Favorite Quotes from 'Engineering Management for the Rest of Us' by Sarah Drasner

Saw this book lying around Sam's apartment. Asked if I could borrow it and I'm not mad that I did. Below are some highlights.

“Communicating our own values also gives our employees a bit of context about our working style and needs, which they’ll need in order to best understand us. If you don’t have alignment with your values at a base level, you will eventually burn out…” (p. 11)

“A few major, fundamental values should be aligned. Otherwise, work can feel even tougher than the job at hand. When you’re misaligned, burnout is inevitable.” (p. 14)

“Clarity is what we’re aiming for here. Clarity is key.” (p. 14)

“Their best work is hopefully a synthesis of what they can and like to do, and what the company needs. We’re striving to find that a bit in the citer of the Venn diagram. In order to do this, we talk a bit about drive.” (p. 17)

“Lack of trust is stifling. It’s impossible to be innovative when you feel like every movement is judged. Trust and happiness actually support and develop creativity. It’s good for business.” (p. 18)

“They feel comfortable raising issues directly with each other. They share personal details with each other, and admit when they are having a bad day—to other team members, this is no big deal. They can debate with one another to find good outcomes. They are flexible with one another’s needs.” (p. 24)

“They are closed off and don’t know much about each other. They don’t feel comfortable admitting when they’re having a rough time, so no one has context when things go poorly.” (p. 24)

“When you talk about the leadership team, this is a ‘we’ too. You can’t speak to your team about decisions that were made at the table with your peers and boss and say ‘they decided…’” (p. 30)

“Saying ‘we’ holds you accountable to your team for leadership decisions that you are a part of, which is how it should be.” (p. 31)

“Would it be nice if everyone on your team felt like they were doing their best work possible? That they avoided cognitive overhead when they could, and felt an innate drive to complete their work instead of trudging through for a carrot on a stick?” (p. 33)

“Coined in 1975 by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow state is the phenomenon in which a person is fully immersed in an activity that leads to focus, energized involvement, and enjoyment. A person in flow state is no longer thinking of multiple things, or even their sense of self, but is singularly focused on a task or challenge. Many people report it as the happiest feeling in their lives.” (p. 36)

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity, This is one reason why meaningful change does not require radical change. Small habits can make a meaningful difference by providing evidence of a new identify. And if a change is meaningful, it is actually big. That’s the paradox of making small improvements.” (p. 45)

“Try to think through what skills someone needs to succeed without you. Teach those skills incrementally.” (p. 49)

“The culture of your team is only as strong as the worst behavior it tolerates. It’s your job to speak up.” (p. 52)

“Clarifying the value of an employee’s tasks can be incredibly useful for someone who may be an over-performer but are burning out.” (p. 59)

“At their root, 1:1s should reduce uncertainty by making both parties feel more connected to the rest of the team while clarifying intent. Your 1:1s are the most important thing you do.” (p. 64)

“One-on-ones should be conducted in a space with the smallest amount of distractions possible. The whole purpose of 1:1s should be to make the other person feel valuable and connected.” (p. 65)

“Having specific topics and items listed on an agenda facilitate more actionable feedback for your manager and therefore make them better able to to support you.” (p. 69)

“Clarity is a critical part of our roles, and providing clarity is a sign that we respect our team’s time and energy.” (p. 78)

“In order to make transformation, the culture has to shift to allow for it. This is why culture eats strategy for breakfast.” (p. 81)

“The quickest way to lose trust is to send a team out on journey and not back them up when the going gets tough. If they don’t succeed, that’s on you. Have their backs.” (p. 83)

“There’s no better way to grow than learning to internalize what others can see clearly which you sometimes cannot. We can also learn to have a healthy relationship with our own egos—one that is resilient but also allows us to set aside our egos.” (p. 97)

“Getting mad will do nothing productive. You need to try your best to divorce your ego, get curious, and dive in. And you have to acknowledge their feelings and feedback as valid along the way.” (p. 102)

“Ego resilience affords you the ability to separate yourself from others a bit and to take responsibility. Will your whole career collapse if you understand that you need to improve how you react to certain situations? Probably not. Will it be the end of the world if you acknowledge a mistake in front of people? Probably not.” (p. 104)

“What is the shared purpose? What are we doing to get that outcome? Who is owning what, and how? What are the timelines?” (p. 109)

“Again, louder: Part of the purpose of the meeting is the discussion itself.” (p. 11)

“Most important is that folks feel heard and that you all agree on what the conflict is. Also important is that you remain open to that discussion while finding the real reason you’re even talking about it.” (p. 116)

“When I struggle to separate my ideas from my identity, I will check in with myself. If I feel defensiveness over an idea, I try my best to step back from that conversation a bit and ask someone who as been a bit quiet what they think.” (p. 121)

“When a conflict arises, it’s typically due to clashing values or misaligned outcomes and goals. Aligning everyone’s values is not possible, but we can create clarity around outcomes where no exists. Focusing on the mission or outcome and aligning to that can be very productive. It’s amazing how quickly it dissolves turf wars and unneeded bureaucracy.” (p. 124)

“It’s important to consider that Chrome was no on tract for this success. The previous bar was set for fifty-million weekly active users, and they had only reached thirty-eight-million weekly active users. It should be clear to everyone that there is some safety in moonshots and setting aggressive goals. ‘Measure What Matters’ suggests the 70 percent rule: be comfortable with only succeeding 70 percent of the time.” (p. 137)

“You can’t do everything. Given the size of your staff, the relative impact of each of the above events, and how much time you need to dedicate to making these happen, you can start to come up with some plans.” (p. 139)

“Smaller PRs keep the conversation focused, and as such reduce the need for any communication gymnastics.” (p. 146)

“If we constantly work on tasks without taking the time to think bigger, we risk being tactical rather than strategic. We can end up working in a silo, which can lead to burnout and anxiety. We risk opportunities to spot errors early to reduce technical debt.” (p. 155)

“A team that’s motivated, has psychological safety with you and among themselves, has good developer experience within their tech stack, and feels aligned with the company’s goals will always perform better than one that isn’t. These ideas are connected with speed of execution.” (p. 156)

“Assess whether the tech stack is serving their needs: Are they able to make changes without a ton of side effects and other pieces breaking?” (p. 157)

“Internal documentation is sometimes hidden, but very important part of a well-functioning team. It helps with onboarding, getting everyone on the same page about system architecture, and can even help developers solidify what they are building and think through what problem it’s solving.” (p. 164)

“The inability to see what is most important can lead to impaired judgement and even poorer purchase decisions. You are more likely to buy something on impulse after you have already make many other decisions.” (p. 169)

“Your actions show what you actually want. There are two smart reactions to this: Stop lying to yourself, and admit your real priorities. Start doing what you say you want to do, and see if it’s really true.” (p. 171)

“This activity allows me to see where I want to invest my energy, and where I shouldn’t…From here, the rest of the prioritization gets a little easier. I now have a better idea of where my efforts are really paying off. I also know where I’m wasting my own time. This distinction helps me prevent decision fatigue quite a bit because I have a guiding light to help make choices.” (p. 172)

“Find a system that motivates you and allows you to be proud of the progress you’re making, despite the fact that new things are appearing all the time.” (p. 181)

“I work most efficiently when things are broken down into steps. I work best when my work has the most meaning, and I remove the cruft. I work best when I work along with, not against, my energy levels, where possible.” (p. 183)

“If you find yourself in a situation where you did say yes, and you probably should have said no (unless it’s a family or other type of emergency), use the unpleasant feeling that you feel when you’re overcommitted to help guide you in the future. WEll, we don't wan to feel this way again, now do we? Then suck it up and get that work done. And make better choices for yourself in the future.” (p. 185)

“You don’t have to be perfect about writing., I personally add it to my to-do list every other day/ If I miss one, it’s fine, I’ll just pick it up again next time. I do find it helps my overall outlook if I keep up at a steady pace. It might do the same for you too.” (p. 192)

“Surrounding yourself with people who support you is very important. There are many methods of support. Some people suppose by loving protectively and peircely. Some people support by reminding you of your worth. Some people support be being available to play Fortnite and drink whiskey. Seek out folks who act without jealousy, and make sure you support them too.” (p. 196)