Anyone who’s had to coach a new leader or a manager can probably relate. Delegation is the primary thing I’ve seen new leaders struggle with. The good thing is, most everyone is aware of their struggle with this. The unfortunate thing is, hardly anyone has an answer to how it might work. I’ve struggled with…
Category: Engineering Management
Why It’s Important To Manage Your Boss
If it hasn’t been very clear from my other posts, I just want to say it again. I’ve spent a substantial part of my career as, yes, a middle manager. It’s a role that gets a lot of flak and ridicule. It reeks of bureaucracy. To be clear, I’m currently in a flatter organization, which…
Do Construction Metaphors Still Work For Software?
It’s common to illustrate the software development process in parallels with how the construction world works. It is a discipline of “engineering” after all, and what’s a better known field of “engineering” than constructing a building or a house. Unfortunately, while a lot of it is helpful to put things into perspective, it also causes…
Closing The Loop: Processes
To most, “closing the feedback loop” may sound like nothing more than management jargon. As a matter of fact, it is. But behind every management buzzword, there usually lies a simple truth that we could benefit from paying a little attention to. This is the second of a series of articles related to feedback loops and…
A Safe Environment for Feedback
Creating safety is an active effort. When your team, colleagues, and peers are unwilling to give you feedback, it’s probably you, not them.
The Anarchy-Bureaucracy Spectrum
Here are a few quick questions to think about – do you know what you’re supposed to achieve in your organization? Do you know what the people you work with do? Do you feel you and your colleagues have enough information to do what’s expected? And do you feel safe making decisions towards your goals?…