Interview with Ákos Kapui, VP of Engineering at Shapr3D. He talks about running an engineering organization in hypergrowth, doubling its employee count every year. Pick up his tips, tricks, and learn from his experience as he goes into detail on recruitment, decision making at scale, and planning while in hypergrowth. In this interview we're covering: Challenges in hypergrowth Finding the right employees Key moments for a startup in hypergrowth Scaling management as the organization grows Planni...
Mar 31, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep 39•Transcript available on Metacast Interview with Taavi Rehemägi, co-founder and CEO of Dashbird. He tells the story of founding Dashbird, and what it took for him to go from software engineer to CEO. Learn how he built his network and found success in a completely different role! In this interview we're covering: How they came up with the idea of Dashbird Challenges of going from engineer to CEO Essential skills for a CEO How his engineer background made him a better CEO How he improved the skills necessary to be a CEO Networkin...
Mar 17, 2021•32 min•Ep 38•Transcript available on Metacast Interview with Gergely Hodicska "Felhő", VP of Engineering at Bitrise. We take a deep dive with him into leadership soft skills and his story about finding his weaknesses and turning them into superpowers. We cover common weaknesses, methods to improve yourself and others around you, and more. In this interview we're covering: Importance of soft skills in engineering leadership Essential leadership soft skills Story about building up leadership soft skills Practices to improve leadership soft sk...
Feb 17, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep 37•Transcript available on Metacast Interview with Jerie Shaw, Senior Technical Program Manager at Shopify about building a remote onboarding process to suit the needs of remote software engineers. Coming up with new ways to get developers familiar with the job, keep energy and engagement high, and integrate them into the team while they're often continents apart. This is how Shopify deals with onboarding remotely. In this interview we're covering: Differences between remote onboarding and in-person onboarding Methods to integrate...
Feb 03, 2021•42 min•Ep 36•Transcript available on Metacast Interview with John Ford, VP of Engineering and Site Leader at LogMeIn about his management framework to turn around underachieving teams and improve overall team performance. Learn from his practical tips and tricks while listening to some of the stories from his decades worth of engineering leadership experience! In this interview we're covering: Assessing team performance Velocity goals for a productive engineering team Focus points for underperforming teams People improvements Process improv...
Jan 20, 2021•48 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast Interview with Balázs Balázs, former Engineering Manager at Facebook about the knowledge sharing strategies he's used over the years with his engineering teams. You'll get tips, tricks and real stories from behind the scenes about how knowledge sharing works with real people, rather than how it should work in an ideal situation. In this interview we're covering: Picking the right methods for sharing knowledge in your team The best knowledge sharing methods in engineering teams The rules of using...
Jan 06, 2021•47 min•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast Panel discussion interview with Sarah Milstein, Sr. Director of Engineering at Mailchimp, and Tanisha Barnett, Director of Engineering at Mailchimp. They get into the details of holding skip level meetings, let them be one-on-ones or group meetings. Here's everything you'll ever need to know about why you want to have your own skip level meetings, what they look like, what questions to ask, how to break the ice, keep track of them all, and much more. Master skip level meetings to become a great ...
Dec 09, 2020•45 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast Interview with Jurgen Appelo, leadership speaker, writer and entrepreneur. He is an expert on the topic of managing teams to maximize happiness, which heavily bolsters productivity. Learn his tips, tricks and strategies in making it happen, and make your own team happier so you all win. In this interview we're covering: Connection between happiness and performance Prerequisites for high performance Create a company culture based on experimentation Methods for managers to learn their team's needs...
Nov 25, 2020•39 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast Interview with Gergely Orosz, self-employed author of ' The Tech Resume Inside Out ', former Engineering Manager at Uber. He shares unique insight into the process of hiring for a big tech company. We also look at tips to stand out from the crowd with your software engineer resume, and what companies should do differently to find talent more effectively. Giveaway ended. In this interview we're covering: The importance of a software engineer resume The goal of a software engineer CV Highlights in...
Nov 11, 2020•47 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast Interview with Jonathan Rasmusson, ex-Spotify engineer and author of ' Competing with Unicorns ' about the key elements of making the Spotify model work. Squads, tribes and guilds are the essential elements of the Spotify model, but there is a lot more to it. Leadership is the force that drives all the elements, makes the model come alive and deliver a great product. You get all the answers here about how that works. Giveaway ended. In this interview we're covering: Comparing traditional organiz...
Oct 28, 2020•39 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast Interview with Tim Olshansky, EVP of Product & Engineering at Zenput on creating a software engineer career ladder for your own team. This isn't a template you can just copy and paste, then forget it ever even existed. This is a guide to creating a meaningful engineering career ladder from Tim, who has been through it more than once. In this interview we're covering: Building a software engineer career ladder at Zenput The first steps of building a career ladder People to involve in the proc...
Oct 14, 2020•50 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast Interview with Ola Sitarska, Engineering Lead at Onfido about addressing diversity and inclusion at the base level: integrating these values into your recruitment process. Why do you want to put up the effort? How do you balance it with hiring the most competent developers? What goals are realistic? You get these answers and more right here. In this interview we're covering: The difference between diversity and inclusion How to balance hiring for diversity and competence What makes an inclu...
Sep 30, 2020•31 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast Software engineers, like any other person can get stuck. Their personal development slows down, their career may not move in the direction they want to go to. Great engineering managers and leaders can do a lot to stop that from happening, facilitate growth for their developers and advancement from junior engineer to the senior level and beyond that. Get the know-how from Farhan Thawar, VP of Engineering, Shopify! In this interview we're covering: Differences between a junior and a senior engine...
Sep 16, 2020•47 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast GitHub versus Facebook feedback culture comparison with a breakdown of their key elements and cultural differences. Learn the secrets of a healthy feedback culture both on an organizational and personal level from Ryan Nystrom, Director of Engineering at GitHub. In this interview we're covering: The essential elements of a big company's feedback culture GitHub vs Facebook feedback culture comparison Formal performance reviews at GitHub The benefits of a healthy feedback culture Crucial elements ...
Sep 02, 2020•44 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast Avoid the rookie mistakes engineering managers and engineering leaders make at running one-on-one meetings. James Stanier, SVP of Engineering at Brandwatch, and author of "Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager" will teach you how to handle one-on-ones with both introverts, and people who complain all the time, along with many more tips and tricks. The raffle is closed. In this interview we're covering: The goal of a one on one meeting The ideal frequency of one on one meetings On...
Aug 19, 2020•43 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast Building trust across the board and becoming familiar with the whole context of a company is a common challenge for engineering leaders and managers as they transition to a new workplace. Nadia Alramli explains HubSpot's process to set up newly hired managers for their role. In this interview we're covering: The challenges of transitioning to a new company as an engineering leader HubSpot's engineering leader onboarding process The idea behind the process Differences between the leadership onboa...
Aug 05, 2020•35 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast Learn how to build an engineering team that not only survives under pressure, but consistently gets better. Adam Wolff explains the key ideas you need to know to make your team antifragile, and shows you how they've worked out through his personal experience from Robinhood and Facebook. In this interview we're covering: Concepts of antifragility Internal and external sources of stress for engineering teams Necessary characteristics of an antifragile engineering team Agile methods and antifragili...
Jul 22, 2020•55 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast Learn the basics of engineering leadership from seasoned veteran and praised writer of the leadership world: Michael Lopp a. k. a. "Rands". Everything you need to know is in this interview, so you won't have to learn the hard way, like Michael did. In this interview we're covering: The biggest challenge in leadership Mastering the finer points of leadership The biggest takeaway from decades of leadership experience Traits and skills of great engineering leaders Daily practices of engineering lea...
Jul 08, 2020•44 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast Do you want access to the best talent out there in the tech world? Obviously. This is why you need to build your engineering employer brand. You aren't Google or Netflix, you may not even become them, but you can make yourself visible in the right way to the right people, and you can get them into your organization. Learn pro tips from Sarah Wells, Technical Director at Financial Times! In this interview we're covering: Synchronizing the engineering brand coexisting with the company brand The ch...
Jun 24, 2020•39 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast Learn the top time management and productivity tips, tricks, hacks and practices engineering managers use to get on top of their endless mountain of work. Profit from the hard-earned experience of Matt Martin, CEO of Clockwise to become the best manager you can be! In this interview we're covering: Time management 101 for managers How to do a calendar audit How to use time dedicated to proactive management Metrics of productivity for managers How to develop team members Delegating tasks How to h...
Jun 10, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast Learn the steps of creating a culture document for an engineering company! In this interview Rob Volk reveals why Foxbox Digital needed a culture document, and what impact it had on their day-to-day work. In this interview we're covering: What's Included and excluded in the Foxbox culture document Why do you need a company culture document? The steps of creating a culture document The impact of a culture document on an engineering team How does the document help to sustain the culture How to cha...
May 27, 2020•22 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast Master these 3 leadership styles to build an amazing engineering team and maximize your own potential as well. In this interview with Shawn Fair, you'll learn how, when, and why to use the democratic, autocratic, and free rein leadership styles for optimal results. In this interview we're covering: The 3 base leadership styles Determine the best leadership style for your developer team How to train yourself to always find the right leadership style Common mistakes How the leadership styles impro...
May 20, 2020•36 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast Utilize social engineering tactics to make your developer team stronger and more productive than ever before. In this interview, Olivia Liddell from Amazon Web Services shows you how to use social engineering for good. In this interview we're covering: How to measure the strength of an engineering team The definition of social engineering The process of using social engineering to build your team Examples of social engineering in a positive context Common mistakes when using social engineering i...
May 13, 2020•33 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast Leading vs managing comparison, true stories of failures, shortcomings, struggles and solutions that lead to success in an executive leadership position. András Fincza, VP of Engineering, Emarsys shares his invaluable experience to tell you what you've never heard about leadership before. In this interview we're covering: The difference between managing developers and leading engineering managers How to get direct information as an executive leader How to transition from engineering managem...
Apr 29, 2020•45 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast Clean code is the most essential part of building great software with your team. In this interview Uncle Bob shares half a century worth of experience and practical tips about measuring code quality, leading your team, having them write clean code, and selling clean code standards to impatient clients. In this interview we're covering: Definition of clean code Metrics of clean code Consequences of bad code Tips for engineering managers Communication tips On-boarding to clean code Scaling with cl...
Apr 22, 2020•38 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast You've just become a manager, and don't know where to start? You're close to a promotion, and want to be ready? It's unclear what you should focus on, how to get accepted, and how to streamline your ocean of tasks? Jeff Perry has faced all these problems, and he'll help you find the way to success in this new role. In this interview we're covering: Challenges of becoming an engineering manager Misconceptions about becoming a manager The process to transition to management Common mistakes of new ...
Apr 15, 2020•31 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast Download the full State of Software Development 2020 report here! Discussion about the latest trends in the software industry, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic with Camille Fournier (Managing Director at Two Sigma) and Juan Pablo Buriticá (taking a break, running his consultant company, ex-VPE at Splice) based on the State of Software Development 2020 report. In this panel discussion we're covering: The effects of COVID-19 on the software world The state of remote work The top indu...
Apr 01, 2020•55 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast In this interview Steven McCord, Senior Vice President of Technology explains the ins and out of entering the role of a tech leader. This is how you win at your first 100 days. In this interview we're covering: Challenges of becoming a tech leader Early priorities when becoming a tech leader Focus areas for a tech leader Things you'd do differently Common mistakes for tech leaders How can a company help you transition? Bonus advice for tech leaders Excerpt from the interview: "You have to make s...
Mar 18, 2020•30 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast Interview with Sally Lait, Senior Engineering Manager at Monzo. Their engineering culture is well-known in the industry for being one of the best. In this podcast you'll learn how to improve your engineering culture and what red flags to look for. In this interview we're covering: Key elements of a great engineering culture Monzo's engineering culture Cultural on-boarding Engineering culture metrics Building your engineering culture Signs of a weak engineering culture Dangerous behaviors Improvi...
Mar 04, 2020•35 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast Interview with Greg Sabo, Engineering Manager at Asana. Learn how Asana is overcoming the lack of developers on the workforce market, and get your recruitment process to the next level! In this interview we're covering: How to build your employer brand? Asana's steps to recruiting engineers How to make the final decision? Key elements to recruiting engineers Top channels to recruiting engineers Intern program Wha...
Feb 19, 2020•26 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast 
