This is a collection of notes from the Calibrate SF 2017 conference: https://www.calibratesf.com
1. I can do it, I'm the boss
- you sign up for all the things
- you're now signing yourself up as well as your entire team
- failure mode: the quality of work has decreased
- your job is no longer to get things done, it's to get things done at scale
2. I can do it all myself. I'm in control because I'm the boss
- you no longer delegate
- you are no longer building trust or delegating tasks to others
- your job as a manager is to aggressively delegate
- your opinions about the task at hand or other people can easily become facts (this is how politics in the workplace get created)
3. This is not me
- remember - management is not a promotion. It is only a lateral move.
- IC track + Management track are completely separate and independent
- management is a career restart
- the problem is that a lot of silicon valley ICs have just jumped into management
Final notes
- the death spiral is not real
- let others change your mind
- "augment your obvious and non-obvious weaknesses with a diverse team"
- ideas do not become great with agreement
- good ideas from disagreements and discourse
- delegate more than is comfortable
- management itself already has alot of angst to the title since you are already dealing with an employee's compensation and promotion - show you deserve those responsibilities by building trust, overcommunicating, giving and receiving feedback
- being a manager means you're scrutinized in every way - think about whether you are building or corroding trust with every action
- be sure you have great people managers because people are your most valuable resources
- always survey the landscape when you become a new manager
- "the key is always be open to feedback. this is a gift"
- after a 1:1, as your report - how would you rank this 1:1? - allows you to get feedback and spark discussion
- things to talk about with your report:
- what do you like or don't like about the team
- what does success look like to you?
- make an event loop for yourself
- suggested event loop:
- it is all about emotional intelligence and building trust
- figure out the way people enjoy receiving feedback and recognition - pro-tip check out larahogan.me/blog/first-one-on-one-questions
- a google study showed that psychological safety is the biggest factor in building a successful team
- lead by example - how you behave under pressure
- "equanimity" - mental calmness and composure in difficult situations
- talk less and listen more
- breathing - releases cortisol in the system
difficult conversations
- prepare - stating what happened and what was the effect
- practice - role-play the difficult conversation with a peer and silent observer
- deliver - avoid the sandwich feedback (good, bad, good). The sandwich feedback comes off as ingenuine
- problem solve together on what the next steps are
- retro on what went well and what could be improved
- when giving feedback, think of what your end goal is
- if someone is talking in circles, let them know that ultimately, you want to help them and perhaps taking a break and revisiting the conversation is needed
resources
- first 1:1 questions - larahogan.me/blog/first-one-on-one-questions
- "difficult conversations" book - https://www.amazon.ca/Difficult-Conversations-Discuss-What-Matters/dp/0143118447
- We must immediately grant trust to those we lead. We should assume we have ve not earned their trust as leaders
- earn their trust: it provides safety, easier for feedback, and advocacy
diversity
- studies show that 77% of black women report having to prove themselves over and over again
- always be culture aware - be aware of gender pronouns, religious patterns, stereotypes
- tech leaver statistics - http://www.kaporcenter.org/tech-leavers/
- jill would attend under-represented groups at work just to as a silent observer just try to understand how others feel
- volunteer under-indexed groups for new roles or projects
- proactively share their interests with influential people
- publicly endorse proteges for the things they are good at
- hold senior team accountable for sponsoring others
giving feedback
- giving feedback when it sucks is your job
- as managers of humans, we have to overcome our fear of human emotions
- when giving feedback, state the following:
- observation - factual, indisputable
- impact - outcome as related to expectations
- expectation - fair for their level
- assistance - take an active role for their development
- check yourself for bias
different kinds of managers:
-
the cloner - you can't expect everyone to learn the same way you do
-
the decider - you can't decide things on people's behalf
-
the buddy - reports need to trust their managers to give them their feedback
-
the a**hole
-
the joker - people will believe everything you say
-
the wolf-cryer
-
be aware of the power dynamics if you are the joker
- you are a secondary school guidance counsellor
- 1:1 - what do you want to do in 5 years, 10 years...
- before you do a pip:
- is it measurable?
- is it too hard?
- is it too easy?
- people need feedback more than advice
- before giving a pip, give them a 'side' project to let them have a chance to prove themselves
- tell them you want to be able to delegate a project for them
- project can't be trivial but can't be critical either
- this might not be the right job for them but give them a project to have a chance to succeed
- gap between p2 and p3
- clear verbal & written communication
- intuiting the perspectives and emotions of others
- prioritization and time management
- people normally expect career growth to be equal "steps":
expectation
i.e. business impact vs years of engineering experience
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Resources
- book: management handbook
- book: difficult conversations
- book: gum.co/present-ebook/calibrate2017
- slides: "the art of pre-meeting" - https://www.slideshare.net/KarenCatlin/the-premeeting-a-secret-weapon-for-new-managers/1
- blog: larahogan.me/blog/
- slack: rands leadership slack - nice community of tips for 1:1 and finding other engineering leaders - http://randsinrepose.com/welcome-to-rands-leadership-slack/