Author, public speaker, and coach for managers and leaders across the tech industry.
Blog Posts
Advice for a new executive
When I was getting ready to join Kickstarter as VP of Engineering, Chad Dickerson (who was the CEO of Etsy when I worked there) offered to send me a bunch of advice. Chad had been a CTO multiple times before being CEO; he knew that this executive-level role was brand new to me, so he offered to help give me a steer and a foundation as I walked into this totally new territory. read more
Acknowledging When You Mess Up
We all mess up sometimes. read more
Week in Review Leadership Comms
As an Engineering Director at Etsy and VP of Engineering at Kickstarter, I sent a “Week in Review” document every two-ish weeks to my whole team. This doc helped me set records straight, disseminate info to lots of people at once, and open up conversation internally, while reflecting on the themes that had come up in weekly one-on-ones, backchannels, team meetings, etc. read more
Tips for Hiring Managers
This post originally appeared on Making Meetup read more
Feedback Equation
As I mention in my book Demystifying Public Speaking, humans are mostly bad at giving feedback. We’re also really bad at preparing ourselves to receive feedback. read more
Leadership Style Colors
Search for “leadership styles” on Google, and you’ll find lots of different articles describing the various types and numbers of leadership styles. Here are some examples of articles that say there are five, six, seven, eight, nine, and twelve leadership styles. read more
How to Facilitate a Working Group Meeting
This is where the magic happens. After you’ve laid all the ground work for organizing a working group (define ground rules, choose and invite attendees, plan your agenda arc, and communicate broadly), here’s what to do when you finally get your participants in the room together. read more
How to Organize a Working Group
I’ve been running a lot of working groups as part of my consulting practice, leveling up product and engineering organizations. read more
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