trivial tweakers
“Impact When people realize the true impact of their work, they’re more engaged, innovative, and productive. Research shows that working on significant tasks can have a positive impact on job performance. When people know that their work matters, it creates momentum; people feel valued when their work is recognized. "
from “Leading Effective Engineering Teams”
“Replace blame with curiosity Instead of assigning blame when mistakes occur or something goes wrong, managers should cultivate a culture of curiosity. They can encourage team members to explore the underlying reasons, contributing factors, and lessons learned from a situation. This shift in mindset from blame to curiosity helps create an environment where mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth and learning rather than reasons for punishment or shame”
from “Leading Effective Engineering Teams”
“empowers their team to do excellent work by giving them space to make decisions and solve problems independently. Empowerment without micromanagement is key”
from “Leading Effective Engineering Teams”
“Good coaches are patient, empathetic, and supportive”
from “Leading Effective Engineering Teams”
“Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, famously said, “Day 2 companies make high-quality decisions, but they make high-quality decisions slowly. To keep the energy and dynamism of Day 1, you have to somehow make high-quality, high-velocity decisions”
from “Leading Effective Engineering Teams”
“Your team is genuinely self-sufficient when it can solve problems without you present”
from “Leading Effective Engineering Teams”
“You have coached your team to self-sufficiency, and you can safely let go of the reins to move on to the next challenge”
from “Leading Effective Engineering Teams”
You will often have to make trade-offs between different goals. For example, you may have to choose between a quick and easy solution to implement and one that is more effective but takes more time and effort
Mentoring and developing leaders Recognizing the potential in her team, Cathy started investing time in mentoring her direct reports, preparing them to take on more leadership responsibilities
Fostering a culture of autonomy Cathy started to cultivate a culture where her team members felt empowered to make decisions within their domain. This shift not only reduced her workload but also boosted her team’s confidence and sense of ownership.
“20-minute rule to his team: “If you are blocked, use the first 20 minutes to do research to unblock yourself; after that, either ask our team chat or a person and let them know of the results/findings of the prior research.””
from “Leading Effective Engineering Teams”
Many software companies have switched to an open office environment to promote collaboration between engineers. But the constant noise from phone calls, impromptu meetings, and general office chatter may not always result in productive collaboration. Therefore, it is also important to create designated quiet zones where engineers can focus in isolation for some time without any distractions.
Diversity Having diverse skills on a software engineering team can improve its effectiveness and productivity. Team members with different backgrounds and expertise can approach problems from multiple angles and develop more creative solutions. However, too much diversity can also lead to communication difficulties and misunderstandings, especially when team members bring different values rather than different ideas to a discussion
Many researchers have identified smaller teams containing less than 10 members as more likely to achieve success than larger teams.
Software engineers have a clear high-level purpose: to build software that solves problems that customers would pay to have solved. Engineers must think about what matters most and the impact their software will have.
Build a culture of adaptability Foster a culture that values adaptability and embraces change. Encourage experimentation and risk-taking, and reward teams for being responsive to changing circumstances and customer needs.