Be an Engineering Leader - Not a Manager
People matter more than deadlines! I started in a startup that had a lot of great project management skills but low people management skills. Not until a CTO was hired, I realized that there was a day and night difference with a leader with people management skills. Great leaders give their employees a sense of “you belong here”. It’s a feeling that makes someone stay through the difficult times.
Belonging (noun): an affinity for a place or situation
Here are some great traits that a leader needs
- Guide
- Transparency
- Coach
- Problem Solver
- Motivator
Alignment and Transparency
Monthly Engineering Meetings
Usually a company has a quarterly or monthly all hands meeting to update its employees on how the company is doing and to answer any questions. These meetings cover all the different departments with broad subjects such as how sales numbers, what is on the horizon, and company wide events. Although it’s great to hear how the company is doing, it’s sometimes a very stiff scripted corporate (soulless) meeting. The company meeting doesn’t go deep into the technical topics that engineers are more interested in.
