I’ve been a people manager at top tech companies and startups for some time and I’ve (hopefully) picked up a few tips and tricks along the way. Ask me anything!
How do you ascertain who is saying the truth when you hear conflicting stuff? One way is to put the parties face to face, but that's hardly ever possible.
If you were at top tech companies why do you work for Credit Karma?
Credit Karma is a profitable company and I wouldn’t be surprised they go IPO this year or next. Depending on when OP joined, credit karma has good upside.
Ask all your relatives at your next gathering if they’ve ever heard of Credit Karma. Then you will know. Additionally, there is no other Fintech company like us. I love working here.
What has kept you from moving to a director role?
I don’t understand your question
It sounds like you have been in lower management for a while. Is that because you just enjoy working with ICs, or is there another reason you haven't "moved up" on the ladder
What’s the best and hardest parts about your job?
Best: seeing people grow and the feeling of being part of a team. Worst: managing a lot of different expectations from a lot of different pressure points that takes your time away from the best parts of a being manager.
How do you determine how to pay the engineers?
Many will make more than me. Most salaries these days are pretty constrained by levels.
How do you make 1-1s effective. Sometimes people don’t want to talk much. How do you make sure you are able to connect to each team member.
OK Akamai don’t freak out ... but I think you need to actually sit with folks you manage in 1-1s that last more than an hour. It’s not until the 30 min mark has passed that our talk gets real. Also, they should own the agenda. Make it clear this is their meeting for their benefit and to come with something to talk about. Be open. Worse comes to worse ask a lot of questions that cannot be answered by yes/no, like ... “tell me about something last week that make you really happy to be here and one thing that really frustrated you.” Then be silent until they answer. And once they start talking, listen. Pay attention to your body language. Be open. To me, a really successful 1-1 is about establishing an emotional connection and a safe space to unload, explore, vent, man up, whatever the day calls for. If your direct manager isn’t on your side, who is?
1. How do you communicate strategy and help your team to see the big picture? 2. How do you build trust with domain experts who see things that you don't (and it may not occur to you to ask right kind of questions)?
1. Strategy: only works if you repeat it endlessly. Strategy is the WHY. It should be a part of every conversation large or small. If a direct report ever comes to you and says...why are we doing this? It’s your fault. You, as a manager, are responsible for connecting these very dots. Now if you need more help connecting these dots (as we all do sometimes), insist your manager direct your group directly and candidly on this topic. 2) the biggest way to build trust with domain experts is a.) to cede projects and ownership to areas where their expertise makes a strategic difference and b.) create opportunities for them to learn more. Remember, the way they got to be a domain expert is their appetite for knowledge. Feed that and have a loyal teammate for life.
This assumes the manager is able to recognise the expertise AND understands enough to position the experts for success. What tips would you have for managers to get there?
How do you respond to team mates backstabbing each other? How do you deal with conflicts where a senior engineer is trying to throw junior engineer under the bus? - On behalf of Amazonians 😉
1) Same team? Not to be too dramatic, but you may have to eventually let the toxic instigator go. Would not stand for this for too long. If you think someone isn’t pulling their weight? Here’s how we deal with it. Conflict of personality? Here are the tools to make it manageable. Still want to shit talk? Peace out. The standard to hold is simple adult civility and a can-do attitude between the hours of 9-6. If you can’t meet this bar, I have very little patience. 1.a) If you are not the manager and you are an innocent party (and I don’t care the work culture) then I’d say make eliminating toxic energy your manager’s job. That’s why they get paid more. 2.) This may or may or may not be a harder question (or maybe the same question as above?!) but I think ultimately if the senior person sees themselves as someone who was once junior and very bewildered themselves they should be open to feedback that throwing anyone under the bus is a fairly shitty way to navigate conflict. But ultimately if altruism and coaching won’t help senior person get to a better place separate them and be very candid with the more senior person why and how you think they missed out on a chance to share their expertise.
What separates a good team from a great team? What are some books you recommend on leadership? What are some failures you experienced as a leader and how did you learn from it?
Good team = technically proficient. Great team = that + lot of interpersonal respect within team and visible influence on the outcome of teams with which you collaborate (i.e. people want to work with you) Books? The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.
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How do you make a high performing team?
It all starts with hiring. If you don’t have the luxury of hiring your own team, though, remember that trust comes before competence. If no one trusts you they will never think you are competent. So, if you inherit a team, focus on trust.
How do you go about establishing trust? Like you join a new team ; you jump into the details and help the team solve their issues .. that can establish technical trust. What other fronts do you need to keep track of.