team of ops engineers

The VP of Engineering at Happn faced a conflict between the ops and back-end engineering teams. To resolve the conflict, the VP gathered an equal number of engineers from each team and had them use the "Six Thinking Hats Method" to identify action plans. The teams were able to resolve the conflict with the help of action plans and follow-up meetings. The VP learned three lessons from the experience: it's better to gather both teams in the same room, they must have a common objective, and action plans and follow-up meetings are key.

Reorganizing the engineering department for more agility

A manager at Square led a successful reorganization of teams from engineering disciplines to products. The manager was transparent with the team and allowed them to provide preferences for where they wanted to transfer. The reorganization took more time and effort, but enabled more agility in product development. The main lesson learned was to consider both the immediate and long-term effects of a reorganization.

Different meetings for different purposes

The manager of three teams in New York and Tel Aviv holds different types of meetings to ensure visibility between teams. Standups, sprint planning, and exceptional project meetings are used to communicate progress and involve people in decisions. The manager applies the principle of trust and encourages team members to communicate their progress during dedicated times.

Make sure each one of your employees feels recognized

Mike, a senior engineer, was becoming increasingly frustrated due to lack of recognition for his work. As his manager, I had a discussion with him and reassured him that his contributions were important. I also worked with my manager to give more recognition to individuals working on more operational tasks. After this, Mike felt better and stopped being confrontational. This story taught me the importance of public recognition and the need for a balanced company culture.

Reestablishing a healthy relationship between a PM and engineers.

This case study outlines the steps taken to build trust between a new engineering team and their PM. The root of the problem was identified through one-on-one conversations with team members, and the PM's lack of experience was addressed by providing the engineers with context behind the PM's decision making. New processes were established to ensure clear roles and communication, and team bonding activities were held to build relationships. The whole process took three weeks, and the result was an improved work environment and increased efficiency and effectiveness.

How to deal with an underperforming employee

The VP of Engineering at a computer software company needed to fill the position of scrum master and considered a software manager on their team, John, for the role. However, John was an underperforming manager and became an underperforming scrum master. The VP later realized that the best solution would have been to make John realize he was not happy with the company culture and to have let him go with a good severance package and recommendations.

How to tell someone they aren’t being promoted without demotivating them.

When an above average employee asked for a promotion, the manager had to make a difficult decision. To retain the employee, the manager presented the situation as a positive opportunity and gave advice on how to demonstrate thought leadership. The manager also followed up with concrete initiatives to help the employee expand their range of influence. In the end, the employee was retained, motivated, and taught, and even earned awards that year.

Turning a low-performer into a star

After a software developer was under-performing in her tasks, her manager took action to help her improve. Through trial and error, the manager eventually found a role that fit her strengths and she became an indispensable part of the team. This story serves as a lesson that when someone is underperforming, it does not mean they are not a good fit for the team or company, and it is important to consider their strengths instead of focusing on their weaknesses.

How to run effective one-on-ones

One-on-ones are important meetings between a manager and their engineer, but they can often be ineffective due to lack of preparation. To ensure effective one-on-ones, the manager should set a shared agenda, come prepared with topics to discuss, and start the conversation with a casual question. It is also important to book a conference room for the meeting, as this provides a specific space to discuss issues.

Never Delay Decisions

In 2012, the Director of Engineering for mobile platforms at Netflix faced a difficult situation with their iOS manager not performing and deadlines being missed. After eight weeks of firing the manager, hiring three iOS engineers, and taking over the iOS project, they managed to make their deadlines and ship on time. This experience taught the Director that delaying important decisions can have negative impacts and it is important to think of the collateral damage.

My employee assessment process

This article outlines a manager's process for assessing their team, which includes evaluating technical skills, team orientation, and cultural fit. Technical assessment is done with the help of GitPrime, which provides metrics based on coding activities. Team orientation is evaluated through surveys sent to peers, and cultural fit is evaluated through conversations with direct reports about exceeding expectations, attitude towards stretched goals, and feedback from product owners and scrum masters.

Helping your direct reports decide on management, senior IC, or lateral growth tracks, to guide their career development

During a one-on-one with a high performer, the manager discussed career development and presented three different tracks. The report wanted to follow the management track, but the manager was unsure of the reasons given. After further discussion and research, the report decided to become a senior individual contributor instead. This lesson taught the manager to not pressure their reports into making decisions and to ensure that decisions are based on correct and complete information.

Managing a team of engineers who are not technically aligned

When the author inherited a team that was not reliably shipping quality software, they decided to pause product development and rebuild the application using Business Driven Development. This transition was difficult as the team was reluctant to use the test-driven method, but it allowed them to ship software more reliably and faster. The author learned that as a manager, sometimes hard decisions have to be made and it is better to be criticized but lead the team to success than to be loved but lead the team nowhere.

Providing regular employee feedback

Feedback can be difficult to give and receive, so it is important to create a culture of feedback in the workplace. This will help to "inoculate" employees and make them more prepared for more serious pieces of feedback. Breaking up deeper areas into smaller, more manageable pieces will help to reduce drama and make it easier to give and receive feedback.

The importance of proper processes and tooling in remote teams.

This article discusses the steps taken by a company to transition to a remote work culture. They modified existing processes, set up a daily check-in on Google Hangouts, encouraged conversations over Slack, and used various tools for communication and screen sharing. The key lesson learned was that communication is critical for efficient remote work and keeping all employees in the loop.

Assuming the Worst: Why My Boss’ Critical Feedback Wasn’t What I Thought

After developing a good relationship with his boss and receiving positive feedback, the protagonist suddenly started receiving a lot of critical feedback. He felt vulnerable and unappreciated, and was worried that his boss had lost confidence in him. He decided to address his frustrations and come to his own defense. After evaluating his position and realizing most of it was based on assumptions, he had a successful meeting with his boss and learned the lesson to never make assumptions when dealing with others.

Organizing an offsite meeting to align your team with your company’s objectives

To ensure that engineers understand how their work ties in with their company's goals, the author organizes offsite meetings to define the company's vision and goals, discuss successes and failures from the last quarter, and brainstorm ideas to support the company's objectives. The offsite meetings have the psychological effect of allowing everyone to be in the right state of mind and focus on the task at hand.

How to reassure your team in case of a big change

When Atlassian announced their acquisition of Trello, many employees had doubts and concerns. As a manager, the author took action to listen to their frustrations and provide as much information as possible. They also used Atlassian's values to reassure employees that the acquirer was not against them. To further reassure the most negative employee, the author asked the CEO to talk to them. This experience taught the author that it is important to give each employee personal attention during big changes to soothe their concerns.

How to react to the resignation of one of your best team members.

When one of the best engineers on the team announced his departure, the manager took time to process the situation and discussed it with the team. They offered a counter-offer, but the engineer decided to leave anyway. The manager learned that it is important to anticipate the needs of team members and to be explicit about it, to ensure that they are on the right career path.

Being direct during performance management

After a new hire on a product team at Lyft was not meeting expectations, the manager took steps to identify the issue and have a direct conversation with the employee. Through an honest and empathetic approach, the manager was able to build rapport and reconcile the situation. The lesson learned is that termination should be a last resort, and that communication should be honest and transparent while also retaining empathy.

Solving a conflict between a team of back-end engineers and a team of ops engineers

The VP of Engineering at Happn faced a conflict between the ops and back-end engineering teams. To resolve the conflict, the VP gathered an equal number of engineers from each team and had them use the "Six Thinking Hats Method" to identify action plans. The teams were able to resolve the conflict with the help of action plans and follow-up meetings. The VP learned three lessons from the experience: it's better to gather both teams in the same room, they must have a common objective, and action plans and follow-up meetings are key.

Reorganizing the engineering department for more agility

A manager at Square led a successful reorganization of teams from engineering disciplines to products. The manager was transparent with the team and allowed them to provide preferences for where they wanted to transfer. The reorganization took more time and effort, but enabled more agility in product development. The main lesson learned was to consider both the immediate and long-term effects of a reorganization.

Different meetings for different purposes

The manager of three teams in New York and Tel Aviv holds different types of meetings to ensure visibility between teams. Standups, sprint planning, and exceptional project meetings are used to communicate progress and involve people in decisions. The manager applies the principle of trust and encourages team members to communicate their progress during dedicated times.

Make sure each one of your employees feels recognized

Mike, a senior engineer, was becoming increasingly frustrated due to lack of recognition for his work. As his manager, I had a discussion with him and reassured him that his contributions were important. I also worked with my manager to give more recognition to individuals working on more operational tasks. After this, Mike felt better and stopped being confrontational. This story taught me the importance of public recognition and the need for a balanced company culture.

Reestablishing a healthy relationship between a PM and engineers.

This case study outlines the steps taken to build trust between a new engineering team and their PM. The root of the problem was identified through one-on-one conversations with team members, and the PM's lack of experience was addressed by providing the engineers with context behind the PM's decision making. New processes were established to ensure clear roles and communication, and team bonding activities were held to build relationships. The whole process took three weeks, and the result was an improved work environment and increased efficiency and effectiveness.

How to deal with an underperforming employee

The VP of Engineering at a computer software company needed to fill the position of scrum master and considered a software manager on their team, John, for the role. However, John was an underperforming manager and became an underperforming scrum master. The VP later realized that the best solution would have been to make John realize he was not happy with the company culture and to have let him go with a good severance package and recommendations.

How to tell someone they aren’t being promoted without demotivating them.

When an above average employee asked for a promotion, the manager had to make a difficult decision. To retain the employee, the manager presented the situation as a positive opportunity and gave advice on how to demonstrate thought leadership. The manager also followed up with concrete initiatives to help the employee expand their range of influence. In the end, the employee was retained, motivated, and taught, and even earned awards that year.

Turning a low-performer into a star

After a software developer was under-performing in her tasks, her manager took action to help her improve. Through trial and error, the manager eventually found a role that fit her strengths and she became an indispensable part of the team. This story serves as a lesson that when someone is underperforming, it does not mean they are not a good fit for the team or company, and it is important to consider their strengths instead of focusing on their weaknesses.

How to run effective one-on-ones

One-on-ones are important meetings between a manager and their engineer, but they can often be ineffective due to lack of preparation. To ensure effective one-on-ones, the manager should set a shared agenda, come prepared with topics to discuss, and start the conversation with a casual question. It is also important to book a conference room for the meeting, as this provides a specific space to discuss issues.

Never Delay Decisions

In 2012, the Director of Engineering for mobile platforms at Netflix faced a difficult situation with their iOS manager not performing and deadlines being missed. After eight weeks of firing the manager, hiring three iOS engineers, and taking over the iOS project, they managed to make their deadlines and ship on time. This experience taught the Director that delaying important decisions can have negative impacts and it is important to think of the collateral damage.

My employee assessment process

This article outlines a manager's process for assessing their team, which includes evaluating technical skills, team orientation, and cultural fit. Technical assessment is done with the help of GitPrime, which provides metrics based on coding activities. Team orientation is evaluated through surveys sent to peers, and cultural fit is evaluated through conversations with direct reports about exceeding expectations, attitude towards stretched goals, and feedback from product owners and scrum masters.

Helping your direct reports decide on management, senior IC, or lateral growth tracks, to guide their career development

During a one-on-one with a high performer, the manager discussed career development and presented three different tracks. The report wanted to follow the management track, but the manager was unsure of the reasons given. After further discussion and research, the report decided to become a senior individual contributor instead. This lesson taught the manager to not pressure their reports into making decisions and to ensure that decisions are based on correct and complete information.

Managing a team of engineers who are not technically aligned

When the author inherited a team that was not reliably shipping quality software, they decided to pause product development and rebuild the application using Business Driven Development. This transition was difficult as the team was reluctant to use the test-driven method, but it allowed them to ship software more reliably and faster. The author learned that as a manager, sometimes hard decisions have to be made and it is better to be criticized but lead the team to success than to be loved but lead the team nowhere.

Providing regular employee feedback

Feedback can be difficult to give and receive, so it is important to create a culture of feedback in the workplace. This will help to "inoculate" employees and make them more prepared for more serious pieces of feedback. Breaking up deeper areas into smaller, more manageable pieces will help to reduce drama and make it easier to give and receive feedback.

The importance of proper processes and tooling in remote teams.

This article discusses the steps taken by a company to transition to a remote work culture. They modified existing processes, set up a daily check-in on Google Hangouts, encouraged conversations over Slack, and used various tools for communication and screen sharing. The key lesson learned was that communication is critical for efficient remote work and keeping all employees in the loop.

Assuming the Worst: Why My Boss’ Critical Feedback Wasn’t What I Thought

After developing a good relationship with his boss and receiving positive feedback, the protagonist suddenly started receiving a lot of critical feedback. He felt vulnerable and unappreciated, and was worried that his boss had lost confidence in him. He decided to address his frustrations and come to his own defense. After evaluating his position and realizing most of it was based on assumptions, he had a successful meeting with his boss and learned the lesson to never make assumptions when dealing with others.

Organizing an offsite meeting to align your team with your company’s objectives

To ensure that engineers understand how their work ties in with their company's goals, the author organizes offsite meetings to define the company's vision and goals, discuss successes and failures from the last quarter, and brainstorm ideas to support the company's objectives. The offsite meetings have the psychological effect of allowing everyone to be in the right state of mind and focus on the task at hand.

How to reassure your team in case of a big change

When Atlassian announced their acquisition of Trello, many employees had doubts and concerns. As a manager, the author took action to listen to their frustrations and provide as much information as possible. They also used Atlassian's values to reassure employees that the acquirer was not against them. To further reassure the most negative employee, the author asked the CEO to talk to them. This experience taught the author that it is important to give each employee personal attention during big changes to soothe their concerns.

How to react to the resignation of one of your best team members.

When one of the best engineers on the team announced his departure, the manager took time to process the situation and discussed it with the team. They offered a counter-offer, but the engineer decided to leave anyway. The manager learned that it is important to anticipate the needs of team members and to be explicit about it, to ensure that they are on the right career path.

Being direct during performance management

After a new hire on a product team at Lyft was not meeting expectations, the manager took steps to identify the issue and have a direct conversation with the employee. Through an honest and empathetic approach, the manager was able to build rapport and reconcile the situation. The lesson learned is that termination should be a last resort, and that communication should be honest and transparent while also retaining empathy.

Solving a conflict between a team of back-end engineers and a team of ops engineers

The VP of Engineering at Happn faced a conflict between the ops and back-end engineering teams. To resolve the conflict, the VP gathered an equal number of engineers from each team and had them use the "Six Thinking Hats Method" to identify action plans. The teams were able to resolve the conflict with the help of action plans and follow-up meetings. The VP learned three lessons from the experience: it's better to gather both teams in the same room, they must have a common objective, and action plans and follow-up meetings are key.

Reorganizing the engineering department for more agility

A manager at Square led a successful reorganization of teams from engineering disciplines to products. The manager was transparent with the team and allowed them to provide preferences for where they wanted to transfer. The reorganization took more time and effort, but enabled more agility in product development. The main lesson learned was to consider both the immediate and long-term effects of a reorganization.

Different meetings for different purposes

The manager of three teams in New York and Tel Aviv holds different types of meetings to ensure visibility between teams. Standups, sprint planning, and exceptional project meetings are used to communicate progress and involve people in decisions. The manager applies the principle of trust and encourages team members to communicate their progress during dedicated times.

Make sure each one of your employees feels recognized

Mike, a senior engineer, was becoming increasingly frustrated due to lack of recognition for his work. As his manager, I had a discussion with him and reassured him that his contributions were important. I also worked with my manager to give more recognition to individuals working on more operational tasks. After this, Mike felt better and stopped being confrontational. This story taught me the importance of public recognition and the need for a balanced company culture.

Reestablishing a healthy relationship between a PM and engineers.

This case study outlines the steps taken to build trust between a new engineering team and their PM. The root of the problem was identified through one-on-one conversations with team members, and the PM's lack of experience was addressed by providing the engineers with context behind the PM's decision making. New processes were established to ensure clear roles and communication, and team bonding activities were held to build relationships. The whole process took three weeks, and the result was an improved work environment and increased efficiency and effectiveness.

How to deal with an underperforming employee

The VP of Engineering at a computer software company needed to fill the position of scrum master and considered a software manager on their team, John, for the role. However, John was an underperforming manager and became an underperforming scrum master. The VP later realized that the best solution would have been to make John realize he was not happy with the company culture and to have let him go with a good severance package and recommendations.

How to tell someone they aren’t being promoted without demotivating them.

When an above average employee asked for a promotion, the manager had to make a difficult decision. To retain the employee, the manager presented the situation as a positive opportunity and gave advice on how to demonstrate thought leadership. The manager also followed up with concrete initiatives to help the employee expand their range of influence. In the end, the employee was retained, motivated, and taught, and even earned awards that year.

Turning a low-performer into a star

After a software developer was under-performing in her tasks, her manager took action to help her improve. Through trial and error, the manager eventually found a role that fit her strengths and she became an indispensable part of the team. This story serves as a lesson that when someone is underperforming, it does not mean they are not a good fit for the team or company, and it is important to consider their strengths instead of focusing on their weaknesses.

How to run effective one-on-ones

One-on-ones are important meetings between a manager and their engineer, but they can often be ineffective due to lack of preparation. To ensure effective one-on-ones, the manager should set a shared agenda, come prepared with topics to discuss, and start the conversation with a casual question. It is also important to book a conference room for the meeting, as this provides a specific space to discuss issues.

Never Delay Decisions

In 2012, the Director of Engineering for mobile platforms at Netflix faced a difficult situation with their iOS manager not performing and deadlines being missed. After eight weeks of firing the manager, hiring three iOS engineers, and taking over the iOS project, they managed to make their deadlines and ship on time. This experience taught the Director that delaying important decisions can have negative impacts and it is important to think of the collateral damage.

My employee assessment process

This article outlines a manager's process for assessing their team, which includes evaluating technical skills, team orientation, and cultural fit. Technical assessment is done with the help of GitPrime, which provides metrics based on coding activities. Team orientation is evaluated through surveys sent to peers, and cultural fit is evaluated through conversations with direct reports about exceeding expectations, attitude towards stretched goals, and feedback from product owners and scrum masters.

Helping your direct reports decide on management, senior IC, or lateral growth tracks, to guide their career development

During a one-on-one with a high performer, the manager discussed career development and presented three different tracks. The report wanted to follow the management track, but the manager was unsure of the reasons given. After further discussion and research, the report decided to become a senior individual contributor instead. This lesson taught the manager to not pressure their reports into making decisions and to ensure that decisions are based on correct and complete information.

Managing a team of engineers who are not technically aligned

When the author inherited a team that was not reliably shipping quality software, they decided to pause product development and rebuild the application using Business Driven Development. This transition was difficult as the team was reluctant to use the test-driven method, but it allowed them to ship software more reliably and faster. The author learned that as a manager, sometimes hard decisions have to be made and it is better to be criticized but lead the team to success than to be loved but lead the team nowhere.