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We begin this month’s Engineering Leadership Reading List with The Cynefin Framework Overview, a practical tool for leaders seeking to understand and operate effectively within different levels of complexity. Its emphasis on sense-making and adaptive decision-making sets the stage for broader discussions on navigating complexity, a recurring theme this month. Similarly, How to Delegate Effectively as Your Responsibility Grows provides actionable advice for leaders managing increasing demands, highlighting the importance of accountability and fostering independence within teams.

On the technical side, Exploring D2: A Declarative Diagramming Language showcases how declarative tools can enhance productivity in engineering workflows. This exploration of simplifying processes ties into 4 Ways to Technically Upskill Engineers, which outlines structured approaches for managers to help their teams transition from technical proficiency to fluency through self-directed learning and reflection.

Team dynamics and feedback feature prominently in Why You Should Have 1:1s with Your Peers and Why You’re Bad at Giving Feedback. Both articles examine the importance of fostering open communication and building trust within teams, offering practical strategies for improving collaboration and interpersonal skills. These ideas are extended in How to Give a Senior Leader Feedback (Without Getting Fired), which focuses on navigating hierarchical challenges while ensuring feedback is constructive.

Broader reflections on innovation and learning emerge in Learning by the Blade or From the Chalice, which uses metaphor to explore different modes of collaboration and decision-making, encouraging a balance between decisiveness and nurturing approaches. This ties into philosophical discussions on professional growth, such as The Power of Anti-Goals, where a contrarian approach to productivity highlights the value of designing workdays to avoid burnout and unwanted tasks.

Lastly, we turn to technical leadership challenges in specialised fields. Engineers Do Not Get To Make Startup Mistakes When They Build Ledgers addresses the unique demands of fintech engineering, advocating for robust systems and highlighting the risks of overlooking foundational principles like double-entry accounting. This focus on precision and reliability is complemented by VC School: What’s a Venture Scale Business?, which breaks down what it means for a business to be venture-scale, providing a strategic lens for evaluating growth potential and market impact.

As always, the Propellor Hat Key will guide your reading. Enjoy!

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3-out-of-5-hats The Cynefin Framework Overview: The Cynefin Framework is a tool developed to help leaders navigate complex and diverse environments effectively. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing different domains of operation and matching actions to reality through a process of sense-making. Widely applicable across sectors, from healthcare to counterterrorism, it assists leaders in distinguishing between complexity and routine, thereby optimizing decision-making and resource allocation.

#CynefinFramework #SenseMaking #Leadership #Complexity #DecisionMaking

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3-out-of-5-hats 4 Ways to Technically Upskill Engineers: The article emphasizes the importance of developing technical fluency among mid-level engineers to boost their performance and motivation. It outlines a four-step approach to guide managers and engineers in enhancing technical skills: creating skill ladders, encouraging self-directed learning, fostering reflection and practice, and promoting ownership and growth mindsets. By implementing these strategies, managers can help engineers transition from proficiency to fluency, ultimately benefiting their organizations.

#TechUpskilling #CareerDevelopment #EngineeringFluency #GrowthMindset #Leadership

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3-out-of-5-hats Exploring D2: A Declarative Diagramming Language: D2 is a modern language designed to convert text into customizable diagrams quickly and easily. It features production-ready themes, sketch mode, and unique potential for creating animated diagrams from text. D2 supports various languages and can be used offline with its robust CLI. Explore D2 through their online playground or delve deeper with their technical blog and join discussions on Discord.

#Diagramming #TechInnovation #DataVisualization #DeclarativeLanguage #Terrastruct

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3-out-of-5-hats How to Delegate Effectively as Your Responsibility Grows: Erik Dietrich dives into effective delegation techniques as roles grow in organizations, highlighting the balance between accountability and task execution. He explores various styles of delegation, from executive down to individual contributors, and emphasizes the importance of accountability alongside task delegation. Dietrich also provides tips on avoiding micromanagement and shares self-assessment tools to improve delegation skills. He concludes with practical advice on fostering independence and creativity in teams while ensuring responsibilities are met.

#Delegation #Leadership #Management #Productivity #ErikDietrich

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3-out-of-5-hats 5 Essential Reads for Engineering Leaders: The article titled “5 Essential Reads for Engineering Leaders” by Séverin Bruhat provides a curated list of must-read books for software engineering managers. It discusses how these books can offer practical advice, valuable insights, and thought-provoking perspectives for aspiring and current leaders in the tech industry. The books covered include titles that focus on management, leadership, and improving team dynamics in competitive tech environments.

#Leadership #Engineering #TechManagement #BookRecommendations #SoftwareDevelopment

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3-out-of-5-hats Why You’re Bad at Giving Feedback: The article discusses the importance and challenges of giving effective feedback. It points out common mistakes that people make, such as layering criticism between compliments, being vague, or waiting for the perfect moment, which often leads to ineffective communication. The article offers practical strategies for providing clear, specific, and constructive feedback that focuses on facts and facilitates improvement in a team setting.

#Feedback #Communication #Leadership #Teamwork #Improvement

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3-out-of-5-hats Engineers Do Not Get To Make Startup Mistakes When They Build Ledgers: The article delves into the challenges faced by fintech engineers, particularly when dealing with ledger systems. It highlights how overlooking technical debt in entry-level solutions can escalate to significant issues, as illustrated by a startup’s experience with ‘dancing cents’—minor discrepancies causing customer dissatisfaction. The piece advocates for double-entry accounting systems, emphasizing the importance of robust ledgers for tracking transactions accurately and ensuring customer trust. Drawing from various examples and expert insights, it serves as a guide for developing scalable and reliable financial systems.

#Fintech #Accounting #Engineering #Ledgers #DoubleEntry

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2-out-of-5-hats How to give a senior leader feedback (without getting fired): Wes Kao’s article delves into the complexities of providing feedback to senior leaders effectively without jeopardizing one’s job. It explores the challenge of addressing leaders’ behavior that impedes desired outcomes, while emphasizing the importance of being respectful and strategic. Kao outlines approach strategies, including using diplomatic language, leveraging data, and self-reflection, to ensure constructive feedback is well-received and initiates positive change.

#Leadership #Feedback #CareerDevelopment #ExecutiveCommunication #ProfessionalGrowth

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3-out-of-5-hats Learning by the Blade or From the Chalice: In this article, John Durrant explores the dichotomy between two symbols: the Blade and the Chalice, and how they reflect different approaches in life, communication, and learning. The Blade represents decisiveness and conquest, often associated with hierarchical systems and authoritarianism. In contrast, the Chalice symbolizes nurturing and cooperative relationships, suggesting a path of egalitarianism and receptivity. Durrant emphasizes the importance of situational discernment in applying these metaphors, advocating for a balance between the two for optimal interactions and understanding, especially in creative and learning environments.

#Learning #Innovation #Philosophy #HumanCentric #Collaboration

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1-out-of-5-hats What is my ideal Career Path for Product Managers - Chapter 1: The article discusses the societal pressure on young individuals to determine their career paths early, highlighting that even at 33, the author is still exploring her professional identity. She emphasises the non-linear nature of careers and advocates for allowing young people the freedom to explore various interests without the constraint of early, definitive career decisions.

#CareerExploration #NonLinearPaths #YouthDevelopment #CareerPressure #ProfessionalIdentity

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3-out-of-5-hats Why You Should Have 1:1s with Your Peers: David Weiss emphasizes the value of 1:1 meetings between peers, highlighting four main benefits. These meetings help boost leadership skills, provide a platform for technical support, address team issues, and facilitate personal connections among team members. By fostering these interactions, individuals gain insights that transcend typical team dynamics, improving both personal and professional growth.

#Leadership #TeamBuilding #PersonalGrowth #SoftwareEngineering #Communication

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2-out-of-5-hats The Power of Anti-Goals: In “The Power of Anti-Goals,” Andrew Wilkinson explores a contrarian approach to productivity by focusing on what he wishes to avoid in his daily routine rather than what he aims to achieve. Instead of setting goals based on desires, he and his business partner created ‘Anti-Goals’ to eliminate negative experiences like long meetings and dealings with untrustworthy people, enhancing their work-life balance.

This inversion strategy, inspired by Charlie Munger’s principle of addressing problems in reverse, led them to prioritize avoiding undesired tasks as a means to design more enjoyable workdays. This unique approach offers a simple yet powerful method to enhance personal and professional satisfaction.

#AntiGoals #WorkLifeBalance #Productivity #Entrepreneurship #Mindset

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3-out-of-5-hats VC School: What’s a Venture Scale Business?: In this video, Matt Duesterberg from OhmConnect discusses what it means for a business to be venture-scale, a concept crucial for startups and investors. The discussion covers essential aspects that determine a company’s suitability for venture funding, such as growth potential, scalability, and market impact. It’s a valuable resource for entrepreneurs considering venture capital as a means to expand their business.

#VentureCapital #Startups #BusinessGrowth #Scaleup #Entrepreneurship

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3-out-of-5-hats Exploring the Minds of Software Developers: IT Archetypes offers an insider’s perspective on the minds of software developers, exploring what drives these individuals who power much of today’s technology. The book delves into the personal and professional motivations of developers, questioning whether they all fit the ‘geek’ stereotype and examining the tools and concepts they use. This book aims to shed light on the diverse personalities in the software industry.

#SoftwareDevelopment #ITArchetypes #DeveloperLife #TechBook #ProgrammingInsights

Regards,

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Originally published on quantumfaxmachine.com and cross-posted on Medium.

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QFM043: Engineering Leadership Reading List November 2024

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