Managing Someone Who Was Once Above You in the Org Chart: Why Your Feedback Gets Complicated Before You Notice
Something happens to feedback when the hierarchy inverts. You cannot always name it.
Leading people and peersTeam communication
Getting the message to land: cascades, context, urgency, and the gaps that cause friction.
25 posts, newest first
The Communication Gap That's Killing Your Team's Sense of Urgency
An individual contributor was blocking a launch over a documentation policy. Not maliciously.
Team communicationHow Engineering Managers Can Change How Their Team Listens by Changing Their Words
You have probably been in a meeting where someone's word choice deflated the whole room. They said "we need to deal with the fallout from this...
Team communicationYou Just Got a Decision from Your Boss: Here's How to Cascade It Without Creating "We vs. They"
TL;DR: In 8 minutes, you'll learn how to stop being the communication bottleneck between senior leadership and your team, own decisions as "we decided"...
Team communicationYour Team's Junk Drawer: Why Process Without Context Creates Organizational Friction
TL;DR: In 7 minutes, you'll learn how to identify which processes are organizational junk drawers and how to replace rigid checklists with clear...
Engineering leadershipThe Observation Framework: How Leaders Get Called Visionary Without Predicting the Future
Visionary leadership isn't about predicting the future. It's about observing the present more carefully than everyone else.
Team communicationThe Hidden Cost of Workplace Assumptions: How Unspoken Expectations Drive Burnout
Back in college, I took an FPGA Design course that assigned brutal weekly homework. Pages of digital logic problems, code to write, waveforms to...
Burnout and workloadWhy Confident Leaders Treat Every Decision as a Hypothesis (And How You Can Too)
We hired two engineers the same year. Both bets.
Team communicationWhy Information Doesn't Reach Employees (And How to Fix It)
The gap between what leadership announces and what employees actually know isn't a communication problem. It's a systems problem.
Team communicationEngineers love solving problems. That's the problem
At standup, the team made a call. The feature they needed wouldn't be ready in time, but they found an undocumented API that could work.
Engineering leadershipThe Message Delivery Audit: Why Sharing Information Isn't Leading
I thought I was being clear. We needed our QA team to shift their approach.
Team communicationThe Communication Gap That Triggers Micromanagement (And How to Close It)
After 15 years leading teams, I've seen this pattern dozens of times: talented people getting micromanaged not because they're struggling, but because...
MicromanagementThe Department Chair’s Relationship Problem
(And Why It’s Killing Your Influence) You became chair because you’re brilliant at your discipline. You’ve published, mentored, and earned respect.
Leading people and peersHow to Stop Being Micromanaged (Without Waiting for Your Manager to Change)
Your manager is micromanaging you. They probably don't want to.
MicromanagementStop Managing Your Dean, and Start Showing Your Work
Universities now operate like corporations. Budgets, enrollment, and metrics dominate conversations that used to be about scholarship and teaching.
Leading people and peersIt’s Not Your Manager’s Stress, It’s Yours
Do you find yourself dreading the start of the workday? Are you feeling tired or just plain overwhelmed with everything you need to get done?
Burnout and workloadWorking With Your Micromanager - The Devout
Working with a micromanager is often frustrating, stressful, and demotivating. Especially when that manager believes they are the only person in the...
MicromanagementWorking With Your Micromanager - The Amplifier
Working with a micromanager can be frustrating and demotivating, especially when they seem frantic or ask for things they don’t understand. However,...
MicromanagementWorking With Your Micromanager - The Taskmaster
Working with a micromanager can be a stressful experience. Especially when the manager constantly asks for updates and pushes you to meet that next date.
MicromanagementWorking With Your Micromanager - The Doer
Working with a micromanager can be an unfortunate experience. Especially when that manager used to do the same job as you, they can get quite...
MicromanagementIt's Your Fault You're Being Micromanaged
Are you frustrated with managers' over-involvement in your projects? Do they check in on your status too often?
MicromanagementHey Boss, Stop Solving the Team’s Problems!
This is a weird situation. You were likely promoted into leadership because you excelled at problem-solving and getting things done.
Leading people and peersA Guide for Skip Level One-On-Ones
As you climb to higher management levels and begin leading other managers, keeping in touch with your team's pulse can become difficult. Understanding...
1-on-1s and feedbackStop Optimizing for The Past
I have had the fortune of learning a lot about development processes and how people approach work. It is always amazing to understand what excites...
Engineering leadershipWhen Candid Communication Isn't Enough
Just about every problem I work through in my role boils down to needing to communicate more and more often. Early on, as an engineering leader, I had...
1-on-1s and feedbackReady to be seen for the work you already do?
A free 60-minute call. We will talk about where you are stuck and what would change if the right people could see your work. No pitch, no pressure.
Book a Free CallYou're great at the work. Let's make you impossible to ignore.