A critical step in managing a professional relationship is setting clear expectations from the outset. Whenever I begin a new reporting relationship, one of the first things I do is start a conversation about exactly that. As an employee, I want to know what exactly what I need to deliver…
So yeah, you're 80 minutes into an hour-long meeting. The team is trying to settle on the design for their next project. There are two different proposals on the table, and each has someone quite senior advocating for it. Perhaps there are factions, with team members clearly siding with one…
As a manager, or anyone responsible for a team, you have to be worried about continuity. An unexpected departure will always slow a team down, but when it happens, it's up to the manager to respond quickly with a compensating adjustment, lest the team be hobbled for a lengthy period.…
Making the leap from individual contributor to management is challenging in the best of circumstances. When I made the transition myself, I honestly felt like I was starting over in my career. I suddenly needed a completely different set of skills to deal with a new set of challenges. It…
As a management technique, the 1:1 meeting is a classic, a cornerstone of building and maintaining a good relationship with the people who work for and with you. But strong professional relationships don't "just happen"; making sure the 1:1 is time well-spent involves both steering the conversation in…
"How do I get promoted?" as a software developer can be a tricky question, and the answer is often highly dependent on where you work. Each organization has its own processes, and especially at higher levels, budget and politics can often (unfortunately) come into play. But if we consider the…
Consider the plight of this hypothetical employee: for years, they have worked for the same employer, and for most of that time they have been tasked with operating and maintaining an important, if unloved, system. Perhaps that system is necessary for compliance, or maybe customer support, but certainly not a…
Failure is, of course, the greatest teacher. In reflecting on my "difficult year, professionally" that followed Being Acquired, I found it valuable to walk through my struggles during that period, and consider how I might have proceeded more effectively. The Same, But DifferentOne interesting aspect of the acquisition in question…
A sudden, unasked-for job search can really make you question the direction of your whole working life. It's like having to re-answer the "so what are you going to do after you graduate?" question all over again. But this doesn't have to be a bad thing. As you've been working,…
I've been part of companies that were acquired a couple of times now. Every acquisition is different, but for those who are chosen to continue the journey with the new company, there are common pitfalls – ones I wish I'd known to avoid. After my first acquistion, I had, honestly, a…