This engineering team created their own culture from scratch, defining their identity, tagline, vision, and values. They also created behaviors and an engineering culture indicator to measure progress and improvement. They have been successful in creating a culture that is inspiring to other teams, and have learned the importance of dedicating time to keep the culture alive and connecting with engineers to understand their aspirations.

Plato

Sneha Singla

Director at Salesforce

Self-Actualizing as a Woman in Tech

This woman in management has experienced a journey of ups and downs in her career, and has learned that taking control of her career is the best way to reach her higher calling to leadership. She suggests taking risks, building a strong network, and reading books to gain a full perspective on management. Ultimately, she believes that having the choice to navigate her career gives her a sense of ownership and motivation.

Plato

Tudor Stanescu

Director of Engineering at Electronic Arts

How Smart Managers Deal With Toxic Employees

This article discusses the problem of toxic employees and how to manage them. The author explains that coaching and understanding the person's motivations can help to identify if they are in the right role. If not, the author suggests finding a new role for them within the organization or creating redundancy. The author also shares lessons learned from their experience, such as the importance of coaching, managing out toxic people, and having a paper trail of communication.

Plato

Jean du Plessis

Senior Engineering Manager at upbound

Hiring for Talent vs. Hiring a Skillset

This article discusses the importance of looking for potential and talent in candidates rather than just skills when hiring for a position. The author has started to look for a hunger for learning, passion, and career goals in potential hires. They also look for self-awareness of strengths and how they can fit into the team. The author emphasizes the need to understand the need of the team before seeking candidates and to be aware of biases when interviewing.

Plato

Daniel Gorlovetsky

CEO at TLVTech

Laying Off an Unmotivated Engineer

The CTO of a startup had to hire quickly after the R&D team left. He hired a senior engineer who was experienced and came from a good background, but after a year he became unmotivated. The CTO had one-on-one conversations with him to try to re-engage him, but eventually they decided to part ways. The CTO gave him a recommendation despite his lack of motivation, and learned that sometimes burning people out is necessary to keep the business running, but should be used cautiously.

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Peter Fedoročko

Director of Engineering at Workday

Building an Exponential High-Performing Team

When starting a business, it is important to build a diverse team with different skill sets, backgrounds, knowledge, vision, and preferences. This will enable the team to try new technologies, modify processes quickly, and choose from a variety of perspectives. It is also important to think about duplicating roles as the team grows, and to mix up senior and junior employees, corporate and startup people, and extroverts and introverts. The lesson learned is to look for diversity that can generate more added value instead of hiring like-minded people.

Plato

Justin Hennessy

CTO at Outfit.io

Sharing The Company’s Vision With Everyone

Neto faced a challenge in making the company's strategy relevant to individuals, so the CEO used Salesforce's V2MOM (Visions, Values, Methods, Obstacles, and Measures) to create a high-level strategy document. Each department head and team then built their own V2MOM that was relevant to them, but aligned with the CEO's vision. This gave purpose to individuals and teams, and helped them to become high-performing. Using V2MOM has been a productive mechanism for making the company's vision relevant at an individual level and helping teams understand how their work contributes to the business's success.

Plato

Limor Bergman Gross

Executive Coach at LBG Consulting Service Ltd

9-months Pregnant and Applying to Be a Manager

A software engineer with no management experience applied for a managerial position while 9 months pregnant and about to go on maternity leave. With the help of her previous manager, who vouched for her skills, she was offered the job. She asked her previous manager to be her mentor and they met weekly to help her transition from IC to manager. She learned that even if the timing is challenging, don't give up on your dreams, ask someone to vouch for you, and get a mentor to help you transition.

Plato

Who to follow

Seth Sakamoto

Ex-VPE/CTO at multiple startups, 2 decades+ senior engineering leadership exp

Federico Fregosi

Engineering/Team Management | Tech Due Diligence | Technical Strategy | Professional Services

Dipti Srivastava

Innovating for a cloud first world

Jeffery Hackert

I help engineers and engineering managers improve their communication

Deepika Sikri

Head of Engineering (AI, Big Data, Iot)

Virendra Vase

Veteran CxO

Connect and Learn with the Best Eng Leaders

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Latest Stories

Daniel Woolfson

Senior Engineering Manager at The Engineer Experience

Effective Strategies for Managing Remote Engineering Teams

Managing remote engineering teams is crucial in today's evolving work landscape. This article provides insights into best practices and proven strategies for overseeing dispersed engineering teams. It emphasizes the importance of clear communication channels, leveraging project management tools, promoting a collaborative culture, providing adequate support and resources, emphasizing results-oriented performance, and regularly assessing and adapting strategies. By implementing these tactics, managers can navigate the challenges of remote team management and drive success in the remote work environment.

Plato

Limor Bergman Gross

Executive Coach at LBG Consulting Service Ltd

Navigating the Challenges of Transitioning to an Engineering Manager Role

Transitioning to an engineering manager role comes with its own set of challenges, but by being strategic, building relationships, and advocating for oneself, success can be achieved. It is important to proactively plan one's career and advocate for personal growth and development. Building relationships with key stakeholders and finding allies within the organization can greatly help in advocating for oneself and influencing change. Understanding the motivations of others and aligning interests can also aid in gaining support for ideas. If promotion opportunities are limited, focusing on expanding responsibilities and taking on more challenging tasks can showcase potential for future growth. Seeking out mentors within the organization can provide guidance and support throughout the career transition process. Overall, being proactive, building relationships, and advocating for oneself are key to navigating the challenges of transitioning to an engineering manager role.

Plato

Jose Ciccio

ex-Senior Engineering Manager at SchoolMint

Maximizing Your Growth: A Guide to Getting the Best from Platohq Mentorship

Plato platform's mentorship program is designed to empower individuals on their journey towards success. By setting clear objectives, establishing a strong relationship with your mentor, actively engaging and participating, seeking feedback and implementing suggestions, continuously learning and growing, and reflecting on the experience, you can maximize the benefits of the mentorship program. Mentorship is a continuous journey of learning and growth, and by embracing the opportunity, you can unlock your full potential in pursuit of your professional aspirations.

Plato

Deekshita Amaravadi

Engineering Leader at Justworks

Transitioning from Technical Roles to Leadership

Transitioning from a technical role to a leadership position requires embracing change, seeking mentorship, and taking initiative. Engineers must let go of old identities and adapt to new opportunities. Overcoming fear and communicating openly with managers about career goals and aspirations is crucial. By doing so, engineers can navigate this transition successfully and continue to grow in their careers.

Plato

Deekshita Amaravadi

Engineering Leader at Justworks

Navigating Ambiguity in Engineering Leadership

The text discusses strategies for effectively managing ambiguity and uncertainty as an engineering leader. It emphasizes the importance of embracing change and seeking growth opportunities, nurturing mentorship, overcoming fear and seeking feedback, and the role of open communication. The conversation highlights the need for engineers to be open to new challenges and opportunities, take on the role of a mentor, have direct conversations with managers about career goals, and regularly communicate with managers about career growth and challenges. The text concludes by mentioning plans to delve deeper into the topic of mentorship in future sessions. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the importance of embracing change, seeking growth opportunities, and fostering open communication in engineering leadership roles to navigate ambiguity and uncertainty successfully.

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