Using Project Aristotle To Build Highly Effective Teams
What Is Project Aristotle? In 2014, Google published research on a prioritised list of factors contributing to an effective team. A key conclusion in their …
Engineering Management
The Trident Model of Career Development
Many tech companies use a growth framework or a career ladder to aid managers and staff with growth or promotion conversations. You can see many …
Top Tools for Engineering Managers
I often hear the question, “What are tools I can use as an Engineering Manager?” so here is a post answering this question. Before I …
The Builder’s Trap
Every developer knows the satisfaction that comes from building a software system. Type in a stream of characters and somehow you’ve built something that appears …
Email is Async
Too many leaders treat email and messaging tools such as Slack or Teams as a synchronous communication channel, increasing their interruptions and destroying their productivity. …
Engineering Manager vs Scrum Master
People often ask me, “What is the difference between an Engineering Manager and a Scrum Master?” and “Do you need both an Engineering Manager and …
How Engineering Managers Fail
Engineering Managers (EMs) don’t intentionally set out to fail. Instead, they are often set up for failure. But even if they are set up for …
How Engineering Managers Are Set Up To Fail
I have heard and often observed how different organisations support their Engineering Managers (EMs). A handful of companies do an excellent job, providing as many …