Panel: Becoming an engineering leader

by Shay Howe, Rebecca Miller-Webster, Neha Batra, and Abel Martin

The video titled "Panel: Becoming an engineering leader" features a discussion among leaders in software engineering at RailsConf 2017. The panelists include Rebecca Miller-Webster, Neha Batra, Abel Martin, and Shay Howe, who explore the nuances of leadership in the engineering field, addressing both official managers and individual contributors.

Key Points Discussed:

Leadership vs. Management: Panelists emphasized that leadership is not confined to titles; anyone can lead in their role, regardless of being an official manager. Leadership can come from influence and initiative rather than formal authority.
Learning from Experience: Panelists shared personal experiences about their journeys into leadership, noting that both positive and negative influences shaped their perspectives. For instance, Abel highlighted the impact of both good and bad managers on his approach to leadership.
Failure in Leadership: A significant point made is the acceptance of failure as a critical part of growth. Acknowledging that failure is okay can alleviate the pressure on emerging leaders and foster resilience.
Linking Work to Business Value: Neha discussed the importance of understanding how one's contributions impact overall business goals, which is crucial for both individual contributors and leaders.
Communication and Trust: Effective communication is paramount when managing up and establishing relationships with one's manager. Regular one-on-ones and open dialogues can foster trust and clarity.
Coaching and Mentoring: Panelists differentiated between coaching, mentorship, and management. They advocated for integrating these roles to nurture team development effectively.
Transitioning from Coding to Management: The panel addressed the challenges of shifting from a coding role to a managerial position, advising that self-awareness about the demands of management is crucial for successful transitions.
Continuous Emotional Investment: Leadership requires ongoing emotional effort, and encouragement must be consistent. Clarity in expectations plays a vital role in these interactions.
Recommended Resources: Panelists offered books like "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni and "The Hard Thing About Hard Things" by Ben Horowitz as valuable for leadership development.

Conclusions and Takeaways:
- The discussions underscored that effective leadership engenders trust, encourages open communication, and focuses on managing oneself and the team. Engaging with others for guidance, networking, and continuing education is essential for those aspiring to become better leaders. The session encourages individuals to see leadership as a core competency that can be developed and embraced by anyone in the organization, regardless of their formal title.

00:00:11.719 Hi, welcome everyone to the end of this track. Closing out our Leading at All Levels track is going to be this amazing panel on becoming an engineering leader. I also wanted to remind everyone that we are hosting a Leadership Birds of a Feather event tomorrow at 1:50 PM, which is on the board.

00:00:23.640 If you want to continue discussing leadership and being a leader, regardless of your title, definitely come and chat with us tomorrow at the Birds of a Feather session.

00:00:35.100 Rebecca Miller-Webster is a software engineer, conference organizer, and educator. She is the founder of Write/Speak/Code and serves as the practice lead at Desmond. Rebecca has been developing software professionally for over a dozen years, and she previously organized GoRuCo. Her interests include drinking diet coke, wearing trousers, telling computers what to do, giving hugs, and swearing.

00:01:01.530 Hi, welcome! I'd like to start with a little audience participation. How many people in the audience are officially managers? A good number? How many of you have a manager? Cool. So, anyone here does not have a manager? A couple of people.

00:01:14.460 One company does not have a manager, sort of. When I was thinking about this panel, I intentionally used the term "leader" rather than "manager" because I believe there are opportunities for all of us to lead, regardless of our position. As someone who has been a manager, I think that we are often better at giving advice to people who are just below us.

00:01:42.420 So, I wanted to have a range of experiences and official titles represented. I've asked everyone to introduce themselves and share their background regarding their current leadership roles, their history with leadership, and a few influential people in their lives.

00:02:17.530 Hi, I'm Neha. I'm a software engineer at Pivotal, and I am an individual contributor. I'm not a manager yet, but I am interested in leadership. I lead a few initiatives at Pivotal and I am also a board member at Write/Speak/Code. One of my key influences has been my work with Write/Speak/Code, which inspired me to become a board member. Numerous blog posts I’ve read and several individuals I look up to have significantly influenced my decisions and approach.

00:02:43.270 My name is Abel Martin, and I am a lead software engineer at Uptoro. We're hiring, like everyone else! This is actually my third lead developer position, having had two other ones before. My influences have varied: I've had both very good and very bad managers, which have helped shape my perspective on leadership. My mother, who raised me as a single parent, and my wife, who shares parenting responsibilities with me, have also been significant influences in my perspective on leadership.

00:03:15.690 What is something that you wish someone had taught you, or given you a heads-up about, when it comes to leadership? I’ll start. It took me a long time to realize that I didn’t have to be a manager to lead. It’s ironic, considering I’m on this panel, but people told me this repeatedly without me fully grasping its meaning. It didn’t hit me until I applied to be a manager for the first time and realized I was waiting for approval to do what I wanted.

00:05:06.940 It would have been beneficial to understand earlier that it’s okay to fail. When I stepped into leadership and management roles, I set high expectations for myself and tried to avoid making mistakes, but this only led to mistakes and poor decision-making. What defines us as leaders is our ability to respond to failure, rather than avoid it altogether. If someone had told me, "You’re going to fail, and that’s completely fine," it would have made a huge difference.

00:06:33.430 I wish someone had emphasized the importance of explicitly understanding how our individual contributions tie to the overall bottom line. As an individual contributor, I excelled at delivering code and meeting deadlines, but often failed to connect my work back to the business value I was delivering. Now, as a leader, I understand I need to focus on that linkage to be effective.

00:07:10.240 We’ve been discussing the differences between leadership and management, and they also relate to coaching and mentoring. I see coaching as an explicit, interactive relationship where the teacher actively tries to instill certain principles, whereas management entails visibility on high-level activities. In contrast, I view leadership as being ‘in the fray’ with your team, actively participating in problem-solving and getting things done.

00:08:11.830 Coaching can happen day by day, while mentorship is a more formalized relationship. You may have regular meetings with a mentor or not, and it’s complimentary but separate from management. Ideally, to be effective, a manager can be a leader, coach, teacher, and mentor, adapting to the needs of the team.

00:10:11.240 When it comes to managing up—how do you manage your own manager or others above them? The key is communication. Setting and resetting expectations is crucial, providing visibility and clarity about ongoing work. If you communicate effectively, you give your manager the tools they need to have a clear picture of project progress, delays, or roadblocks.

00:11:04.270 As an individual contributor with a manager, managing up is about establishing a partnership. I regularly schedule one-on-ones with my manager and come prepared with an agenda to discuss accomplishments, future initiatives, and questions. It’s about making sure my manager understands the ground realities and the feedback I receive from my peers.

00:12:50.580 When it comes to relationships with managers, I emphasize the importance of being proactive. Building trust takes time, so I start small, gradually increasing the scope of responsibility. This way, when larger challenges arise, there’s an existing foundation of trust. Communication, especially in nurturing that trust, is critical.

00:14:48.760 If there aren’t questions from the audience, I have a few more. As a manager, how do you recognize talent when individuals come from non-traditional backgrounds? My approach is to engage closely with team members, holding regular one-on-ones to understand their thought processes and emotions. Their performance is relative to their growth.

00:15:49.530 To advocate for yourself as a contributor, I suggest creating a skills matrix and having an open conversation with your manager about where you stand. This means discussing the areas where you think you excel and the skills that may not yet be recognized in your career path. It’s essential to ensure that these discussions are tied back to what the business values.

00:18:22.640 Establish clear expectations about success criteria, timeframes, and provide the necessary resources. Regular check-ins bolster this process. Engaging in open dialogue about the contribution at both the team and company levels supports visibility and recognition.

00:19:59.090 Emotional intelligence plays a significant role in navigating struggles within a team. Leaders must maintain their compassion while effectively fulfilling their managerial roles. A recommendation from a leadership coach could involve setting clear expectations and success criteria, which helps everyone on the team understand their roles and contributions better.

00:21:49.050 In light of time, I want to address the resources that have been invaluable in leadership development. Start with books like "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni, and "The Hard Thing About Hard Things" by Ben Horowitz. Networking can also be a course for growth, engaging with people outside your specific line of work can influence your managerial approach positively.

00:23:50.150 Lastly, when discussing managing up, remember to adjust your process to adapt to those around you. This may mean recognizing that how you wish to manage might not align with others' needs, and being open to flexing to meet those expectations provides a comprehensive leadership experience.

00:25:02.150 All these discussions ultimately stress that managing is a continuous emotional effort. Encouragement and support must be constant, and effective communication is foundational in leadership. To navigate complex conversations, being clear and directive about expectations ensures all parties understand the point of view.

00:25:56.660 Time is running short, and I'd like to open the floor to any lingering questions. One topic that consistently seems to emerge is how to gracefully exit coding while transitioning into management.

00:28:00.640 It can be tricky, as the complexity of managerial responsibilities often leaves little time for coding. The transition should occur sooner rather than later, particularly when individual contributions begin to hinder team productivity. Establishing self-awareness and recognizing the need to prioritize management might be a challenge but valuable for team dynamics.

00:30:14.340 Finally, there’s a wealth of resources available, including personal connections and literature that supports growth in leadership. Seek guidance, collaboration, and mentorship as means to encourage an environment where you can thrive as both an individual contributor and a leader. Thank you for participating in this session!