The Midwit Trap, & Why Tech Companies Are Falling For It

Jason and Eiso explore the implications of Mark Zuckerberg's plan to flatten Meta's management layers and examine the current ratio of engineers to managers, questioning if this balance is truly efficient or if it's simply a byproduct of Silicon Valley culture. Deep dive into the topics discussed in this episode at developingleadership.substack.com/p/how-many-ems-to-change-a-lightbulb   Subscribe on Substack for weekly deep dives, topic digests, and more! developingleadership.substack.com   Join the discussion and follow us on twitter @devleadership_    Watch this episode on Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jFoh8Z-4T8    Developing Leadership is powered by Athenian. We are introducing a winning approach to engineering metrics that can help you empower your teams to autonomously improve. If you want to learn more, go to athenian.com

Eiso and Jason discuss how engineering leaders can fall into the trap of midwit thinking (the infamous bell curve meme) where they have a surface level understanding of complex topics and use buzzwords to sound knowledgeable. Why do managers become overly obsessed with specific tools? Why do companies encourage this behavior? What should leaders really be focusing on? Listen and find out! Deep dive into the topics discussed in this episode on substack: developingleadership.substack.com/p/the-midwits-of-the-tech-industry Join the discussion and follow us on twitter @devleadership_ Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/RM2gJ_EiJSQ  Developing Leadership is powered by Athenian. We are introducing a winning approach to engineering metrics that can help you empower your teams to autonomously improve. If you want to learn more, go to athenian.com

Former Atlassian CTO Sri Viswanath shares his lessons on engineering leadership, such as aligning goals, handling difficult situations, and optimizing team metrics. Jason, Eiso and Sri talk about their experiences with system failures and the importance of technical mentors and CTOs in promoting better leadership.   Deep dive into the topics discussed in this episode at go.developingleadership.co/ep42   Join the discussion and follow us on twitter @devleadership_   Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/VbBYqNtB_cs   Developing Leadership is a podcast presented by Athenian. We are introducing the world of engineering to metrics and data that improve processes and help teams. If you want to learn more about data-enabled engineering, go to athenian.com

Jason and Eiso share their love-hate relationship with OKRs and discuss the pedantic nature of setting objectives and how they ultimately help to align and empower organizations. They talk about setting and tracking goals, the often performative nature of OKRs, and the dangers of abstracting oneself away from the product you’re building. Deep dive into the topics discussed in this episode at go.developingleadership.co/ep.41 Join the discussion and follow us on twitter @ devleadership_ Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/QFMrJQ3m7BU Developing Leadership is a podcast presented by Athenian. We are introducing the world of engineering to metrics and data that improve processes and help teams. If you want to learn more about data-enabled engineering, go to athenian.com

Jason and Eiso explore the intersection between finance and engineering leadership and discuss the importance of position sizing in engineering orgs. From promotions to product initiatives and technology choices, leaders are constantly making bets. So the guys delve into decision making, risk management, trust, and the dangers of placing the wrong bets. Deep dive into the topics discussed in this episode at go.developingleadership.co/ep40 Watch this episode YouTube > https://youtu.be/tYtA4FF1WG8  Join the discussion and follow us on twitter @devleadership_ Developing Leadership is a podcast presented by Athenian. We are introducing the world of engineering to metrics and data that improve processes and help teams. If you want to learn more about data-enabled engineering, go to athenian.com

Jason and Eiso get real about censorship culture in the tech industry. From free speech to the rights of employees and the role of companies in society. They chat about privilege in tech, whether we need democracy within tech companies, the role of culture stewards, and more. Deep dive into the topics discussed in this episode at go.developingleadership.co/ep39 Watch this episode YouTube > https://youtu.be/BvFpe2mlWWw Join the discussion and follow us on twitter @ devleadership_ Developing Leadership is a podcast presented by Athenian. We are introducing the world of engineering to metrics and data that improve processes and help teams. If you want to learn more about data-enabled engineering, go to athenian.com

Jason and Eiso deep dive into corporate politics, hierarchies, and the sociopaths that often sit at the top as they analyze the behaviors of famous C-Level leaders, such as Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, and pick apart what Engineering Leaders can learn from them. Deep dive into the topics discussed in this episode at go.developingleadership.co/ep38 Join our Engineering Insights Series on Feb 9th! > rebrand.ly/eis1-pod Watch this episode YouTube > https://youtu.be/QK3ZumAWUuU Join the discussion and follow us on twitter @devleadership_ Developing Leadership is a podcast presented by Athenian. We are introducing the world of engineering to metrics and data that improve processes and help teams. If you want to learn more about data-enabled engineering, go to athenian.com

Phil Calçado is the Global CTO at PicPay, one the largest engineering orgs in Latin America. He joins the podcast to re-tell his war stories as an engineering leader at SoundCloud, Digital Ocean, SeatGeek, MeetUp, and more celebrity-tier tech companies. Deep dive into the topics discussed in this episode at go.developingleadership.co/ep37 Join the discussion and follow us on twitter @ devleadership_ Developing Leadership is a podcast presented by Athenian. We are introducing the world of engineering to metrics and data that improve processes and help teams. If you want to learn more about data-enabled engineering, go to athenian.com

Happy 2023! or is it?… Jason and Eiso talk about the economic recession and share their predictions for the year ahead. They chat about what happened in 2022 that set the stage for 2023, what the hiring halt means for software engineers, what will happen to those that didn't prepare, and more! Deep dive into the topics discussed in this episode at go.developingleadership.co/ep36 Join the discussion and follow us on twitter @ devleadership_ Developing Leadership is a podcast presented by Athenian. We are introducing the world of engineering to metrics and data that improve processes and help teams. If you want to learn more about data-enabled engineering, go to athenian.com

Allison McMillan, VP of Engineering at Quota Path, joins us to talk about the transformation engineering leaders go through when they become parents and the lessons we can take parenting to our day-to-day as managers. From communication to rewards vs. consequences to dealing with other humans and their unique challenges. Deep dive into the topics discussed in this episode at go.developingleadership.co/ep35 Join the discussion and follow us on twitter @ devleadership_ Developing Leadership is a podcast presented by Athenian. We are introducing the world of engineering to metrics and data that improve processes and help teams. If you want to learn more about data-enabled engineering, go to athenian.com