The Executive Brief
Sometimes I feel like a scout for a professional baseball team. I’m always on the lookout for talent.
Sometimes it’s for the big leagues - a VP of Engineering to run an entire engineering department. In those moments, I’m looking for The Natural. Other times I’m hiring for the farm system. A Director or Manager to run a team and really mentor younger talent. That’s more like Bull Durham.
This is where the baseball and movie analogies stop. I promise. 🙂
I’ve noticed a few things after hiring countless tech leaders over the last two decades. There are common traits that show up in the best candidates. In this issue I go into detail about what those traits are and why they’re important.
Btw, before you dive into it, here are the most interesting bits in technology from the last week.
OpenAI is making its flagship conversational AI accessible to everyone without requiring a login. This version will have “slightly more restrictive content policies” and your chats will still go into their training data unless you opt out.
The profusion of AI is making it easier than every for your employees to use it freely online. Put usage policies in place asap if you haven’t done so already. Educate your users on why it’s a bad idea to put company IP into these services.Microsoft is separating Office and Teams as they come under antitrust scrutiny. The move was initially made in Europe but the company rolled this out in other region starting April 1.
It’s a good time to check your licensing as you now have the option to switch to the other offers.
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Rockstar Engineering Leaders
Here are 10 attributes I’ve noticed about rockstar engineering leaders.
They tend to be more business oriented than you think. Don’t get me wrong, they understand the technological side very deeply. But they have an astute mind when it comes to the realities of business. I’ve seen too many CTOs with their nose stuck in tech.
They usually have a knack for solving problems with technology. They can look at business problems and come up with good technological solutions and present multiple viable options for the business to choose from.
They’re really good at working across the aisle with product and the business. They know how to listen and understand their problems. They are good communicators who know how to bridge the gaps between these stakeholders.
They don’t waste money. They are careful about their budgets. They negotiate with vendors and partners. They are knowledgeable about hiring at the proper rates. They know which technologies to bring in that have the best value for money.
They are great educators. They help everyone else in the company understand just enough about technology to make great decisions. They aren’t above teaching and helping people at every level. They share their knowledge.
They don’t work on unnecessary projects. Everything their team does is aligned with the business. That doesn’t mean they don’t innovate or experiment. They just do it within some guard-rails that makes sense for the company.
They spend time on the front lines with customers. They hang out with the customer support team and learn about customer problems. They talk to customers and understand how the market is changing.
They are trusted by the CEO. They are reliable. The CEO knows that the technology stack, uptime, security and compliance will be taken care of. The fundamentals will be addressed, and stability of the ecosystem will be there.
They know how to prioritize. I see so many CTOs get this one wrong by working on stuff that doesn’t matter. The best engineering leaders prioritize ruthlessly. And they constantly seek out their leadership to make sure they are in alignment as well.
Rockstar engineering leaders almost always have some special or unique skill. My favorites are: AI/ML, Data Science, Big Data/Analytics, Integrations or Modernization. There are others of course.
Closing Thoughts
Those are my top ten traits. There are definitely ones that didn’t make this list and that’s okay. One of the perks of being a leader is when people surprise you with something new.
Maybe that is the bonus 11th trait: Great engineers aren’t constrained by top ten lists. They find their own unique mix of creativity and problem solving and use that to make those around them better.