What Is This?
The aim of this living document is two-fold; the initial creation to help me refine my thoughts and values, and to help others understand me better and help us work together.
My Values
- Community - I believe we do our best work together. We all have strengths and weaknesses; helping each other overcome obstacles as a group can help us all to grow and become better people.
- Diversity - Our differences are what make us a powerful team; different ways of looking at problems, solutions, and the world in general. We are more successful as a group and as individuals with more diversity, and I'm keen to expand on and promote this wherever possible.
- Introspection - Learning about what we've done, being able to adapt, and constant, frequent improvement is key. This should spread into all parts of our work, especially when things go wrong. "A mistake, if shared, becomes a challenge; if hidden, becomes a failure."
- Fun - I like to have a laugh and enjoy what I do, and I really want everyone on the team to too. If there's something you enjoy doing, let me know, so we can try and work it into your everyday job.
- Sustainability - Mental health and wellbeing are very important to me, and it's key for us all to maintain a good work life balance. My aim is to make sure your work is varied and interesting as much as possible, however if you feel you're being burnt out, please talk to me so we can resolve.
What I'm Here For
The scope of my job includes, but is not limited to:
- Making sure you are successful at your job, and happy in it. I want you to be learning more things, growing your career, and enjoying your work.
- Aligning the team and the business goals. I want to allow you the autonomy to solve problems how you see fit, and ensure these are what is required within the business. Here's a little diagram from Spotify to explain.
- Making sure our team is getting what we need from other teams, and that other teams are getting what they need from us. I'm also here to help make sure we are working on the right things, which is not necessarily everything we're asked to do.
- I am here to do some coding that isn't YAML, if I'm super lucky...
My Availability
I am here to talk. I love talking. If you need to talk to me, please do, grab me at my desk, on Slack, on Discord, no need to wait for an allocated time. Please feel free to stick things in my calendar without asking (though do give me a nudge if you do). If it's full, give me a prod as I'll most likely be able to shuffle things around.
I choose to work from home once or twice a week (usually Monday and Friday), however this should not affect our working relationship. I will still be available for you regardless of my current location!
I work a bit on the weekends. This is my choice. I do not expect that you are going to work on the weekend. I might Slack you things, but unless the thing says URGENT, it can always wait until work begins for you on Monday.
My Assumptions
You are good at your job. You wouldn't be here if you weren't. When I question things it's most likely because I'm trying to gather context, or being a soundboard/rubber duck for your thinking.
I'm not good at your job. You know a lot more around the problem domain and the day to day challenges than I do. I'll work to provide and gain context, and will ask question to help vet your ideas, but you will decide on how work is done.
You will let me know if you're unable to do your job. My role is around setting you and the team up for success, however I may miss some things, let me know when I'm able to help you out.
1:1s
Each week there will be 30 minutes dedicated to a 1:1. This time is your time, if you want more, let me know before hand and we can extend. I may have some specific things to discuss with you, but mostly this is a soundbox for you to let me know how you are doing, where I can be helping more, any issues you're having, any training you might need, discuss career goals, etc.
I'll be sharing a Google Doc with each of you, so that you can access any notes from our conversations at any point. Let me know what works best for you; having a coffee out, private meeting, on a call, going for a walk, I'm happy to cater.
Feedback
My preference is towards continuous feedback, so that changes can be made quickly and often. If you have feedback for me, please provide it, whether it's something you liked and I should do more of, something I could do better, or anything and everything else. I can only act on the information I have, so I'd love to hear about what you think.
About Me
I am weighted towards verbal descriptions of problems and solutions. This may not work well with your own personal learning style, so let me know yours beforehand, so I can prepare something that works best for you.
I have very strong alignment with positive mental health and wellbeing at work. Please feel free to talk to me about anything around these subjects.
I have a strong preference towards pairing within a team. This also exists beyond the engineering team. Knowledge sharing across the company is important, as is understanding contexts of problems and solutions. Where possible I'll suggest pairing for portions of tickets and work, especially where there are knowledge gaps or potential training gains.
I'm an introvert, and have some social anxiety which can make it hard for me to feel comfortable in some scenarios. This usually affects me a lot more outside of work rather than inside. Please don't take it personally if I'm a little awkward in conversations, sometimes it takes me a while to feel comfortable.
I am good at starting things, but I often get distracted by the next new thing without completing other tasks. This is something I am aware of and I am trying to get better at.
I am passionate and opinionated to the point of annoyance, however this doesn't mean I'm right. Constantly challenge me and question anything I'm saying, I like to be proved wrong.
I find it hard to switch off. Weekends, evenings, and holidays, I may be on Slack replying to messages. Unless it's urgent, please tell me to go away. I need to be guided sometimes.
I swear, a lot. Apologies if this offends you, it's now quite ingrained in my vocabulary. This is another thing I'm trying to get better at.
Notes
This is my opinion of my own management style. I've never managed myself, so if any of the above seems counter to how you're experiencing my management, please let me know.