I don't need shown a rough edge. Well, most people do. They're biological organisms and all full of emotions and quirks. For instance, did you know that if you

I don't need shown a rough edge. Well, most people do. They're biological organisms and all full of emotions and quirks. For instance, did you know that if you laugh at people's jokes, they tend to be more open to your ideas? True story. Does that make any sense at all? No. In the same way, leadership isn't just about your position on an organizational chart. Sometimes you need to be stern when someone is out of line. You need to be assertive with your ideas, not just express them and expect people to understand their merit. It gets complicated. It's not enough to be technically right or "in charge." You have to recognize that we're a bunch of apes building computer software. It's been an evolutionary blink of an eye since our intelligence and social structures became sufficient to farm and live in large groups. We're pack animals. If you could summarize good engineering management in a sentence, I think it would be, "Treat people like people." The engineering part doesn't even factor into it until you've got everyone acting like decent human beings.