I wrote this when I was a team lead and haven’t updated it in a while
As your manager I see my primary goal as giving you the freedom and space to be the best that you can be; to reach that coding sweet spot as often as possible; to create great work.
I try to do this by protecting you from external factors, improving workflows, spotting how we can change procedures to make life easier. Just because something has always been done like that doesn’t mean that it always should. Let’s change the world together.
Tell me where I am going wrong!
Bring me ideas that you have on how to improve things (anything!) and we’ll see if we can make them reality.
Talk often. Collaborate. Raise problems early and often.
I will arrange a fortnightly 1-2-1 with direct report and somewhere between 4 and 8 weeks for indirect reports. If this isn’t enough then we will make it more often.
I like to start off with that cadence and see how we go. If we are in the same building, I will try to catch up with you once in the morning. If I forget to catch up with quick conversations and you need to chat, just reach out.
I am never too busy for you.
I may look busy and I may have to dash off to a meeting or two, but my staff are more important than anything. I will find a way to make time for you.
1-2-1s are an opportunity for us to talk about anything. They are your opportunity to block out some time with me. Some people like to talk about everything - the weather, what they got up to at the weekend, their hobbies and interests - and some people like to focus on work.
But 1-2-1s are not status reports, so let’s use the time effectively.
Likewise, in general team meetings, we won’t discuss statuses and progress, but we will discuss anything that the team thinks important. There will be an agenda online that the team can add items to.
Team meetings are yours: your time, your topics, your ideas. Let’s make the most of them.
As a team we collaborate on all things. But the buck stops with me. I will be responsible for the decisions the teams make, even if I’m often not the one making them.
I will always use “we” when describing work to other people that the team has done. This goes for good and bad: I will never blame an individual or take credit for something myself. Everything we do, we do together. Yes, Annabel might have done all the coding for that project, but Burt made some great changes to our tooling the month before that made certain features possible and Christine took on two other pedestrian projects to give Annabel the time and space to concentrate on it. A project is never just the work of one person - we climb together, we fall together.
I would prefer you to make the wrong decision for the right reason (I broke the project by trying to make the time to first paint 50% better) than making the right decision for the wrong reason (I managed to reduce the time to first paint 50% better by taking out all of this accessibility stuff).
I will often ask you your opinion if you are quiet in a meeting. This isn’t to put you on the spot or shame you, but to ensure we get everyone’s opinion.
If you don’t like this, tell me and we can see if there are other approaches that will work.
Attendance at stand ups is mandatory. Stand ups are sacrosanct: If you get another invite for a meeting that clashes with stand up then please decline it.
It’s only 15 minutes of your day. Please respect it and the rest of the team. In our hybrid working newNormal™, there will be other distractions going on, but please, please concentrate for those 15 minutes, otherwise standups are a pointless ritual rather than an energetic start to the day.
If you feel stand ups aren’t working, please raise it in our 1-2-1s or a team meeting.
You are responsible for your work. You are responsible for your deadlines.
If you don’t think you’re going to make your deadlines, or you think your work is going to be substandard, then let me, your PM or DM know as soon as possible.
I will move heaven and earth to ensure that you’ll be OK.
I sometimes work funny hours (starting early // finishing late // missing in middle of day // starting late // working weekends).
I do not expect you to do the same! If you want to read or reply out of hours then fine, but please don’t think I’m drumming my fingers on a surface, venting my spleen - I am just getting things out of my head so I can concentrate on relaxing in the evening or the weekend.
When you are ill, you are ill. Do not work, do not feel guilty, do pass Go and collect £200.
Everything is possible.
Or maybe “nothing is less important than work”
But don’t always see it. If I’m blind to something unfair and you see it, point it out to me even, or especially, if I’m the one at fault.
Mainly out of consideration towards others who may take offence. However, I have a potty mouth, so it comes out when I’m distracted or feeling comfortable with someone. If you hear me swear and don’t like it, please please tell me!
I sometimes feel like my head is going to explode with the amount of things in there that need to be done. Your things are in there. They’re just amongst other things. Please remind me from time to time if you feel I have forgotten your thing.
Which means I like showing off but will often need to go and find a cupboard to hide in afterwards.
No offence, but lunch is time for me to read a book, go for a walk and basically be left to my own thoughts so I can recharge. People are exhausting!
It won’t make much sense, but is often worth a google. Nice.
Not just me, you too! Show, don’t tell.
Far better.
Everyone is. You are no exception. You are exceptional. That’s why we hired you.
So I’ll ask you to explain it to me. It’s not a test.
And my favourite is code that reads like poetry. If we try and decipher someone else’s code together and I go too fast, please stop me. I just get excited.
The why is transferrable, the how is often not.
We can all learn from others’ mistakes
This means we try and ensure that we don’t make the same mistake twice (the name comes from black boxes in aeroplanes and means that even if you have a near miss you need to consider what lead up to the incident and what can be done about it). This requires trust, transparency and openness. It’s a beautiful thing when done right. See the section below on books for more information.
Like Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen, Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed, Start with Why by Simon Sinek, Nonviolent Communication by Rosenberg as well as fiction like the Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid and Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami. If you’ve read a great book, let me know!
I used to work in restaurants and was always shocked when people said they were bored. There was always something to do - do a deep clean of the bar shelves, research new cocktail recipes, organise the rota system better, polish some cutlery, the list was endless. No matter what job you are in, there is always something to do: If you genuinely can’t find anything to do in JIRA, then ask if anyone needs help!
Any decision we make, any idea we have is really only transitory. I am willing to throw it all in the bin if we have a better idea later on or if the idea just didn’t work out how we thought it might. Let’s not be afraid to fail.
But only considered risks. If the potential gain is 8% but the risk of failure is 10% that is worth doing. If the potential gain is 100% but the risk of failure is 90% then that is not worth doing. Sounds like a paradox but it’s just compound awesomeness. The improvement is the same over time, but your strike rate and employee happiness are off the chart.
Luckily it’s a transferable superpower. If the code you’re looking at seems logical, but the end result is illogical and you’ve been looking at it for a while, call me over and we’ll see if we can crack it together.
Problems suddenly solve themselves in the morning after your subconscious has had time to think about them. If you don’t have time for that, ask the team in person or on slack. Very rarely will you come up with a solution after getting stuck. It’s like writers’ block - you need a different perspective. Go for a walk, ask someone for help, but don’t keep struggling.
I keep a tidy inbox. The only things in there are actionable items. If you send me an email it will remain in my inbox until it is done or I have passed the buck.
I will reply very quickly even out of hours, but I will instantly forget what we discussed. I will know I talked to someone about the topic, but I won’t really remember it’s you. Please don’t take offence.
And never will if I don’t have your number stored in my contacts.
Text me instead.
A hug or a handshake, please. Or nothing. I blame my upbringing. But hugs are good, so I can’t be completely emotionally stunted.
My life outside of work is busy. I try and fit in swimming when I can, so may come in with weird eye markings. I am not in a fight club, my goggles are just too tight.