Amazon’s decision to cut 15% of its managers likely comes from a closer look at ratios. Were there too many managers with only 2-3 direct reports? That’s entirely possible. From my time at AWS, I didn’t see this much in engineering, so I doubt those teams will feel it as hard. But other departments with too many managers overseeing too few people were probably more bloated. It’s…
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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, we hire smart people to make the…
Leave a CommentHave you ever found yourself questioning someone’s decision, only to realize later that you didn’t have the full picture? You know it’s really easy to get caught up in our own way of thinking. And then we expect others to see things just as we do. It shouldn’t be surprising that most people do the same. Everyone gets stuck with their perception, we can’t really overcome misunderstandings…
1 CommentIn software business, leaders often need to delegate the work. Yet, I have seen leaders struggle with it, often saying, “I try to delegate, but it never quite works.” The truth is, delegation requires attention to detail and understanding of your team’s capabilities and needs. Let’s look at a practical scenario: You need to create a project plan for a new feature and decide to delegate part…
1 CommentAs an engineering leader, success hinges on developing and sharing a clear vision. This reduces the need for supervision. It then creates a workspace where everyone can manage themselves and work independently. I adopt a ‘fire and forget’ methodology in my leadership approach. When I delegate a project or task, my aim is to set it in motion and then step back, trusting in my team’s capability…
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