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30 Jun, 5 tweets, 3 min read
We kickstart the Level-up Engineering Stories spinoff series with @rands sharing stories about his time as VPE at @SlackEng.

Check out the interview: codingsans.com/blog/leadershi…

Hosted by @FancyKarolina, powered by @codingsans.

#EngineeringManagement #LeadershipStories #leadership
Some key takeaways:

1. It takes 3 years to grow into a role

It’s not a sexy story. Once you’re a VP, you’re a VP, right? Well, it takes time to learn to be an executive. It took Rands about 3 years, so you likely won’t be able to figure out a completely new role in 3 hours.
2. Tell the truth ASAP

Always tell the truth quickly. However, handing out random facts isn’t helpful. You need to examine them, put them into context, and tell a story about what you can learn from them.

Always tell the truth asap, but don’t “YOLO the comms.”
3. Bored people quit

At least according to Rands. Whenever he senses that one of his reports is getting bored on the job, he puts something big, challenging and interesting on their plate. This keeps them learning, engaged and more likely to stick around.
There are a lot more stories and juicy details about sstuff like the darkest day of Slack.

Check out the full interview for more! ->
codingsans.com/blog/leadershi…

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More from @lvlupeng

Level-up Engineering Podcast 🎙️ Profile picture
16 Jun
New episode!

Mark Kinsella, VPE at @Opendoor talks about why you need entrepreneurial engineers and how to lead them.

Check out the full interview: codingsans.com/blog/entrepren…

Hosted by @FancyKarolina, powered by @codingsans.

#EngineeringManagement #EntrepreneurialEngineer
Here are a few key takeaways ->

1. Entrepreneurial engineering is built on tech expertise

Business-minded engineers need strong technical skills to be able to find and build the right solutions. Mid- to senior level is a must. Let junior engineers focus on the technical side.
2. Creativity and collaboration are must-haves

They need creative and critical thinking to come up with technical solutions to complex customer and business problems. Collaboration is equally important, as they need to work with people focusing on different areas of the problem.
Read 5 tweets
Level-up Engineering Podcast 🎙️ Profile picture
2 Jun
New episode!

@jyhsu, VPE at @RangeDotCo shares what she's learned about managing remote meetings as a leader.

Check out the full interview: codingsans.com/blog/remote-me…

Interviewed by @FancyKarolina, powered by @codingsans.

#EngineeringManagement #leadership #RemoteMeetings
Here are some key takeaways:

1. Set up some ground rules

Company-wide core hours are the best tool you can have to organize remote meetings across time zones. You also need to make sure people understand to be reasonably accommodating to each other’s schedules.
2. Move announcements out of meetings

Most people have more meetings in the remote world. Not calling meetings for announcements and status updates is a good start to counterbalance that. You can use asynchronous platforms to replace these meetings.
Read 6 tweets
Level-up Engineering Podcast 🎙️ Profile picture
19 May
Episode 42 is here, the answer to life, the universe and everything: @mseavers, ex-CTO at @riotgames @RiotCareers discusses building self-managing teams.

Check out the interview: codingsans.com/blog/self-mana…

Hosted by @FancyKarolina, powered by @codingsans

#EngineeringManagement
Here are some key takeaways:

1. What does the manager do in a self-managing team?

The leader’s job is to coach. You don’t do the frontline work, so you shouldn’t make all the frontline decisions. Teach your direct reports to solve problems and think for themselves.
2. There are reasons not to build an autonomous team

Leaders often have a desire to get more involved in the frontline work. Making decisions for your team can be quicker than taking time to have them think it through. But you come out ahead in the long run by letting these go.
Read 6 tweets
Level-up Engineering Podcast 🎙️ Profile picture
28 Apr
How do you manage your hybrid engineering team?

Get some practical tips from Ellen Wong @EWonf, Director of Engineering at @CalmEngineering.

Check out the full episode: codingsans.com/blog/hybrid-te…

Hosted by @FancyKarolina, powered by @codingsans

#HybridTeam #EngineeringManagement
Here are some takeaways:

1. Hire the right people
You need to hire for specific qualities when working in a hybrid team:

-Communication skills
-Proactivity
-Openness to feedback
-Inclusivity

These qualities have always been important, but they became essential in hybrid teams.
2. Document goals
You can’t rely on organically noticing in the office that an employee isn’t clear on the team’s goals and easily remind them with a few words. You need to make the goals explicit, and create a go-to document for your team to look at when in doubt.
Read 5 tweets
Level-up Engineering Podcast 🎙️ Profile picture
15 Apr
The State of Software Development 2021 report is out!

We partnered up with @codingsans to bring you fresh insight from the software industry. We're working on delivering a discussion about the findings.

Check out the data: codingsans.com/blog/software-…

#EngineeringManagement
Here's a taste of the findings:

1. About half of the tech companies didn't suffer badly from the pandemic, and almost as many experienced positive changes as negative changes. Only about 1 in 3 companies was forced to downsize at all.

#SoftwareDevelopment #softwareindustry
2. Hiring is still the biggest challenge

Most engineering managers are still concerned about hiring, with capacity being second among the most important challenges.

#EngineeringManagement
Read 5 tweets
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31 Mar
Learn about engineering leadership in #hypergrowth from @akoskapui, VPE at @Shapr3D. Recruitment strategies, decision making and planning.

Full interview here: bit.ly/3m8H3e0

Interview by @FancyKarolina, powered by @codingsans.

#EngineeringManagement #hypergrowth100
Some key takeaways:

1. Create hiring requirements

Don't lower the bar in hiring, look for people as good or better than your existing employees. Create explicit requirements for each position so applicants are measured to the same standard whoever conducts their interviews.
2. Hire engineering managers with deep technical knowledge

This is essential for tech companies in hypergrowth. You need managers to mentor and support your junior employees and new hires. You can’t rely only on senior engineers for this, they’re busy coding and interviewing.
Read 6 tweets

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