Tech debt burns money; feedback debt burns culture. When a codebase rots, you can demonstrate the expected ROI numbers, make the case to Product, and ship a fix. Every conversation you postpone, however, silently hardwires suboptimal behavior and erodes trust in ways no spreadsheet can capture. The longer you wait, the more each shortcut feels […]
You have so many things on your plate. There’s probably always something you know you’re not getting to. Some tech execs I see put out fires so often, I tease them with the Fireman Sam theme song. You might be even good at all those things. Yet that’s not doing leadership work, that’s just being […]
One of the clearest patterns I see in my work with senior tech leaders is this:The great ones are always upgrading. They’re not stuck. They’re not stagnant.They’re learning how to operate at new scales, adapt to evolving team structures, leverage AI, and stay relevant in companies that are evolving fast. If you think your role […]
You don’t run out of time.You run out of excuses. By the time you’ve explained why something still isn’t working for the fifth time, your team’s stopped listening. And maybe you should too. The Excuse Machine There are always perfectly logical, valid reasons why things are hard. Why your org isn’t moving faster. Why you […]
I’d wager that the title of this article seems odd. After all, we usually talk a lot about gaining momentum, not fighting it. In the rat race to get those flywheels going, who wants to have them stop, right? (Has anyone ever seen an actual flywheel?) Yet, when you need to evolve as a leader, […]
Some of the sharpest, most capable leaders I coach are walking around with a warped self-image. They don’t see themselves through a mirror—they’re squinting at an old, blurry Polaroid. A snapshot from years ago, out of date and out of context. But they still let it define who they are. Sound familiar? Step One: Reality […]
Here’s something no one tells you early enough: software is the easy part. Tech debt? You can refactor. Architecture mistakes? You can migrate. In engineering leadership, the truly hard part is people. Once you realize that, you’re on your way to leading better. Think about it: refactoring a codebase is a pain, but refactoring a […]
When something breaks or shifts in the org, most leaders reflexively rush to regain balance, to restore things to how they were. But what if that’s the wrong move? What’s the rush? In chess, experts learn to maintain the tension. Just because there’s a threat on the board or a possible trade, it doesn’t mean […]
Most leaders don’t really know what they’re doing. They wing it. They handle most issues on a case-by-case basis. Even those who have gained experience seem to operate based on muscle memory, as opposed to having given things some extra thought. While your instincts might be enough to achieve ok results, this approach rarely supplies […]
Your team didn’t mess up. You didn’t ship a bug. You didn’t blow the budget. You didn’t miss a deadline. You just missed the wave. While others were pivoting, launching, or riding the momentum—you were still “prioritizing” or “waiting for clarity.” And it’s the most dangerous kind of failure: the kind no one notices until […]