@rotxed
From managing
code dependencies
to managing people
Sebastiano Gottardo
Slide 2
Slide 2 text
What this talk is
My first 6 10 months into this new role
Learnings and tips that I found very useful
A sense of what being a people manager is really like
Highlighting a potential manager inside of you
about
Slide 3
Slide 3 text
How to become a better leader
A foolproof framework for deciding what to do in your career
Pictures of people playing golf dressed in expensive suits
In fact, there are 0 pictures for both
What this talk is about
NOT
Slide 4
Slide 4 text
History
Slide 5
Slide 5 text
No content
Slide 6
Slide 6 text
A dangerous recipe
! (" # $) ! + % & = ' '
Tensions between team members
Complete lack of help from upper management
Two people walked away
Slide 7
Slide 7 text
What did I do?
Facilitated meetings
Talked with individuals
Kept management and HR in the loop
“You have a way with people, did you know that?”
Slide 8
Slide 8 text
People? Leadership? Where?
Team lead
Grow the team from 2 to 8-10
Fresh start
Slide 9
Slide 9 text
What is a Lead
Slide 10
Slide 10 text
[People | Tech] Lead
People lead Tech lead
Team growth, development
and stability
Platform growth, development
and stability
Plans the team dynamics
according to the company’s needs
Translates company’s needs into
technical roadmaps
Is accountable for everything
team-related
Is accountable for everything
platform-related
Slide 11
Slide 11 text
[People & Tech] Lead
It Depends™ )
↳ Align on expectations *
Read about it! +
bit.ly/people-vs-tech-lead
People Lead
Slide 12
Slide 12 text
People Lead
bit.ly/microsoft-EM
Slide 13
Slide 13 text
People Lead
bit.ly/microsoft-EM
Slide 14
Slide 14 text
A simple test
1. What do you care more about, people or technology?
2. What is your definition of lead?
3. What are your thoughts on shipping towards a deadline?
4. Two teammates are arguing over a technical decision, what do you do?
bit.ly/identifying-ems
Slide 15
Slide 15 text
Leading a team
Slide 16
Slide 16 text
Leading a team
Creating a new team
from scratch
Joining an existing team
Slide 17
Slide 17 text
Starting from scratch
%
- .
Leader… of yourself!
Syncing with
other teams
Coding is inversely proportional
to the team’s growth
,!
Hiring, hiring, hiring
Slide 18
Slide 18 text
Starting from scratch
Hire people based on affinity
Not overwhelming (but still stressful)
↳ Prepare the ground for who’s coming
Slide 19
Slide 19 text
Leading an existing team
You didn’t choose the people
Existing dynamics
Being accepted as their new leader
Slide 20
Slide 20 text
Bonding with teammates even before starting
Meet the team during the interview process
Go to meetups or events
Being accepted as a leader
Slide 21
Slide 21 text
Bonding with teammates even before starting
Building trust
Share your story
Listen to their needs, try to act upon them
Being accepted as a leader
Slide 22
Slide 22 text
Bonding with teammates even before starting
Building trust
Being “one of the team”
Don’t tell them what to do
Decide together how to tackle problems
Being accepted as a leader
Slide 23
Slide 23 text
You are not there to boss them around,
you’re there to facilitate their growth
Slide 24
Slide 24 text
Leadership style
“I don’t know”
Rely on the team
Be fair and transparent
Ask questions more than giving answers
Slide 25
Slide 25 text
Hard conversations
Part of the job
Adhering to your principles
“How should I solve this problem?”
Slide 26
Slide 26 text
The manager
who codes
Slide 27
Slide 27 text
bit.ly/wrong-question
Instead of asking
“How much code should I write?”
ask
“Where can I write code?”
Slide 28
Slide 28 text
A manager who DOESN’T code
Less likely to develop empathy towards direct reports
Less likely to be trusted by direct reports
Loses touch with what happens in “the trenches”
Is probably not interested that much in that technology
Slide 29
Slide 29 text
Didn’t want to stop coding !
30% time on hands-on operations /
Adapt to the team’s current needs 0
A manager who codes is not a myth, it’s just difficult to get right!
“Never gonna give you up”
Slide 30
Slide 30 text
Constraints
You must not block the team
↳ Your priorities shift
↳ You mostly won’t have uninterrupted working sessions
You’re not a tech lead, but you still want to know how people are doing
Slide 31
Slide 31 text
The “Foundation” team 1
Not cross-functional (Android only)
Horizontal scope over the entire codebase
Not time sensitive
Doesn’t block other teams
Slide 32
Slide 32 text
It can only last so long
Reviewing PRs 2
Fixing small bugs 3
Side projects 4
Slide 33
Slide 33 text
Responsibilities
a.k.a.
what the @#^%$ do you do all day?!
Slide 34
Slide 34 text
Leading the team at Blinkist
Hiring ,
Team wellbeing (1:1s, events, rituals) 5
Career growth 6
Salaries 7
Strategic planning 8
Slide 35
Slide 35 text
Career growth
How did I become a senior?
Mentoring
Facilitating the goal setting process
Slide 36
Slide 36 text
A regular day
… Yes, there are meetings 9
… No, not many emails :
… Sure, plenty of documenting ;
… Uhm, a few presentations every once in a while, yeah -
Slide 37
Slide 37 text
Conclusions
Slide 38
Slide 38 text
References
Radical Candor — bit.ly/radical-candor-book
Managing humans — bit.ly/managing-humans-goodreads
The Engineer/Manager Pendulum — bit.ly/em-pendulum
The pendulum or the ladder — bit.ly/em-pendulum-ladder