sbarber/documentation

The source for Datadog's documentation site.

Hello! 👋

This is my Engineering Leader README

Working with Scott? Here's what to expect!

Caveats:

• I'm pretty aware of my faults - this document isn't my attempt at excusing them.
• This document also isn't an attempt to build trust. That happens as we work together.

Who are you?

• Small-town raised, lived-all-over, Millennial-leaning Gen-Xer who loves music, cooking, dad jokes, and technology.
• I'm pretty much down the middle blue/green. (Supporting or Observing Coordinator)
• I'm ISTJ-ish.

Guiding Principals, Things I Value

• Pragmatist - What works for our team? People > Process. True Agile!
• Overcommunicate - No going dark - It's ok to say things more than once - Written communication helps solidify your thoughts (see: https://basecamp.com/guides/how-we-communicate #6 and #7).
• Dig yourself (and others) a pit of success
• Continuous improvement - Little by little let's make things better
• Process is good - When it's just enough to ease the pain and no more
• When it comes to human interaction, boring is bad. Emojis, gifs and cool project names are it.
• When it comes to technology boring is good.
• We are not paid to write code. We are paid to solve problems and sometimes that means coding.
• Data - Let's establish some OKRs and start collecting data. Keep data in front of you. How do we measure what we care about?
• If it matters enough to be careful, it matters enough to build a system around it.
• Don't be a Hero - Problem Prevention > Problem Solving - Planning and Pre-Mortems rock!
• Be Assertive - Not passive aggressive or plain old aggressive. Tact and open communication go a long way.

For those that work with to me profesionally...

My Job

• Attract and retain world-class talent
• Set context and priority
• Remove blockers
• Advocate for the team with the rest of the company
• Be open to feedback
• Get to know the folks on the team and learn how to communicate the best for each person
• Help guide process to remove friction

1:1s

• We should talk regularly - once a week or once every other week.
• You set the agenda. What would you like to talk about? What’s going well? What’s bugging you?
• These don’t need to be status updates unless you really want to talk about project status.
• I like this format for our first 1:1 as I get to know you.