9 ms·

Ask HN: What do engineers never talk to their bosses about, but should?

42 points by danfrost 5y ago

Asking kind of for fun, kinds of for serious :)

ochronus 5y ago
Their career aspirations and what they need from their managers for that.
- giantg2 5y ago
  I sort of agree. My company makes a big deal about this in 1-on-1s. It seems that none of the talk amounts to much. Like the only impactful stuff is when a manager says stuff like "I know people throughout the company. If you make me happy I can get you promoted to one of those teams". Although I despise this because it's basically backroom deals full of bias instead of focusing on promoting/hiring the best people. Maybe I'm just disillusioned from the idea that meritocracy was supposed to be the major part of that process. Anyways, what can managers actually do to help us achieve our aspirations?
  - ochronus 5y ago
    I'm sorry it's like that at your place :( I have a different experience, thankfully - both when I was an engineer and now as a manager. A good manager (in a company with the right culture) can help you streamline your efforts. In a proper company a manager doesn't "get you promoted" but helps you demonstrate that you're on the next level.
    - giantg2 5y ago
      Do you have more info on what that looks like? I guess I'm just lost.
      - ochronus 5y ago
        Usually you have a tons of directions you can grow as an engineer. Some examples: you can become a subject matter expert in one stack, you can get good at multiple stacks, you can do public speaking, blogging, open source contributions, you can become various kinds of a tech leader (from leading projects to driving engineering principles in the org), you can mentor others, etc. - while this is all growth, it's nearly impossible to do all at once. Your manager can help you in at least 3 ways: 1. help you realize what is personally interesting for you from all this (you'd be surprised how many people don't know this!) 2. help you filter this list by what's currently important for the team/org, so basically find the intersection of what's interesting for you AND recognized in the company 3. help you find effective ways and support. This comes in many forms, e.g. pointing you to opportunities (hey, do you want to lead the next project?), finding you mentors or mentees in the org, coaching you directly (e.g. in leadership), getting you a tech writer to help you with blogging, connect you to people, etc. About the promotion bit: you own that part. Your manager can tell you 2 things: 1. If you want to get promoted, which growth directions and actions to take 2. Whether they think you're ready or not
        giantg2 5y ago
        My experience is that managers just tell you what to focus on for what the team needs. They don't care about the person's needs. They certainly don't offer very good career advice (the new model are DCLs that are basically just senior devs that spend 60% of their time leading people). I guess I have bad managers. For example, I switched to the current team a little over a year ago and it's just non-stop context switching. I'm expected to work in and know multiple and technologies (java, python, DB2, Dynamo, all manner of AWS stuff, and a bunch of vender products like Splunk and Tableau). Subsets of the applications that we own have turned over and shifted around twice in this time. I'm constantly being pulled off of one story to work on another because something broke or the business has an urgent need. I'm told I'm slow. My manager and I even agree that I'm slower than I was in other teams because we didn't have that much context switching. They said there's nothing they can do about context switching. So I said it sounds like I should move to a team with less context switching that that would provide a better environment to succeed. They immediately tried to talk me out of it. I'm not sure if she was actually dumb or if she was just playing dumb, but she couldn't even comprehend how being on a team with less context switching would be beneficial to me.
        ochronus 5y ago
        Also, don't get me wrong, I struggle a LOT with figuring out that overlap/cross-section I talked about... and I fck things up probably many times. I do care (a lot!) though for my engineers' needs and interests! Both because I relate to them as a person and both because this is the only sensible long-term strategy for having motivated people (and have them stay AND grow).
        ochronus 5y ago
        I understand this is your experience and I think it sucks big time. It shouldn't be like this at all. Yet, this doesn't mean it's like that at all places with all managers.
codegladiator 5y ago
Tech debt
- seattle_spring 5y ago
  This is half of what I talk to my manager about.
- Cthulhu_ 5y ago
  That's good, because it's developers that make it in the first place. If you need to talk to your manager about getting time to fix it - same with e.g. unit tests - something went really wrong somewhere.
  - filoeleven 5y ago
    > developers that make it in the first place I don’t know how common the following is, but I have more than once created tech debt under duress from management. It seems to happen more frequently with a system already deeply in debt: slapping on another band-aid or bolting on another sidecar are both faster to do right now, and right now is when the fix or feature is ”needed.” We could always circle back and pay down the debt in the mysterious future “when we have time,” which never seemed to materialize. Not disagreeing that that means something went really wrong somewhere, just wondering how common the situation is.
  - gwbas1c 5y ago
    > because it's developers that make it in the first place I've inherited quite a few projects riddled with novice code; and code by developers who just fundamentally didn't understand critical concepts. Especially as a newcomer, this is a topic that needs to be handled gently. Sometimes this requires correlating known flakiness with problem areas. One word of caution: If the developers who made the debt are still in the organization, and oblivious to the problems they created, assume that your manager is also oblivious to the problem. It may be best to leave quickly, or feel out upper management to see if they agree with your assessment of problems.
giantg2 5y ago
At least at big corporations it should be about all the corporate double talk and broken policies/promises. Edit: why downvote? This has been my experience. If we dont talk about it, then it will never be fixed.
- neogodless 5y ago
  From the site guidelines, please don't talk about downvotes in comments. It never does any good, and it's boring. You can expand upon your original comment without that part, and let the votes fall where they do.
  - hashkb 5y ago
    Screw the site guidelines - drive-by downvoting this comment is highly suspicious, and cowardly.
    - pc86 5y ago
      I can't even begin to imagine the bubble you must live in to ascribe words like suspicion and cowardice to someone clicking a button on a forum even most software developers in the world have never even heard of.
      - hashkb 5y ago
        You could try. I'd assume it was downvoted by folks who perpetuate said double-talk. If there was a defense, they'd have articulated it. But, since anonymous downvoting is easier and less risky, that's what happens. Silencing the discussion about downvotes is a meta downvote that we shouldn't accept just because it's in the guidelines.
    - neogodless 5y ago
      That may be, but the guidelines have a point. The original comment was interesting. Now it's just a distracting side conversation about downvotes.
anotherhue 5y ago
Coping strategies
neverminder 5y ago
Most bosses are aware of the issues, so an engineer playing a rebel and bringing them up wins nothing. The only way to attract attention is to leave.
- throwaway_srb 5y ago
  This is horrible advice.
- goalieca 5y ago
  I once had a series of exit interviews that went all the way up to the vp of engineering. I think they all knew the issues but didn’t want to admit it. I was also being coached on what to say to the higher levels. I really did not appreciate that.
  - wongarsu 5y ago
    If they're coaching you on what to say at least they think that the higher level isn't acutely aware of all the issues. So you might still have done some good with your honesty.
    - goalieca 5y ago
      At least one boss didn’t want me to make him look bad. Even the vp wanted me to understand that any problems were not his fault which seemed like a weird thing for a person responsible for thousands of employees.
  - gozzoo 5y ago
    why did they think you needed to be coached? isin't the purpose of the exit interview to share your insights in order for the company to know about issues they were obviously missing or aoviding.
    - goalieca 5y ago
      I’d say the exit interviews were politically motivated. Most employees had already given months/years of feedback that was never resolved before it got to that point.
shantnutiwari 5y ago
There are no general rules, different people will have different problems. For me: It was promotion and payrise-- as I was too scared I would be "found out" for not being good enough, which meant I didnt get either for many years; until I quit.
- Cthulhu_ 5y ago
  If they don't actively pursue whether you're "good enough" for a promotion or to be let go, they're not doing their job very well; IMO nobody should feel like they're stagnant in a job, and everybody's entitled to a pay rise every year, at least equivalent to inflation. A manager should also have a moment of reflection at least once a year - how are you doing, where are you in terms of personal development, what can we do to boost your career, etc. It's not in a manager nor a company's best interests to have a stagnant employee.
kristaps 5y ago
Skepticism about tech/ideas that management likes.
- giantg2 5y ago
  I do this often. It never ends well, even if I'm right.
  - hashkb 5y ago
    Management often already got a deal or has worked their tech choice into a financial projection. Sometimes, they are even right. And "I told you so" rolls downhill.
josephorjoe 5y ago
Depends on whether or not the boss can be trusted. I've had bosses where the only thing they ever heard from me were optimistic status updates on work in flight. I considered them completely untrustworthy -- one for lack of competency and one for being a clumsy power seeker. But in general I would only talk to my boss about issues that (1) I'm OK with my boss telling other team members that I said what I said about it, (2) I'm OK with my boss having input on what course of action to take on the topic, and (3) I trust that the conversation is unlikely to be interpreted in some negative way for me.
warrenm 5y ago
In short, it's the small talk that isn't so "small" Regardless of whether you're an "engineer" or not, you need to have an understanding of what your management chain views both the goals of the company, the goals for your team, and how whatever it is you do fits into that Those conversations should be organic and natural, but far too many folks (especially those of the "engineering" bent) either never ask, or ask only obliquely during annual reviews Not having an understanding of how what you do affects the organizations units you are in is one of the greatest contributing factors to employee restlessness and complaining If you know why you're there, you're more likely to stay - or to find a team where you'd be a better fit
hsn915 5y ago
How they are uncomfortable dealing with a certain difficult "team member". I don't know if the "should" because this kind of discussion smells like trouble for all parties involved.
- gwbas1c 5y ago
  I've had a few difficult colleagues. These discussions are, IMO, critical. They also show how effective your manager is. Your manager should be able to take seriously your concerns about that team member. You and your manager should be able to zero in, rather quickly, on strategies for handling the difficult team member. Discussion about termination / reassignment of your colleague should be avoided early on, but if it becomes obvious that it's an irreconcilable situation, your manager should be pretty frank about company policies about "performance improvement plans," the optics of firing someone, and strategies to isolate the other team member so they don't impact everyone else.
discordance 5y ago
"Despite our recommendations, Kubernetes is actually not needed here"
throwaway_wuuts 5y ago
- That governance by fear is a sure way to kill motivation, creativity and to have passive employees who do not dare to fix things. - That supporting a competitive environment between employees is a sure way to kill motivation and creativity. - That the people going the extra mile to ensure a stable production environment gets acknowledged for their effort. - That throwing people under the bus makes you look really incompetent as a manager. - That having an island of free speech within a bad corporate culture will keep the good engineers around. - That one of the prime objectives of a boss is to shield employees from insane and impossible demands from other departments.
- weavie 5y ago
  If you have to tell your manager this, they are not going to be the sort of manager who will listen.
  - lambdasquirrel 5y ago
    Not only that but chances are that they will become resentful and retaliate, perhaps unconsciously, perhaps not. If you have a manager who needs to hear these sort of things they usually need to hear it in a very indirect way, such that they won’t lay the blame on you for being the messenger.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
adamrmcd 5y ago
Feedback on how I am doing as your manager. This isn't a dictatorship, it's a partnership. What can I do to change/help you? Most of my team is quiet on this sort of thing. Perhaps it's cultural? (Is this common for individuals who grew up in eastern Europe?)
- MadVikingGod 5y ago
  What would this entail? I have had only a handful of managers, and only some of them good. What kind of things should I be looking for to give feedback to my manager? I kinda feel like I'm watching a glassblower and getting asked "So what do you think?". I could say if I like the piece or not, but I don't know the first thing about glassblowing to give effective criticism.
  - adamrmcd 5y ago
    Good analogy. It really depends on the needs of the individual contributor. For example, if you know what needs to be done, and you're blocked for one reason or another, let me know. The key here, and the point of my original post, is communication. Any kind. Sure, some managers don't listen, but also some direct reports don't speak their mind.
- Cthulhu_ 5y ago
  It's definitely cultural, generally speaking, employees from the wider asia area have similar cultural things where they are expected to submit to the manager / hierarchy. It's definitely something to read up on if you end up managing people from abroad; I can't recommend any books but I believe there's a few.
- pc86 5y ago
  Have you gone out of your way to make it clear you want this kind of feedback? I've had managers who either consciously or otherwise had given me the impression that they're find with their management style and aren't really interested in changing it. That's fine and doesn't necessarily make them a bad manager, but going out of my way to provide "feedback" to them would have only harmed my career. I've had a couple managers who explicitly told me on multiple occasions that they wanted feedback on their performance and if I thought they were doing anything wrong, inefficiently, stupid, etc., they wanted to know about it. I've also had a couple in the middle, and for those it's much safer to just keep quiet. It's pretty high risk/low reward in that scenario.
nojito 5y ago
As a manager I would love to know what they are struggling with and what barriers I need to move for them. For whatever reason, engineers think that because they can't get things done it's a reflection on themselves or their skills when that's often not the case.
- borroka 5y ago
  "it's a reflection on themselves or their skills when that's often not the case." - it is often not the case, but often considered the case. Successfully climbing the corporate ladder requires a set of skills, observational and behavioral, that people as teenagers or college students didn't think were necessary. Say, your manager does not want to hear bad news. They panic, they get mean, they betray when faced with bad news. Should you tell them bad news or make the bad news less bad when not fairly ok? Sure, you can change jobs etc., but given that you want to stay at that company/group/position, should you tell them bad news? The answer is of course no, because it is much easier for them to panic one more time than to change their ways. Basically, the correct (fitness-optimizing!) behavior is mostly situational, the behavior of the shrewd corporate player at the IC, manager, and leadership level depends on the company, people within the company, and situations within people within companies. Of course, most of us would love to see a different world, but this is what we have as of now.
jdavis703 5y ago
I talk about things they can change (for example our teams are multi-disciplinary, so I might feel we need to rebalance resources depending on the project.) We also don’t have a formal review process, so I ask for feedback on what I need to do differently and what I should keep doing.
chatoyance 5y ago
Career development/advancement and a raise.
arcanon 5y ago
“Who is your favorite Scientist?”
berkeshire 5y ago
a) Their work load - whether they will burn out or become a lazy bum. Neither extreme is good. b) What the next job level entails and how to get there. Whether to take the career path of being an individual contributor, manager, architect, tech-lead manager, etc. c) Compensation, equity, and how RSUs, ESOPs, etc. work. d) Alternate, overlapping fields of work - in case of software developers, how can they explore product management or running tech programs.

42 points by danfrost 5y ago

Asking kind of for fun, kinds of for serious :)

ochronus 5y ago

Their career aspirations and what they need from their managers for that.

giantg2 5y ago
I sort of agree. My company makes a big deal about this in 1-on-1s. It seems that none of the talk amounts to much. Like the only impactful stuff is when a manager says stuff like "I know people throughout the company. If you make me happy I can get you promoted to one of those teams". Although I despise this because it's basically backroom deals full of bias instead of focusing on promoting/hiring the best people. Maybe I'm just disillusioned from the idea that meritocracy was supposed to be the major part of that process. Anyways, what can managers actually do to help us achieve our aspirations?
- ochronus 5y ago
  I'm sorry it's like that at your place :( I have a different experience, thankfully - both when I was an engineer and now as a manager. A good manager (in a company with the right culture) can help you streamline your efforts. In a proper company a manager doesn't "get you promoted" but helps you demonstrate that you're on the next level.
  - giantg2 5y ago
    Do you have more info on what that looks like? I guess I'm just lost.
    - ochronus 5y ago
      Usually you have a tons of directions you can grow as an engineer. Some examples: you can become a subject matter expert in one stack, you can get good at multiple stacks, you can do public speaking, blogging, open source contributions, you can become various kinds of a tech leader (from leading projects to driving engineering principles in the org), you can mentor others, etc. - while this is all growth, it's nearly impossible to do all at once. Your manager can help you in at least 3 ways: 1. help you realize what is personally interesting for you from all this (you'd be surprised how many people don't know this!) 2. help you filter this list by what's currently important for the team/org, so basically find the intersection of what's interesting for you AND recognized in the company 3. help you find effective ways and support. This comes in many forms, e.g. pointing you to opportunities (hey, do you want to lead the next project?), finding you mentors or mentees in the org, coaching you directly (e.g. in leadership), getting you a tech writer to help you with blogging, connect you to people, etc. About the promotion bit: you own that part. Your manager can tell you 2 things: 1. If you want to get promoted, which growth directions and actions to take 2. Whether they think you're ready or not
      - giantg2 5y ago
        My experience is that managers just tell you what to focus on for what the team needs. They don't care about the person's needs. They certainly don't offer very good career advice (the new model are DCLs that are basically just senior devs that spend 60% of their time leading people). I guess I have bad managers. For example, I switched to the current team a little over a year ago and it's just non-stop context switching. I'm expected to work in and know multiple and technologies (java, python, DB2, Dynamo, all manner of AWS stuff, and a bunch of vender products like Splunk and Tableau). Subsets of the applications that we own have turned over and shifted around twice in this time. I'm constantly being pulled off of one story to work on another because something broke or the business has an urgent need. I'm told I'm slow. My manager and I even agree that I'm slower than I was in other teams because we didn't have that much context switching. They said there's nothing they can do about context switching. So I said it sounds like I should move to a team with less context switching that that would provide a better environment to succeed. They immediately tried to talk me out of it. I'm not sure if she was actually dumb or if she was just playing dumb, but she couldn't even comprehend how being on a team with less context switching would be beneficial to me.
        ochronus 5y ago
        Also, don't get me wrong, I struggle a LOT with figuring out that overlap/cross-section I talked about... and I fck things up probably many times. I do care (a lot!) though for my engineers' needs and interests! Both because I relate to them as a person and both because this is the only sensible long-term strategy for having motivated people (and have them stay AND grow).
        ochronus 5y ago
        I understand this is your experience and I think it sucks big time. It shouldn't be like this at all. Yet, this doesn't mean it's like that at all places with all managers.

codegladiator 5y ago

Tech debt

seattle_spring 5y ago
This is half of what I talk to my manager about.
Cthulhu_ 5y ago
That's good, because it's developers that make it in the first place. If you need to talk to your manager about getting time to fix it - same with e.g. unit tests - something went really wrong somewhere.
- filoeleven 5y ago
  > developers that make it in the first place I don’t know how common the following is, but I have more than once created tech debt under duress from management. It seems to happen more frequently with a system already deeply in debt: slapping on another band-aid or bolting on another sidecar are both faster to do right now, and right now is when the fix or feature is ”needed.” We could always circle back and pay down the debt in the mysterious future “when we have time,” which never seemed to materialize. Not disagreeing that that means something went really wrong somewhere, just wondering how common the situation is.
- gwbas1c 5y ago
  > because it's developers that make it in the first place I've inherited quite a few projects riddled with novice code; and code by developers who just fundamentally didn't understand critical concepts. Especially as a newcomer, this is a topic that needs to be handled gently. Sometimes this requires correlating known flakiness with problem areas. One word of caution: If the developers who made the debt are still in the organization, and oblivious to the problems they created, assume that your manager is also oblivious to the problem. It may be best to leave quickly, or feel out upper management to see if they agree with your assessment of problems.

giantg2 5y ago

At least at big corporations it should be about all the corporate double talk and broken policies/promises. Edit: why downvote? This has been my experience. If we dont talk about it, then it will never be fixed.

neogodless 5y ago
From the site guidelines, please don't talk about downvotes in comments. It never does any good, and it's boring. You can expand upon your original comment without that part, and let the votes fall where they do.
- hashkb 5y ago
  Screw the site guidelines - drive-by downvoting this comment is highly suspicious, and cowardly.
  - pc86 5y ago
    I can't even begin to imagine the bubble you must live in to ascribe words like suspicion and cowardice to someone clicking a button on a forum even most software developers in the world have never even heard of.
    - hashkb 5y ago
      You could try. I'd assume it was downvoted by folks who perpetuate said double-talk. If there was a defense, they'd have articulated it. But, since anonymous downvoting is easier and less risky, that's what happens. Silencing the discussion about downvotes is a meta downvote that we shouldn't accept just because it's in the guidelines.
  - neogodless 5y ago
    That may be, but the guidelines have a point. The original comment was interesting. Now it's just a distracting side conversation about downvotes.

anotherhue 5y ago

Coping strategies

neverminder 5y ago

Most bosses are aware of the issues, so an engineer playing a rebel and bringing them up wins nothing. The only way to attract attention is to leave.

throwaway_srb 5y ago
This is horrible advice.
goalieca 5y ago
I once had a series of exit interviews that went all the way up to the vp of engineering. I think they all knew the issues but didn’t want to admit it. I was also being coached on what to say to the higher levels. I really did not appreciate that.
- wongarsu 5y ago
  If they're coaching you on what to say at least they think that the higher level isn't acutely aware of all the issues. So you might still have done some good with your honesty.
  - goalieca 5y ago
    At least one boss didn’t want me to make him look bad. Even the vp wanted me to understand that any problems were not his fault which seemed like a weird thing for a person responsible for thousands of employees.
- gozzoo 5y ago
  why did they think you needed to be coached? isin't the purpose of the exit interview to share your insights in order for the company to know about issues they were obviously missing or aoviding.
  - goalieca 5y ago
    I’d say the exit interviews were politically motivated. Most employees had already given months/years of feedback that was never resolved before it got to that point.

shantnutiwari 5y ago

There are no general rules, different people will have different problems. For me: It was promotion and payrise-- as I was too scared I would be "found out" for not being good enough, which meant I didnt get either for many years; until I quit.

Cthulhu_ 5y ago
If they don't actively pursue whether you're "good enough" for a promotion or to be let go, they're not doing their job very well; IMO nobody should feel like they're stagnant in a job, and everybody's entitled to a pay rise every year, at least equivalent to inflation. A manager should also have a moment of reflection at least once a year - how are you doing, where are you in terms of personal development, what can we do to boost your career, etc. It's not in a manager nor a company's best interests to have a stagnant employee.

kristaps 5y ago

Skepticism about tech/ideas that management likes.

giantg2 5y ago
I do this often. It never ends well, even if I'm right.
- hashkb 5y ago
  Management often already got a deal or has worked their tech choice into a financial projection. Sometimes, they are even right. And "I told you so" rolls downhill.

josephorjoe 5y ago

Depends on whether or not the boss can be trusted. I've had bosses where the only thing they ever heard from me were optimistic status updates on work in flight. I considered them completely untrustworthy -- one for lack of competency and one for being a clumsy power seeker. But in general I would only talk to my boss about issues that (1) I'm OK with my boss telling other team members that I said what I said about it, (2) I'm OK with my boss having input on what course of action to take on the topic, and (3) I trust that the conversation is unlikely to be interpreted in some negative way for me.

warrenm 5y ago

In short, it's the small talk that isn't so "small" Regardless of whether you're an "engineer" or not, you need to have an understanding of what your management chain views both the goals of the company, the goals for your team, and how whatever it is you do fits into that Those conversations should be organic and natural, but far too many folks (especially those of the "engineering" bent) either never ask, or ask only obliquely during annual reviews Not having an understanding of how what you do affects the organizations units you are in is one of the greatest contributing factors to employee restlessness and complaining If you know why you're there, you're more likely to stay - or to find a team where you'd be a better fit

hsn915 5y ago

How they are uncomfortable dealing with a certain difficult "team member". I don't know if the "should" because this kind of discussion smells like trouble for all parties involved.

gwbas1c 5y ago
I've had a few difficult colleagues. These discussions are, IMO, critical. They also show how effective your manager is. Your manager should be able to take seriously your concerns about that team member. You and your manager should be able to zero in, rather quickly, on strategies for handling the difficult team member. Discussion about termination / reassignment of your colleague should be avoided early on, but if it becomes obvious that it's an irreconcilable situation, your manager should be pretty frank about company policies about "performance improvement plans," the optics of firing someone, and strategies to isolate the other team member so they don't impact everyone else.

discordance 5y ago

"Despite our recommendations, Kubernetes is actually not needed here"

throwaway_wuuts 5y ago

- That governance by fear is a sure way to kill motivation, creativity and to have passive employees who do not dare to fix things. - That supporting a competitive environment between employees is a sure way to kill motivation and creativity. - That the people going the extra mile to ensure a stable production environment gets acknowledged for their effort. - That throwing people under the bus makes you look really incompetent as a manager. - That having an island of free speech within a bad corporate culture will keep the good engineers around. - That one of the prime objectives of a boss is to shield employees from insane and impossible demands from other departments.

weavie 5y ago
If you have to tell your manager this, they are not going to be the sort of manager who will listen.
- lambdasquirrel 5y ago
  Not only that but chances are that they will become resentful and retaliate, perhaps unconsciously, perhaps not. If you have a manager who needs to hear these sort of things they usually need to hear it in a very indirect way, such that they won’t lay the blame on you for being the messenger.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

adamrmcd 5y ago

Feedback on how I am doing as your manager. This isn't a dictatorship, it's a partnership. What can I do to change/help you? Most of my team is quiet on this sort of thing. Perhaps it's cultural? (Is this common for individuals who grew up in eastern Europe?)

MadVikingGod 5y ago
What would this entail? I have had only a handful of managers, and only some of them good. What kind of things should I be looking for to give feedback to my manager? I kinda feel like I'm watching a glassblower and getting asked "So what do you think?". I could say if I like the piece or not, but I don't know the first thing about glassblowing to give effective criticism.
- adamrmcd 5y ago
  Good analogy. It really depends on the needs of the individual contributor. For example, if you know what needs to be done, and you're blocked for one reason or another, let me know. The key here, and the point of my original post, is communication. Any kind. Sure, some managers don't listen, but also some direct reports don't speak their mind.
Cthulhu_ 5y ago
It's definitely cultural, generally speaking, employees from the wider asia area have similar cultural things where they are expected to submit to the manager / hierarchy. It's definitely something to read up on if you end up managing people from abroad; I can't recommend any books but I believe there's a few.
pc86 5y ago
Have you gone out of your way to make it clear you want this kind of feedback? I've had managers who either consciously or otherwise had given me the impression that they're find with their management style and aren't really interested in changing it. That's fine and doesn't necessarily make them a bad manager, but going out of my way to provide "feedback" to them would have only harmed my career. I've had a couple managers who explicitly told me on multiple occasions that they wanted feedback on their performance and if I thought they were doing anything wrong, inefficiently, stupid, etc., they wanted to know about it. I've also had a couple in the middle, and for those it's much safer to just keep quiet. It's pretty high risk/low reward in that scenario.

nojito 5y ago

As a manager I would love to know what they are struggling with and what barriers I need to move for them. For whatever reason, engineers think that because they can't get things done it's a reflection on themselves or their skills when that's often not the case.

borroka 5y ago
"it's a reflection on themselves or their skills when that's often not the case." - it is often not the case, but often considered the case. Successfully climbing the corporate ladder requires a set of skills, observational and behavioral, that people as teenagers or college students didn't think were necessary. Say, your manager does not want to hear bad news. They panic, they get mean, they betray when faced with bad news. Should you tell them bad news or make the bad news less bad when not fairly ok? Sure, you can change jobs etc., but given that you want to stay at that company/group/position, should you tell them bad news? The answer is of course no, because it is much easier for them to panic one more time than to change their ways. Basically, the correct (fitness-optimizing!) behavior is mostly situational, the behavior of the shrewd corporate player at the IC, manager, and leadership level depends on the company, people within the company, and situations within people within companies. Of course, most of us would love to see a different world, but this is what we have as of now.

jdavis703 5y ago

I talk about things they can change (for example our teams are multi-disciplinary, so I might feel we need to rebalance resources depending on the project.) We also don’t have a formal review process, so I ask for feedback on what I need to do differently and what I should keep doing.

chatoyance 5y ago

Career development/advancement and a raise.

arcanon 5y ago

“Who is your favorite Scientist?”

berkeshire 5y ago

a) Their work load - whether they will burn out or become a lazy bum. Neither extreme is good. b) What the next job level entails and how to get there. Whether to take the career path of being an individual contributor, manager, architect, tech-lead manager, etc. c) Compensation, equity, and how RSUs, ESOPs, etc. work. d) Alternate, overlapping fields of work - in case of software developers, how can they explore product management or running tech programs.