Engineering Management for the Rest of Us

There are no wrong answers when it comes to values. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and lived experiences. The more we understand one another, the easier it is to work together. When people talk about “good” managers, they are likely referring to people who show care and appreciation for people’s values, and also respect their boundaries.

Good company values do this. They convey a viewpoint that you can easily understand and check against. If you notice your company lacks a point of view in their mission statement and you’re in the position to push back, I highly suggest asking about it. Leadership is all about driving clarity, and company values should make it clear what the drivin

I make a list of team values for whatever organization I run. Why do I do this? Because there are certain things I value on my team, things that I don’t necessarily need to convince the entire company are important.

Here’s an example of values I’ve put forth on my teams: We celebrate everyone’s wins as though they’re our own. No compare and despair. Be empowered to forge forward, we hired you because you’re an expert. Make mistakes. Choose impact over butts in seats (We’re not counting hours here, focus on making an impact and work when and how you want).

When you’re misaligned, burnout is inevitable. Working on a team with values that largely align with your own is nice, because you can really dig into the makeup of the culture on your team. Clarity is what we’re aiming for here. Clarity is key.

We can also think about our own values in terms of how we react to other people. If you find someone interesting or, conversely, you don’t like how someone communicates, perhaps consider how that is related to what you value?

People are not pure functions; they have all sorts of interesting side effects. For those just entering management, thinking through values can help provide some clarity.

One way to run a values exercise is to give team members a few minutes to pick five values from a list like what we just saw. Once everyone has picked, go around and ask each individual to discuss why those five values resonate with them…

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If you pay attention, you can see how a person’s values dictate their behavior and ethics. Your values can be formed at a young age, and they can be a…

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