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This week: Counterintuitive strategies to succeed as a manager, Unlocking better tech specs, How effective engineers ask for help, A case for not having side projects.
LEADERSHIP
‘Build a team that doesn’t need you’ and other counterintuitive strategies to succeed as a manager
Meeting company goals, while caring for the individual needs of your team is a uniquely difficult challenge managers face. Kevin Stewart, VPE at Heptio, on how to create an environment that sets you and your team up for success.
PROCESS
Unlocking better tech specs
A well-written tech spec unlocks many benefits that aren’t immediately obvious. Della Anjeh and Chloe Revery show what’s in a great spec, and how an upfront investment can create exponential payoffs for you and your team.
PRODUCTIVITY
How effective engineers ask for help
Many engineers think of asking for help as a failure to do their jobs. Greg Sabo, an Engineering Manager at Asana, argues that collaborative problem solving is a core engineering skill, and breaks down the steps to effectively ask for help.
COUNTERPOINT
No, I have no side projects to show you
Ezekiel Buchheit, now a Software Engineer at Amazon, shares an interview experience and raises an important question: if you don’t program in your spare time, can you be a “passionate” developer?
Ben Thompson is a co-founder at GitPrime where he leads design and customer experience. He is a Y Combinator alumni, with a background in product design, branding, and UX design. Follow @thebent on Twitter.
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