I got harsh feedback as a manager. One was, “You don’t seem to be able to articulate your philosophy on management and leadership.”
Ouch!
My immediate reaction was defensive. “No wait – I’ve been writing about management this whole time.”
After going through denial, I understood how dead-on correct the senior manager was –
What did I stand for? How did I form my opinions on management?
I could tell anecdotes but not tie them with a theme. From that day I started the journey to develop my own philosophy of management. I would ask engineering managers and Uber drivers.
About a year in, I attended a talk by Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. “Compassion” was how he described his philosophy on management. His talk left an impression on me. He was able to sum up his experiences in one word and I wanted to learn how to do that.
I remember his example of comparing empathy and compassion drawn from the Dalai Lama.
Summarizing his talk, if you come across a person crushed by a boulder, an empathic response would make you feel the same way but you wouldn’t be able to help the person if you are also crushed by the emotions. A compassionate reaction would be to shield yourself and think of a way to get that boulder off the person to help them.
The way he delivered the message was powerful.
I thought of situations where I could feel what the other person was going through. I’d also feel completely overwhelmed and shutdown – I didn’t know what to do and froze. Reaching a state of compassion to help the person wasn’t something I could do on the spot.
I spent about half a year thinking about this subject and how he told a compelling and memorable story around his management philosophy.
Half a year later, I received the opportunity to speak about being a mentee. I couldn’t summarize my management experiences in one clear word. I explained I was developing my own style.
My theme at the time was three things to watch as a manager: The people, the business, and the technology.
The triforce of engineering management.
I worry about how I’m balancing across all 3 vectors.
People are critical. There is no team without them. You cannot go far on a vision if nobody wants to work with you.
- How do you keep your team motivated and on-track?
- Is the team composition correct?
- Is your team growing in experience over time?
With the business, you need to ensure your team aligns with the company objectives.
- Is your team working on the right features for the product?
- Are your customers happy?
- Are we in the right market?
With technology, can we solve problems with what we’ve got?
- When should we upgrade?
- Do we need to pay off technical debt?
- Are there technical skills we need to disperse across the org?
Having the correct allocation will be your challenge as an engineering manager.
You can have all the people skills and be in the right market. If you mis-hire engineering and do not grow technical power, none of that will save you from the database on fire at 4 AM.
You can have the right people and cutting-edge technology but if you build the wrong product – you will have no customers or revenue. Classic case of HP’s Kittyhawk.
You can be in the right business but if you have the wrong team – you can’t deliver in time. Competitors will outpace you.
Let’s see how my fledging philosphy evolves as I continue my journey.
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