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How hands-on an Engineering Leader should be?

July 22, 2023 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

Engineering leader toolkit

Most of know and realise by this time that a hands-on engineering leader is respected and probably more successful in their career. But there are other key responsibilities for senior leaders, in addition to be technically active. In this post, I will share my thoughts on how hands-on an engineering leader should be and how to maintain a healthy balance with other duties.

What we mean by hands-on engineering leader?

By hands-on, we mean that an engineering leader, irrespective of his or her seniority, must be able to understand working details of products and applications they own.

Here are some example hands-on activities of a software engineering leader:

  • Participate and contribute to system architecture
  • Lead technical design and solution discussions
  • Understand technical and delivery metrics
  • Articulate with engineerings in technical language

But, do these alone justify the role of a leader?

Probably not. The true value of a senior engineering leader comes from another important contribution.

A senior leader must be a multiplier – enabling and empowering others to perform at their fullest potential.

If you haven’t read it yet, Multipliers by Liz Wiseman is an excellent book on this topic.

A leader must create a right environment and help everyone in the team play their “A” game. This is where their true value comes in.

Also in his iconic book High Output Management, Andy Grove talks about high leverage activities for managers and leaders.

A high leverage activity is something that sets an individual or team for success over an extended period of time.

Here are some high leverage activities for a software engineering leader:

  • Coaching, training and mentoring employees
  • Effective 1:1 meetings
  • Creating a culture of efficient meetings
  • Setting up right tools and platforms to increase engineering productivity
  • Using right metrics and creating feedback loops for better software delivery

In short, any activity that has a throughtput-to-effort ratio greater than 1:1 is a high leverage activity.

To be or not to be…

In essence, as you grow in your career as an engineering leader – try and maintain a good mix of hands-on and high leverage activities.

While being hands-on is essential to continue and wield your expert power, high leverage activities are the ones that can up your game to the next level.

Always remember – “What got you here, won’t get you there!” (Thanks Marshall Goldsmith!)

Filed Under: Leadership, Life Tagged With: engineering leader, high leverage activities, leadership, multipliers, successful leader

Leading with Action

June 29, 2022 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

There is an innate habit with humans — that manifests itself from early childhood. Learning by watching.

The habit continues well into our adulthood. It also impacts our actions in corporate life.

[Read more…] about Leading with Action

Filed Under: Leadership, Life Tagged With: lead, leadership

It is “okay” to slow down!

June 18, 2021 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

It is “okay” to slow down!

This is the lesson life has taught me in recent times.

Most of us are trained to be part of a race, right from early days. And this mindset continues into later part of life.

But, it is absolutely okay to slow down.

[Read more…] about It is “okay” to slow down!

Filed Under: Life, Self Improvement Tagged With: life, self improvement, wellness

5 Basic Rules of Personal Finance

May 29, 2021 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

5 Basic Rules of Personal Finance

  1. Never put all your money in similar type of financial instruments (bonds, equity, ETF etc.)
  2. Regular investment yield best returns
  3. Understand before you invest money. Don’t invest if you are unclear or confused
  4. Find the quantum of your emergency fund. And park the rest in any instrument that gives better return than your savings account
  5. Avoid loans if possible. Save and spend, rather than spend and repay

Filed Under: Life, Personal Finance Tagged With: life, personal finance, self improvement

Goals and Self discipline

May 7, 2021 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

Goals and Self discipline

All of us have goals. We aspire to find meaning in life.

Some achieve their goals. Few even go beyond and achieve tremendous success. A majority fail to reach.

Among several things, self-discipline plays a great role in determining if a person achieves his or her goals.

Here’s a blueprint for success.

  • Know where you want to go
  • Create short and long term goals to get there
  • Have self-discipline to create habits that propel you towards these goals

Skipping any one of these reduces the probability of success. So, are you ready to make it big?

Filed Under: Life, Self Improvement Tagged With: goals, life, self discipline, self improvement

Workflowy : My opinion

June 24, 2016 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

Workflowy : My opinion

I am a big fan of minimalist productivity apps, that are really well made. Workflowy falls into that category.

At first look, it looks very much like a simple document. It is this simplicity that makes it a really nice tool.

[Read more…] about Workflowy : My opinion

Filed Under: Life, Productivity Tagged With: life, productivity

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