3 ms·

I don't know if that's me, but I'm a engineering manager that focuses on personal relationships and remote has made my job harder and take way more energy. High

by skeeter2020 5y ago

I don't know if that's me, but I'm a engineering manager that focuses on personal relationships and remote has made my job harder and take way more energy. High fidelity communication is hard or impossible and the alternatives frankly, suck. I don't _think_ I get high from controlling an office environment (not sure what that means) but I sure miss white boards and in-person collaboration.

onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
Sure - but what's best for the worker bees is ultimately important. If they're more efficient, then it just sucks for you. If they're not more efficient, then there's a business case for bringing the worker bees back to the hive.
ipaddr 5y ago
You know one way and doing anything different is difficult. It also will challenge you and make you a better manager and person. Do you really need a crutch like the white board? Do you really need that employee right beside you? Take all of that away and you can still be a good manager.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- hn_throwaway_99 5y ago
  > Do you really need a crutch like the white board? Umm, what? Having been a manager and an IC I don't see a white board as a crutch at all, I see it as a highly effective tool for a specific set of problems. I definitely prefer working at home when I'm heads down, I know what the problem is and I just need to crank out a solution. When I'm designing the solution to a problem with a group of people, or heck even just trying to fully clarify the problem, having an in-person session is just much more productive and efficient. What's more, having now done lots of remote design/problem solving sessions, both as the leader of the meeting and the participant, I find them always less effective in every way when there are at least 3 people in the meeting.
mustafa_pasi 5y ago
It's not just you. I cannot manage to do people stuff over videochat. Not to mention virtual whiteboards are a frustratingly poor imitation of the real deal. On the other hand, I do work better on my own, when I just need to grind out some work. I guess my ideal would be 2 or 3 days remote and the rest in office.
- minsc__and__boo 5y ago
  Whiteboarding has been a real loss here. It feels like ages since I picked up a marker and made a data model. There really is no remote alternative that isn't super expensive or lacks the responsiveness of in-person.
  - tutmeister 5y ago
    Have you tried Miro? It's $8/month if you want to invite others to edit your board. I find it offers good value at that price point. I'm a UX/product manager though, so I tend to pull in a lot of external visuals while I'm working. So YMMV.
    - schoolornot 5y ago
      I am worried that Miro is becoming the new Jira.

onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago

Sure - but what's best for the worker bees is ultimately important. If they're more efficient, then it just sucks for you. If they're not more efficient, then there's a business case for bringing the worker bees back to the hive.

ipaddr 5y ago

You know one way and doing anything different is difficult. It also will challenge you and make you a better manager and person. Do you really need a crutch like the white board? Do you really need that employee right beside you? Take all of that away and you can still be a good manager.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
hn_throwaway_99 5y ago
> Do you really need a crutch like the white board? Umm, what? Having been a manager and an IC I don't see a white board as a crutch at all, I see it as a highly effective tool for a specific set of problems. I definitely prefer working at home when I'm heads down, I know what the problem is and I just need to crank out a solution. When I'm designing the solution to a problem with a group of people, or heck even just trying to fully clarify the problem, having an in-person session is just much more productive and efficient. What's more, having now done lots of remote design/problem solving sessions, both as the leader of the meeting and the participant, I find them always less effective in every way when there are at least 3 people in the meeting.

mustafa_pasi 5y ago

It's not just you. I cannot manage to do people stuff over videochat. Not to mention virtual whiteboards are a frustratingly poor imitation of the real deal. On the other hand, I do work better on my own, when I just need to grind out some work. I guess my ideal would be 2 or 3 days remote and the rest in office.

minsc__and__boo 5y ago
Whiteboarding has been a real loss here. It feels like ages since I picked up a marker and made a data model. There really is no remote alternative that isn't super expensive or lacks the responsiveness of in-person.
- tutmeister 5y ago
  Have you tried Miro? It's $8/month if you want to invite others to edit your board. I find it offers good value at that price point. I'm a UX/product manager though, so I tend to pull in a lot of external visuals while I'm working. So YMMV.
  - schoolornot 5y ago
    I am worried that Miro is becoming the new Jira.