Engineering Advice You Didn't Ask For

S03E04 - The Subtle Art of Selective Micromanagement

Reference article we discussed: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/subtle-art-selective-micromanagement-thiago-ghisi

S03E03 - The slippery slope of managerial & cultural incentives in engineering teams!

Article we discussed: https://yosefk.com/blog/people-can-read-their-managers-mind.html

S03E02 - AI and Software Engineering

S03E01 - Engineering Metrics and Productivity

Recap & Discussion of the controversy ignited by the McKinsey article "Yes, You Can Measure Software Developer Productivity."

S02E10 - Side Hustles & Small Bets!

In the last episode of season 2 of the show, we share how we met and our learnings working on Side Projects and how they have helped us: (i) to grow on our careers, (ii) to make some money online/on the side & (iii) have more optionality in general. Find the remaining episodes of season 2 at https://engineeringadvice.substack.com/ --- We delved deep into our personal experiences doing side hustles, the diverse avenues one can explore outside of traditional employment, the value of a communit...

S02E09 - Team Topologies

The cost of this conflict? Potentially demotivated teams and a maze of missed opportunities. Dive into the debate surrounding team composition: Should they harbor generalist engineers ready to tackle anything or specialists who master their domain? While some argue the merits of starting with jack-of-all-trades engineers, especially for nascent organizations, others counterpoint with the potential pitfalls that might arise in the later stages of development. Ever heard of a "T-shaped engineer"? ...

S02E08 - Managing everything everywhere, all at once.

We delve deep into the art of management from all angles. We explore myriad scenarios related to peers, managers, and stakeholders. From unpacking the complexities that arise when someone takes an issue about your work performance to a manager without confronting you first to the importance of trust, transparency, and direct communication in such situations, we bring you real-life experiences, hypothetical scenarios, and strategies to establish clear expectations with your superiors. Our discuss...

S02E07 - How do you become a Manager of Managers?

In this episode, we navigate the multifaceted realm of transitioning into the role of a manager of managers, chronicling diverse personal experiences and insights. The journey unfolds with cautionary tales about the risks of being perpetually thrust into this role without enough authority, alongside accounts of organic growth through handling multiple work streams, and the corresponding risk of losing touch with technical skills. We also delve into the intricacies and challenges inherent in mana...

S02E06 - Interview with Product Management Expert David Pereira

In this episode, we dig into the often-overlooked world of product management, its partnership with engineering, overuse of AB testing, and the secret sauce for an effective product trio. We are joined by David Pereira, product leader with over a decade of experience & prolific writer on the subject, where he provided valuable insights into product management roles and skills. David talked about the distinct roles within the product management sphere, the unique challenge product managers of...

S02E05 - Preparing Yourself for a Transition to Engineering Management

In this episode, we delve into the challenging and often daunting journey of transitioning from an individual contributor (IC) to an engineering manager. We share personal stories and experiences about how they navigated this path. From unexpected leadership roles to intentional career planning, we learn about the varied routes that led us to managerial roles. We also discuss key pitfalls to avoid when stepping into management, emphasizing the importance of understanding that others may not appr...

S02E04 - Does your job title matter?

Hello Hello everyone. Welcome back to season two, episode four. We have Louie, Vic, Mitra, Thiago, and myself Keyur back to record another episode. Today we are going to discuss: does your job title really matter? There's a lot of layoffs still going on in the industry, and this is a question that commonly comes up.

S02E03 - Are there useful metrics to Measure Productivity of Engineering Teams?

In this packed episode, we delve into the world of engineering team productivity and explore the top metrics that truly make a difference.

S02E02 - How Technical Should Engineering Managers be?

Is it a necessity to maintain a hands-on approach with code or is it an overreach into the developer's territory? We delve into the roles and intricacies of an Engineering Manager, a Technical Project Manager, a Tech Lead, and a Staff Engineer, and how they all fit into the larger picture of a tech organization. We delve into the why's and why not's — discussing topics like architectural decisions, hands-on coding, code reviews, the risk of micromanagement, and keeping a human approach amidst it...

S02E01 - Layoffs layoffs everywhere

Season 2 is finally here! In this episode, we talk about the topic on everyone’s mind — layoffs. The tech industry has seen massive layoffs at small start-ups to FAANG. There’s no such thing as job security anymore. So how should you prepare for a potential layoff at your company? What are the warning signals to look out for? What do you do if you’re laid off, or if you’re safe?

S01E10 - It's not just about the money money money

When negotiating your best Tech Offer. What should you consider beyond the money money money? Links: Weighted Decision Matrix: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_03.htm The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth: https://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Organization-Psychological-Workplace-Innovation/dp/1119477247 Progressions.FYI: https://progression.fyi/

S01E09 - How fast can one move in their career ladder?

Article about Louie's Career Trajectory by Gergely Orosz on PragmaticEngineer.com: https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/from-engineer-to-director?s=r

S01E08 - How to Crack The FAANG Interview?

Shownotes: Zain's FAANG Interview Course: https://zainrizvi.gumroad.com/l/insider-advice-on-how-you-can-pass-faang-interviews/ea Zain on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZainRzv

S01E07 - Why didn't you get that promotion?

Promotion level 1 to level 2 Projects impact should you go deep or should you go for breadth scope of influence? What is a promotion packet How do you become visible internally without hogging all the oxygen? Opportunity is unevenly distributedHeadquarters vs distributed office Company culture biased towards delivery or operations Finding your sponsor Activating your sponsor Does bias play a role?...

S01E06 - Is Remote Work Burning You Out? Guest: Marissa Goldberg

Topics: Avoiding Burnout Effective Remote Leadership Effective Remote Work Effective Remote Meetings What does it mean to be Async-First & People-First? Remote-First vs. Remote-Friendly People-First vs. Business-First Recovering from Burnout Shownotes: Marissas's Course - Avoiding Burnout from Remote Work: https://marissagoldberg.gumroad.com/l/avoidingburnout Marissa's website: https://www.marissagoldberg.com/ Marissa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mar15sa Adam Grant on Fighting The Zoom Fa...

S01E05 - Why we need juniors & How to break into tech

Topics: - Teams hiring juniors - How important is it to hire juniors? - How do junior engineers get experience - What should ideal team look like - How do evaluate the company for you? - Expectations as a junior engineer - Contributions first 90 - How to onboard junior vs senior - Is Bootcamp a valid path? Shownotes: https://www.crunchbase.com/ https://github.com/tBaxter/questions-for-employers https://github.com/lkostrowski/job-interview-questions-to-ask-companies...

S01E04 - Promote or hire your next Engineering Manager?

Topics: When to promote from within? Why? Who is the best kind of engineer that will most succeed as a manager? The generalist or the specialist? The backend-heavy or the frontend-heavy? Do they need to be at a certain level? Do they need to be Senior to transition into management? How technical should it be? How to convince engineers that have the profile (traits + hard skills), but are skeptical about moving to the dark side of management? What if there are two or more who want it? The team’s ...

S01E03 - How do you know you are going to get fired?

Topics: Managing poor performance PIPs (Performance Improvement Plans) Firing - Letting go. Layoffs Show Notes: The five keys to a successful Google team (Psychological safety): https://rework.withgoogle.com/blog/five-keys-to-a-successful-google-team/ Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0791239V7/...

S01E02 - You can't fire me! I quit!

The Great Resignation gained steam again in November, as a record number of 4.53 million Americans quit their jobs. Topics: Changing Jobs The reasons why people change jobs: The right reasons & The wrong reasons Do most people leave their company or leave their manager? Mental health/burnout - is this a trigger? Is the grass greener on the other side? Do you go towards a better job? Are you leaving a bad job? What is the cost of changing jobs? How often is healthy for your career to change j...

S01E01 - The Perfect 1:1

The one about the famous one-on-one meetings. What is the purpose of 1:1 meetings? How often should you have 1:1s? Whose responsibility are they? What should their frequency be? Some advice for new managers? What if the person isn’t engaging or contributing? Some common pitfalls to avoid Should you come to them with an agenda? Transcript:...