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Dev Leader
@devleader.ca

Good software engineers don't need feedback. This was one of the big things I had to unlearn early in my management career. Prior to Microsoft, I worked at a small company -- roughly 8 people when I started.

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Dev Leader
@devleader.ca

I became a manager a couple of months into my career fresh out of university. However, I was still responsible for being an individual contributor writing code AND managing engineering teams.

Dev Leader
@devleader.ca

I did that for roughly 8 years at that company. Fortunately for me, I had some amazing software engineers reporting to me during that time. I used to think that the awesome engineers that I had reporting to me didn't need feedback. They didn't need as much hands-on guidance or help because...

Dev Leader
@devleader.ca

- They're rockstars! - They're already doing good! - What the heck am I going to tell them to improve? It turns out: That's absolutely horrible advice.

Dev Leader
@devleader.ca

While it probably doesn't make sense for me to try and interfere -- which is often a poor strategy in general -- it still requires that I ensure top software engineers are engaged.

Safwan Parkar
@safwanyp.com

my biggest learning has to be that friction between my teammates and I is not necessarily a bad thing. the analogy a senior gave me was - friction is what turns pointy and sharp rocks into smooth ones. it didn’t click make much sense at first, but i see it now!