Me as a manager
I've decided to write up this document after reading Daniel Na's management philosophy. My motivation is the same as his: writing this document should create transparency and accountability. As teammates, we'll both benefit from the clarity.
This page is a live document, so there'll be updates in the future. Worry not, though. I'll always announce changes and open for debate. Also, changes are visible by nature on Google Docs.
About our team
- We are as good individually as we are as a unit. Help your teammates, follow processes, keep an eye out for improvements (technical, UX, processes, you name it).
- Accountability is essential. We own our area. We should strive always to make it better, fix things when they go wrong, and be transparent about it.
- Everything is a tradeoff. We must always weigh quality, speed, and business value. "Weighing" here means that we'll rarely address all three to the same level at the same time.
- Psychological safety is crucial. Feeling comfortable to speak up and to take risks is essential (both for productivity and for your health).
- Being candid is paramount, but also, it's vital to be considerate and kind. Nothing good comes from disregarding tact.
- Friction is unavoidable, push through it. It's worthwhile to take the hard steps to move forward with the work you care about.
About management
- My goal is to empower you to do your best work and to keep the team productive. This might mean sparring on ideas, creating bridges between you and stakeholders, managing our board, etc. The important thing here is that you stay unblocked.
- Trust is a given, I find granular oversight boorish and unproductive. I expect you to be disciplined when it comes to handling your tickets, reaching out for guidance when needed, and keeping task statuses up-to-date.
About yourself
- Be confident in your abilities and be willing to be challenged. Intuition is important as a first alarm, but backing it up with data goes a long way.
- Be proactive about asking for help. I'll be around and willing to provide guidance whenever needed, but I'll count on you to decide if and when.
- Rest, build relationships (where possible and comfortable), invest in your education, entertainment and hobbies. Let me know when you are feeling overwhelmed or unhappy, it's important to take care of yourself. Most of the time, work can wait.
As mentioned at the beginning this document is all about transparency and accountability. Thus, please click here, if you're interested in seeing all the changes made to this doc.