What your manager is implying but won't say is, "talk like me". So do that. Think of how he rephrases your reports, how he puts things - and talk like him. That's what he wants to hear.
Ask HN: How to speak like a leader, not like an engineer?
91–100 of 218 posts
Re: Ask HN: How to speak like a leader, not like an engineer?
#92Do you mean the CTO position?
Re: Ask HN: How to speak like a leader, not like an engineer?
#93I would assume you're giving too many details. People higher up the chain don't have time for details: that's why they hire you, so you can make decisions at that level. You need to communicate: - status of the project - external blockers - progress on OKRs or KPIs - important personnel issues (e.g. people leaving, big HR issues, things that eventually will affect your deliverables) The key is not to overwhelm with n…
Something I was taught during manager training in an unrelated field was the mantra “clear and concise”.
Details are important but there is a time and place. Most of the time people asking questions will ask for more info if they want it.
Re: Ask HN: How to speak like a leader, not like an engineer?
#94Talk about strategy, and when anyone asks for detail say "well, that's a bit operational but I'll get someone to put together a report for you", then wait for a day, then tell them what you would have told them anyway. But with the addition of SPC charts and references to a (potentially mythical) Gantt chart.
Re: Ask HN: How to speak like a leader, not like an engineer?
#95While suggestions around self improvement are very important, please also evaluate the competence of your manager and then adapt. Self improvement is essential but not sufficient.
More than once I have encountered clueless executives who are happy only when you are a mirror. They are not interested in solving any issues from below unless something personal for them is at stake.
Re: Ask HN: How to speak like a leader, not like an engineer?
#96> I am a technical manager and currently in a leadership role. My manager who is an executive, keeps telling me“ don’t talk like an engineer, talk like a leader” when I go to him for any people or operational Issues.
What does your manager say that means? This strikes me as the 'critical thinking skills' of management -- nobody knows what the phrase really means, and if they did they wouldn't want it. It is every manager's job is to provide clarity to their directs, even executives.
At a first brush, your job is to speak like both a leader and an engineer. You lead engineers, after all. That means connecting the engineering, the "how", with the business results, the "why." One of your team's goals might be to reduce AWS costs, by tweaking Java GC parameters.
Going deeper, you might consider personality traits. The DISC model of personality divides humanity into four categories: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientious. To keep it brief, we generally perceive high D personalities as 'leaders' and high C personalities as 'engineers.' Talking like a leader in this context means demanding results, and making decisions under uncertainty, while an engineer is more likely to ask for more time or more data, obsess over quality beyond what the customer needs or expects, and avoid talking to people. High D communications tend to be brief, while high C communications may be overly detailed.
More pessimistically, perhaps your exec simply means to stop talking about technology they don't understand, and have no interest in understanding. If this is the case, you should consider whether an executive responsible for a technical team is sustainable. Certainly some amount of simplifying explanations can be expected of middle management, but this is a two way street and some efforts should be made to understand the tools used to solve your business problems.
Re: Ask HN: How to speak like a leader, not like an engineer?
#97How do I describe this in engineer terms...
You need a cohesive interface to your boss. He doesn't need the implementation details of your problem. You should return a clean, terse data model from your TechLeader.ReportStatus() function.
You are a complexity manager in leadership just like you are as a developer. He's your customer like your sister team consuming your API is your customer.
He needs decisions you make, summaries of your problems if you cannot solve them, and multiple solution summaries if you need help picking one.
On the flip side, managers need to understand why, and you need to be capable of explaining why if the problem is not intuitive to them. But you'd be surprised how many problems are intuitive to them when the fundamental moving parts are summarized well. If the boss needs more detail, he will ask.
EDIT: one last thing: focus on actions, not reasons. We did X, then Y, and Y didn't work, so we did Z. Now our timeline is at risk. We need to push back two sprints.
He doesnt need to know reasons Y1,Y2,and Y3 why Y didnt work. If he wants them, he'll ask. Actions, not reasons.
Re: Ask HN: How to speak like a leader, not like an engineer?
#98Here's my strategy whenever I have 1:1's or hallway "walking conversations" with execs/GMs that are at least 2 levels above me: 1) try to teach them something new or interesting that has been learned that they can add to their box of tricks/intel that they can pull out later in other conversations. Include people/orgs that are involved. Include observed successes/failures. The goal is that when they leave the convers…
> try to teach them something new or interesting that has been learned that they can add to their box of tricks/intel that they can pull out later in other conversations. I'm trying to think of what such a thing might be and coming up short. Could you expand on that with a simple example?
"I watched this YouTube video on X, it was interesting because..."
"talked to my buddy who works for X they did this thing _____ ...big mistake"
"I've been collecting articles about ______, interesting trends X,Y..."
edit: another good one: "I went to meetup, talked to a bunch of people and heard some interesting experiences with _______"
Re: Ask HN: How to speak like a leader, not like an engineer?
#99Management is a trade, just like engineering, so you pick it up like you picked up engineering, with education and practice.
I’ve spend two years learning leadership skills and I’m still often stuck on the technical details. Because technical details matter to me, but they don’t really matter in management. What matters is how well you execute, and you execute well by picking the right staff, keeping them motivated and on target.
If the engine on a freighter breaks or needs a larger upgrade, then the captain doesn’t really care why. He wants to know his options, how they’ll benefit the ship, what they cost and what risk they come with. The same thing goes for personnel problems, executives don’t care about what went wrong or why, they care about how you plan to fix it.
If you’re looking for mentoring, it’s almost always better to do that with a management colleague that isn’t your boss. Because your boss has the exact same leader/employee responsibilities that you do.
Re: Ask HN: How to speak like a leader, not like an engineer?
#100I would start by reading and listening to Radical Candor's books and podcasts:
https://www.radicalcandor.com
"We believe that the relationships you have with your team are at the center of being a great boss. At the heart of these relationships is Radical Candor, the ability to Care Personally at the same time that you Challenge Directly when you fulfill your core responsibilities as a leader..."
They helped me a lot to connect with the people in my team, to create an environment of positive communication, but most importantly it helped me shift the way I communicate with other people in the company.