Stop Fretting

Perhaps it is because we’re approaching another year’s end, or your coach asked you to list your next challenges. Whatever it is, you suddenly feel as if you “don’t have enough” problems. As ridiculous as that might read, that is something I often hear—even if those speaking don’t put it exactly like that. When things […]

Pushover Leadership

It might sound quirky, but something I frequently see is how tech executives who are passionate about their roles and worked hard to get them then go on to essentially give up on their independence and agency. Some start their roles like that, and others slowly morph into it. Either way, it is a poor […]

Task Forces

One of software’s strong points is that it is innately… well… soft! You know what is quite more rigid, though? The makeup of the organization creating it. People are a lot less malleable to change than code is. Therefore, we often miss out on opportunities. There are times when pulling your sleeves up and shuffling […]

If Not Now, Then Never?

As an industry, I think we’ve gotten too lazy and wasteful. Even teams with great leaders and talented engineers seem to have become dull and content with churning out average work. That’s partly why the current economic conditions are causing so many companies to quickly shed significant chunks of their workforce. It’s a wake-up call. […]

Change Cadence

One of the things that “come with the job” for me is that many people approach me out of the blue and tell me what issues they’re currently struggling with. Some of those then get in touch again a few months later. Unfortunately, most report the same issues still being worked on with little to […]

Collaboration Patterns Part III: Hybrid

Following the previous parts of this series about colocated teams and remote-only companies, it’s time to get to the final and meatiest part: hybrid work. I’ve saved the best for last since I believe that hybrid is going to be the most used collaboration pattern in our industry in the years to come. Unfortunately, it’s […]

Collaboration Patterns Part II: Remote Only

Continuing on this series, this part will tackle remote-only work. Remote for many was a completely foreign idea up until a couple of years ago when lockdowns made it mandatory. Funnily enough, I believe most companies are better off going for full remote than most hybrid setups. Let’s see why. WFH WTH By this point, […]

Collaboration Patterns Part I: Colocated Teams

Many of you are probably fed up with discussions of remote vs. hybrid after the last couple of years. Nevertheless, this is one of tech’s most essential and culture-defining parts of organizational leadership. Since I’ve seen many teams globally go through transitions and learn what seems to be working better, I decided to share with […]

Experience Acceleration

No CTO in the world would pass on a magic wand that would magically make their engineers more senior. It seems like experience, even in well-balanced teams, is something we always want more of. To get more experience in the team, until recently, startups relied on ever-increasing headcounts. That strategy, alas, doesn’t seem like it […]

Successful Team, Pointless Leader?

Right off the bat, let me say that we are going to discuss a first-world problem: Your team’s doing great, and you don’t know what to do? Boohoo. Where’s the world’s smallest violin when you need it? Nevertheless, it is a real issue. So much so that I’ve seen leaders that spotted things could get […]