The other day, someone asked me why we even need managers. What do they actually do? I think it’s a fair question, and honestly, people get it wrong a lot. You can throw usual fluff to this question. Managers make sure things get done, keep people on track, and handle logistics. Obviously, that’s part of it. But you know yourself, […]
As an IC, you close your laptop at 6 PM, log off, and forget about the work unless you are oncall. As a manager, you check Slack at 10 PM because someone might need you. Your calendar looks like there’s no time to do anything and you haven’t had an actual deep focus hour in weeks. Sounds familiar? Welcome to […]
Over the years, working across multiple organizations, I developed the concept of subteam tenets. I’ve tweaked it along the way to fit each company’s unique quirks, but I still use it to this day, and it has helped me navigate challenging situations. It’s really a system of divide and conquer, nothing fancy to be honest, but it lays down clear […]
When managing managers or leaders, there will be times when you feel that the right course of action differs from their opinion. It could be related to rating an employee, deciding whether to give someone a second chance, or focusing on a particular business area. You see the situation differently, yet your people leader holds a contrary view. After all, […]
In the fast-moving world of software development, decisions rarely wait for me to feel ready. I’ve lost count of how many times I wished for more data, more clarity, more time but the world kept moving anyway. The art of making swift decisions in business is something I’ve had to learn the hard way. It’s less a skill and more […]