Author, public speaker, and coach for managers and leaders across the tech industry.
Blog Posts
Topics: management, giving presentations, inclusion
Popular posts: First 1:1 Questions, Advice for a new executive, Being a manager in terrible times
Actively listening
Hey, manager! read more
Roleplaying Difficult Conversations
As a manager, I had no idea how to handle my first disruptive teammate. The work environment was becoming less and less psychologically safe; the rest of the team had started to work from home more to avoid being yelled at by her. But she rarely acted out when I was around, so I found myself struggling to give this teammate feedback. read more
It's performance review season!
Ah, performance reviews. The season that eats up most managers’ spare time as they collect and synthesize feedback from others. The season that ramps up anxiety in teammates as they wait to hear what’s been said about them, and whether or not they’re gonna get that promotion. It’s both draining and tedious, and tremendously important. read more
Improving Cross-Functional Relationships
Right after the new year began, I started to hear this question from a bunch of my coaching and workshop clients. Whether they were thinking about roles in product, engineering, design, project management, or another business function, it seems to be the season to tackle the fault lines between peer leaders across functions. read more
Tools for Introspection
As you wrap up the year, and as you reflect on your role as a manager or leader, I encourage you to develop a one-line leadership philosophy that you can share with your mouthwords in the new year. read more
Coaching Reflections
In my full-day workshop for managers, I lead participants through a series of exercises to become better mentors and coaches for their direct reports. read more
Fairness and management
I’ve been thinking a ton about fairness since I came across this HBR article: “Research: When Managers Are Overworked, They Treat Employees Less Fairly” read more
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
Subscribe via RSS