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Demystifying Management

Lara Hogan
April 25, 2018

Demystifying Management

When you switch from an individual contributor role to a manager role, you might find yourself floating in a sea of uncertainty. What does success look like as a manager? How can you know if you’re doing a good job or not, with such a long feedback loop between your actions and their outcome? In this workshop, we’ll start to demystify management by talking tactics, articulating what you uniquely bring to management, and demonstrating how you can best support your direct reports. We’ll cover:

- Coaching, mentoring and sponsoring, and when to use each as a manager
- Identifying your management philosophy and expectations for your team
- Growing your teammates through feedback
- Navigating your team through uncertainty and surprising emotions
- Developing an internal barometer of success, and a network you can lean on as you grow

During each stage of the workshop, Lara leads the attendees through group exercises to practice skills like coaching, giving feedback, and goal-setting. Lara will also provide worksheets and plenty of resources for attendees to continue to grow and learn after the workshop.

Lara Hogan

April 25, 2018
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Transcript

  1. Demystifying
    Management
    Lara Hogan @lara_hogan
    larahogan.me/demystifying-management/

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  2. Management is a blend of
    mentoring, coaching,
    and sponsoring
    Lara Hogan • Demystifying Management

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  3. Mentoring

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  4. View Slide

  5. Mentorship:
    Giving advice, based on
    your experience

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  6. “Advice is just one thing a
    mentor gives.
    There are residual benefits
    from visible proximity and
    tangential relationships to be
    gained.”
    Kristy Tillman, Slack
    Head of Communication Design

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  7. Being a
    responsible
    mentor

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  8. Honesty
    Flexibility
    Reciprocity
    Active listening
    Mutual respect
    Personal connection
    Shared values
    Qualities of a successful mentor
    relationship:

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  9. Coaching

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  10. “The spirit of coaching is
    helping a person dump
    out their box of legos to
    help them find the two
    pieces they’ve been
    looking for together”
    -Paloma Medina

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  11. open
    questions
    reflection
    +

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  12. The power of
    open questions

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  13. The best open questions
    start with “what”

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  14. Reflections

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  15. ● Can I reflect back what I’m hearing?
    ● I’m going to reflect what I know to
    be true about you.
    ● Let’s reflect on where you were this
    time last year.

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  16. You don’t need prior
    experience, or even any idea
    about someone’s universe
    to coach them.

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  17. Getting curious and
    actively listening

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  18. Level 1:
    Internal Listening

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  19. Level 2:
    Focused on the
    other person

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  20. Level 3:
    Whole environment

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  21. The #1 “recent trick” I hear
    during icebreakers is the
    power of silence during 1:1s

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  22. Sponsoring

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  24. Illustration by Catt Small

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  25. “Mentors give perspective,
    sponsors give opportunity.”
    Cate Huston,
    Mobile Lead at Automattic

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  27. The dashboards are slow today. Is there
    someone who knows how to fix that?
    Oh, Max fixed our dashboards before.
    Maybe ask them?
    Sara’s also been doing a lot of perf work
    recently. Ask her too?

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  28. Center for Talent Innovation

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  29. Center for Talent Innovation

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  30. A sponsor confers a
    statistical career benefit
    from 22%–30%
    Center for Talent Innovation

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  31. Being a sponsor

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  32. Marginalized people are
    over-mentored, and
    under-sponsored

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  33. With a sponsor, women are
    ● 70% more likely to have their ideas endorsed
    ● 119% more likely to see them developed
    ● 200% more likely to see them implemented

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  34. What can you do?

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  35. Examples of sponsorship as
    a manager or leader:
    ● Give promotions and raises
    ● Give visible/public recognition
    ● Assign tasks and projects
    ● Suggest they do blog posts, company talks, open
    source work

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  36. What’s the purpose
    of a 1:1 with your
    direct reports?

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  37. Manager
    Disseminate
    information
    Develop a
    relationship
    Identify goals/
    career trajectory
    Unblock them
    Get status updates

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  38. Manager Direct Report
    Disseminate
    information
    Hear rumors, news,
    strategy
    Develop a
    relationship
    Does my manager
    care about me?
    Identify goals/
    career trajectory
    I want to keep
    growing my skills
    Unblock them
    Get status updates
    I might need help
    getting unblocked

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  39. Manager Direct Report
    Disseminate
    information
    Hear rumors, news,
    strategy
    Context
    Develop a
    relationship
    Does my manager
    care about me?
    Trust
    Identify goals/
    career trajectory
    I want to keep
    growing my skills
    Growth
    Unblock them
    Get status updates
    I might need help
    getting unblocked
    Problem
    Solving

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  40. Context
    5-10%

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  41. Context
    Wrap-up
    5-10%
    5-10%

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  42. Context
    Trust
    Growth
    Problem Solving
    Wrap-up
    5-10%
    5-10%
    80-90%
    How to
    spend
    each 1:1

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  43. Context
    Wrap-up
    Trust, Growth,
    Problem Solving:

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  44. Context
    Wrap-up
    Trust, Growth,
    Problem Solving:

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  45. Debrief:
    Mentoring, coaching,
    sponsoring

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  46. Managing energy drain
    (and feel some success!)
    Lara Hogan • Demystifying Management

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  47. Flickr: statelyenglishmanor

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  48. IC ⇨ Manager

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  49. Flickr: simontingle

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  50. You
    Direct
    Report
    Thing you
    never see
    Management is high latency!

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  51. ● “I don’t feel productive like I used to”
    ● “My manager isn’t really supporting me”
    ● “I can’t tell what success looks like”
    ● “I have no idea how to learn this stuff”

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  52. Manager crew
    (Manager Voltron!)

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  53. Growing your crew

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  54. Be on the lookout for people who:
    ● will push you out of your comfort zone
    ● have different levels of experience than you (both
    more experience, and less experience)
    ● have experience in a different industry
    ● are good at the things that you’re terrible at

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  55. 1. Do great work
    2. Find someone who knows your work
    3. Know how you want to grow
    4. Keep them updated

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  56. 1. Do great work
    2. Find someone who knows your work
    3. Know how you want to grow
    4. Keep them updated

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  57. 1. Do great work
    2. Find someone who knows your work
    3. Know how you want to grow
    4. Keep them updated

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  58. 1. Do great work
    2. Find someone who knows your work
    3. Know how you want to grow
    4. Keep them updated

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  59. 5. Give back!

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  60. Lean on your Manager Voltron
    for goal-setting, goal-measuring,
    and feedback.

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  61. Manage your
    energy drain

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  62. 1. Defrag your calendar
    2. Delegate messy and
    unscoped projects
    3. Say no

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  63. Color-code your calendar
    based on the kind of
    energy you’re using

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  64. View Slide

  65. Analyze:
    ● How much context-switching you’re
    doing each day
    ● How much you’re drained at the end
    of each day

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  66. Defrag based on
    that analysis

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  67. Decide when
    to do it
    (or delegate it)
    Do it now!
    Say no Delegate it
    Urgency
    Importance

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  68. Decide when
    to do it
    (or delegate it)
    Do it now!
    Say no Delegate it
    Urgency
    Importance

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  69. images.containerstore.com/medialibrary/pdf/tips/gorgeousGiftPresentation.pdf

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  70. Decide when
    to do it
    (or delegate it)
    Do it now!
    Delegate it messy
    and unscoped
    Say no Delegate it
    Urgency
    Importance

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  71. A messy, unscoped project:
    ● hones folks’ problem-solving abilities,
    ● forces them to lean on more people
    around them, and
    ● stretches them far faster into new
    leadership skill sets

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  72. Gift-wrapped
    version
    Create a case study about...
    Measure these metrics...
    Present it at...
    Run it by...
    Flickr: Vincent_AF

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  73. Bare-bones
    version
    Just make this thing...
    and get other people
    to care about it.
    Flickr: z287marc

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  74. Just right
    Here’s what success
    looks like…
    Here’s who your
    stakeholders are...
    And here’s a pro tip...
    Flickr: 30478819@N08

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  75. ● Tell them how and in what medium you
    will support them
    ● Tell them that you expect this to be a
    stretch for them (and that’s the point)
    ● Release yourself from decision-making

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  76. View Slide

  77. Say no

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  78. Decide when
    to do it
    (or delegate it)
    Do it now!
    Say no Delegate it
    Urgency
    Importance

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  79. ● What does my Manager Voltron think I should say
    no to?
    ● What do my reports think I should say no to?
    ● What are things I spend time on that don’t match
    my goals or roadmap?
    ● What things do you even avoid delegating to your
    reports, because it doesn’t feel worth their time?

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  80. View Slide

  81. Give yourself permission
    to not check in on your
    progress for a bit

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  82. What was a recent
    ‘Hulk’ moment?

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  83. Brain Chemistry

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  84. View Slide

  85. View Slide

  86. Don’t worry,
    I got this!

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  87. Core Needs
    6
    palomamedina.com/biceps/

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  88. Belonging
    Community, connection
    1

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  89. Flickr: whisperwolf

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  90. Improvement/
    Progress
    Progress towards purpose,
    improving the lives of others
    2

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  91. Choice
    Flexibility, autonomy,
    decision-making
    3

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  92. Equality/Fairness
    Access to resources & info,
    equal reciprocity
    4

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  93. Predictability
    Resources, time, direction,
    future challenges
    5

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  94. Significance
    Status, visibility, recognition
    6

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  95. Belonging
    Improvement/Progress
    Choice
    Equality/Fairness
    Predictability
    Significance

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  96. Humans
    are bad at
    feedback

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  97. We can get better
    at giving and receiving
    feedback.

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  98. Good feedback is specific
    and actionable.

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  99. Feedback equation

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  100. observation
    of a behavior
    impact of
    behavior
    question
    or
    request
    + +

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  101. Create space.

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  102. Ask about your reports’
    preferred feedback
    medium and timing

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  103. Remember to give
    positive feedback too!

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  104. Prep your own brain to
    receive feedback.

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  105. View Slide

  106. Setting Expectations
    Lara Hogan • Demystifying Management

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  107. Groups of humans
    are amazing

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  108. View Slide

  109. Forming

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  110. Forming
    Storming

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  111. Forming
    Storming
    Norming

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  112. Forming
    Storming
    Norming
    Performing

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  113. Forming
    Storming
    Norming
    Performing

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  114. Set* expectations to
    improve predictability
    and stability
    * and in the future, iterate on

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  115. Predictability:
    What can someone joining the
    team expect their day to look like?
    What should they expect their
    teammates to be doing?

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  116. Stability:
    What do you as a manager value?
    How do you think about and approach
    managing the team?

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  117. Your team
    knows what
    behaviors are
    healthy
    It’s easier to give
    feedback when
    behaviors fall outside
    those expectations

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  118. You’ve
    clarified what
    your team
    should expect
    of you
    It’s easier to give
    feedback when
    behaviors fall outside
    those expectations

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  119. “If [your teammates] know what you
    believe and expect as manager, folks will
    feel more confident that any behaviour of
    yours that’s not aligned is likely
    unintended and something you’d be
    eager to hear about and fix.”
    - Katie Womersley

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  120. Manager README
    “The less that is implied or mysterious about you, the
    safer and more trusting others will feel”
    - Katie Womersley

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  121. What can your direct
    reports expect of you?

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  122. Managers who report to me should expect of me:
    ● Routine feedback, related to career progression
    ● I’ll try to unblock you from problems you’re working on
    ● I’ll share my worldview and what I’m working on, so you
    have broader context
    ● A weekly 1:1 with you
    ● Skip-level 1:1s with your direct reports

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  123. Hold me accountable

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  124. What do you expect of
    your teammates?

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  125. You may have expectations about:
    ● How they approach problems
    ● How they communicate
    ● How they hold others accountable
    (including you!)
    ● How they treat their teammates

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  126. Managers who report to me:
    ● Give me a heads up when your spidey sense is
    going off
    ● Have weekly 1:1s with your reports; be explicit
    about their career progression and feedback.
    ● Routinely reach out to your team’s stakeholders.
    ● Develop a peer network for yourself.
    ● Demonstrate a healthy work-life balance.

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  127. Focus on outcomes
    Get curious about (and prioritize)
    what their needs are

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  128. Repeat these throughout
    your reporting relationship
    ● During 1:1s
    ● When giving feedback
    ● When setting goals
    ● When hiring someone new

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  129. How will you be held
    accountable?

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  130. There’s an inherent
    power dynamic

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  131. “Is there anything I
    can be doing differently
    or better?”

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  132. “Here are some avenues to
    give me feedback; choose
    whichever feels most
    comfortable”

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  133. With your mouthwords:
    ● Acknowledge the power dynamic
    ● Acknowledge whenever you’ve messed
    something up
    ● Acknowledge when you’re going to miss
    the expectations you set

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  134. Management/Leadership
    Philosophies

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  135. “Humans already have the answer(s)
    inside themselves; I help find them.”
    - me

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  136. “Optimize for long term
    relationships.”
    - Jason Wong, Senior Director of Engineering

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  137. “People do what makes sense to
    them, so most problems can be
    solved by providing additional
    context”
    - Rafe Colburn, Senior Director of Engineering

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  138. “Strong back, open heart.”
    - Jerry Colonna, who introduced it to...
    - Chad Dickerson, former CEO, now coach

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  139. "The strength of the team is each
    individual member. The strength of
    each member is the team."
    - Phil Jackson, former head coach of Chicago Bulls
    - also Jill Wetzler, Director of Engineering

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  140. First 1:1 Questions

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  141. View Slide

  142. Document + share your
    readme with your reports.
    Iterate as you learn more!

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  143. Team charters and docs

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  144. VMSO
    Vision, Mission, Strategy, Objectives

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  145. Vision: The dream; a team's true north.
    Mission: Overarching objective of the organization.
    Strategy: How an organization navigates its
    competitive landscape to achieve its objectives.
    Objectives: Measurable goals aligned with mission
    and strategy.

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  146. View Slide

  147. Document:
    ● Team meeting cadence and purpose
    ● Team Slack channels and email lists, and their
    purpose
    ● Work hours expectations
    ● Team ground rules (“stay curious!”)
    ● Teammate roles and responsibilities

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  148. Communication Guides:
    [email protected] for emails that should go to all
    managers and engineers within Product Infrastructure (rare!)
    [email protected] for emails that
    should go to all eng managers within Product Infra (rare!)
    ● For individual teams, check out the Product Infrastructure
    teams communication guide

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  149. View Slide

  150. Meeting Description
    Who should come
    Meeting Goals
    Ground rules
    Timing

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  151. View Slide

  152. Product Manager
    owns the story
    of “what”
    Tech Lead
    owns the story
    of “how”
    Product Manager + Tech Lead
    scope and estimate
    project work

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  153. Responsible
    Accountable
    Consulted
    Informed

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  154. Responsible: TL + EM
    Accountable: EM
    Consulted: Teammates, PM, Director
    Informed: Everyone else

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  155. Treat those as living
    documents.

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  156. Open Q&A!
    You can always email me:
    [email protected]
    This workshop’s slides and resources:
    larahogan.me/workshops/setting-expectations/

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