As a manager, it's important for my team as well as my peers to know what I value, what I expect of them, and what they can expect of me. I'm writing this document to define my philosophy, set clear expectations, and emphasize my values. I expect to change this document over time, and I welcome feedback on how I can make it clearer and more valuable.
There is no end to how good we can be as long as we always strive to improve.
I believe we're all similarly capable. Progress can sometimes feel slow and hard, but if we believe in the idea of progress and commit to being open to learning and improving, we can all get better and better. As a team, a safe space to acknowledge mistakes, talk openly about where we're falling short, and brainstorming ideas, all and any ideas, about how we can improve is critical to me. I want everybody to feel safe to be curious, creative, and expressive, and personal judgements to have no place in my team.
Curiosity: I want to learn more and dig deeper. I believe curiousity is crucial to improving. It's through curiousity that insights come about and ideas are born. Insights and ideas are very important in this fast-paced age where we have to be nimble and innovative.
Continuous Improvement: As my philosophy makes clear, I believe there's always more to do. Building teams that build great products that solve significant challenges is like politics. You can't satisfy everybody. There will always be some people who wish things were different. I believe we can always do more to help more people, from the small improvements to the pie in the sky ideas.
Transparency: Psychological safety requires transparency. I value openness and clarity whenever possible because as humans it's important for us to feel like we know where we stand and that we're not being left out of something important. Not everything has to be disclosed, but surprises should be limited to truly necessary cases. And to me, transparency runs across everything, from the data we work with to the software we produce to the hardware we run on to the challenges we face to the wins we make.
I've learned a lot about my personality through others, especially my spouse. I know I'm perceived as a very nice person who can sometimes be a little cold and who's hard to annoy or frustrate. I smile a lot and it can sometimes be interpreted as if all is alright. It's something I'm working on changing because the truth is that I often mask stress or frustration with a smile and a happy facial expression.
For some reason (maybe my upbringing), I sometimes get internally mad when I believe that very talented people don't take full advantage of the opportunities they have at hand. Something in me tells me I'm right to feel that way in the moment, but after the emotions go away my rational self tells me that it's wrong to want people to do what I'd want for them. If that ever comes across in working with me, know that I have no bad intent nor mean any judgement, and that I strongly support the idea that people should choose the pace at which they want to lead their lives without judgement.
I encourage you to let me know if you notice other personality quirks of which I should be aware so I can document.
TL;DR: I'm here to help our team perform the best it can on behalf of our customers (internal and external) and the organization. Obviously, there's a lot more to that, so here are some highlights:
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As a manager first, I'm here to help you do your best work possible, grow your skills and talents, find meaning in the work you do every day, and believe in the mission of the organization. If I do this well, then the organization and its customers stand to benefit.
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I'm also here to ensure that the team is aligned with the priorities of the organization and building the capabilities that will enable it to continue to be more aligned over time. This means working with my immediate peers as well as stakeholders to understand the organization's direction and determine the most important work that will help make the biggest difference today without compromising tomorrow.
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I'm also here to protect the team and help get the resources it needs. That means negotiating with other teams who depend on us to balance our priorities against their needs, but also making sure that the team is equipped to do its work and can tap into other teams who can support the work we must do.
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I'm here to be an ally in your ideas and initiatives, to be a partner with peers from other disciplines (design, product, project, support), and to help build bridges to what's going on in the organization culturally.
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Finally, I'm here to help you change the world. I'm not here to impose anything (though sometimes that might be necessary for the greater good) nor to be dreaded. I'm really just here to help us be the best performing team we can possibly be.
Every manager has some basic expectations, and mine aren't any different:
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I expect you to do the work your job requires you to do, to collaborate with others on the team and across the organization, and to protect the organization's interests;
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I expect you to be accountable and communicate risks and/or problems as soon as they arise, regardless of their nature;
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I expect you to be present most of the time, especially at key scrum meetings like standups, groomings, retrospectives, and sprint plannings; and
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I expect you to be authentic and respectful to others on the team and the organization.
Additionally, I ask that you:
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Aim to be aligned with the team's OKRs and swarm with others to achieve the objectives we set out for ourselves, no matter how challenging, uninteresting, or unfamiliar the work required is;
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Provide me with regular feedback on how I'm doing and what else I can do to help you do your job more effectively;
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Create a learning plan each year and commit to completing it (as a way to grow your skills);
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Take time to think about your career objectives and work with me in defining exploratory options and specific goals that will help you get where you want to go; and
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Participate in the team's decision-making and norming processes, as well as the organization's efforts to develop its culture.
Feedback is crucial to improving. Without it, we don't know where we might be falling short or what we may be doing very well. It's important that we give each other feedback.
Feedback is also very difficult to give and to receive, especially when it's meant to be constructive. It's a challenge to fight our human instict to become defensive or try to get out when the feedback isn't positive. I want you to know that I see most feedback as positive.
In receiving feedback, I ask that you:
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Make it clear to me how you want to receive feedback. Do you want feedback during 1:1s, by email or Slack, or through some other medium;
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Take positive feedback as a sign that you're doing well, but also as an opportunity to continue to improve and try out new tactics and ideas that can help you grow and do even better; and
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Be curious and open when receiving constructive feedback, asking for further clarification or exploration when you don't see the connection but always keeping in mind the north star value of continuous improvement.
We will have bi-weekly one-on-one meetings to check-in. This is an opportunity to give each other feedback, but I also use this opportunity to discuss career and learning plans, share context about decisions made by the organization's leaders, talk about challenges and ideate on how we can address them, and more.
I want you to also use this time as an opportunity to bring up any concerns you have or conflicts you may be experiencing, resources you may need to better do your job, and anything else that's in your mind. This is a safe space to talk about anything that can help you do your job better.
Finally, know that this regularly scheduled time doesn't mean you can't pull me aside to talk about something at other times. This is just a formal time where we can talk, but I want you to pull me aside to talk about everything and anything at any time. Don't feel beholden to this time to bring something up.
I want to be as available as possible. Some days my schedule may be pretty full, but in general I'm willing to shift things around if you need me. So stop by to chat when I'm not in a meeting, Slack me, email me, schedule some time on the calendar, or call/text me.
If I'm not around and you reach out, know that I will get back to you as soon as I can. In person is always best for me and it's what I prefer, but I will always try to respect your preference and be available through other channels.
I love the outdoors and always enjoy physical activity (basketball, swimming, lifting, and running come to mind). I like traveling and exploring new places/things locally with my spouse, reading during my commute, playing and walking w/ my dogs, writing regularly on my personal blog and a blog I run about Union City, NJ (where I live), and hanging out with friends/meeting new people.
My original academic training is in sustainability, and I was a climate activist/organizer during my college years. More recently, I've become a lot more interested in social justice issues, especially around gender, race, and income inequality. I think/read/write a lot around these issues, and they're always a topic of discussion between my spouse and I.