In this episode, rachel, Kendall, and Sarah talk about: Making the choice to go into software engineering The daily life of a team lead How one becomes a team lead, awesome support from Jasmine and others! The power of empathy in leadership Being able to ask questions across the org Approaches to building trust Being highly concensus-driven, associating "authority" with top-down directives How leaders should always remember they have more to learn Just How Very Tired Kendall Is That it's important for leaders to be approachable/accessible to people at all levels of the org How "Building up relationships in a company is like building up a friendship" Learning how to paint, using 3D printed items to practice drawing Disrupting the "deciding where to eat" market You can find Sarah on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-rieger-66617a145/ Special thanks to Mel Stanley for our theme music <3

In this episode, Kendall and rachel talk about: The good vs the bad kind of underwater Why one should make one's own underpants Ear infections and their provenance, also Kendall made a pearl with his ear rachel's new e-bike and how it's awesome Kendall learns about the magical thing that is kolhrabi rachel's plans and anxieties about travel during the pandemic Why Kendall chooses the opposite of "stability" How that impacts motivation to invest in the future in a given community rachel learns about the turbo-plus version of notarization called "apostille" Kendall's new working situation, goals for work environments Why work when you don't have to? Feelings of pointlessness regarding activism The magical allure of Portugal Special thanks to Mel Stanley for our theme music <3

In this episode, Kendall, rachel, and Anurag talk about: Getting left in charge as a career progression mechanism An "unusual" level of interest in affecting long-term strategy and systems thinking from an economics background Betting on more candidates by giving them an opportunity outside of their current background The vagueness of product management and strategy Instilling a culture of ownership/safety when everyone is working remotely How sometimes more meetings is...good? At least when onboarding, as a way to develop culture by seeing other people interact. Onboarding that results in checking in code within 5 days LOUD NOISES Admiration for one's leaders, learning by watching them Authority as responsibility to one's team vs power Intermission to enjoy Kendall's dog Safety to make mistakes as a child, wanting that for your team rachel has Opinions about calling your colleagues your "family" Loyalty to people vs company Enjoyment of natural places Using leadership skills to improve life with friends and family You can find Anurag on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asblr/ Special thanks to Mel Stanley for our theme music <3

In this episode, rachel and Kendall talk about: Coping mechanisms: are some worse than others? Where is the line? What happens when a planner can't make any plans? rachel's effusive declarations about indie sewing patterns Kendall's...disappointing COVID experience Why does it seem wrong to feel happy when people around the world are suffering? When it's helpful to compartmentalize Clarifying what you're actually feeling guilty about Happiness as self-care How much authenticity is too much, at work? The need for a mechanism for feeling hope Hitting that bucket list A song that changed the path of a life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXk5dXYw728 A quick detour for hot tub recommendations and rap lyrics from Kendall The value of self-understanding, introspection, honesty Polarization for good and bad reasons Doing the little things that make you happy (like making a podcast with a good friend <3 ) Special thanks to Mel Stanley for our theme music <3

In this episode, rachel, Kendall, and Sean talk about: The genesis of this podcast, and who we have to thank How taking the traditional path of CS to engineering leadership is the rare case Getting into guiding and mentoring at a small company named Huge (lol) Being glad for having done the deathmarch type work when you were younger Learning many important lessons via a failed startup Why consulting is often not appealing Finally getting into bonafide engineering management, with no training A free podcast idea: Awkward Silences The blessing and curse of being a problemsolver The idea that listening is an action Not being able to let go of puns Timing complexity when trying to promote internally How high trust environments must exist across a given company to work well, and how this makes hiring a much higher stakes proposition Intent to 3D print and make things out of wood You can find Sean at seanoc.com Special thanks to Mel Stanley for our theme music <3

In this episode, rachel and Kendall talk about: Dietary constraints for gout sufferers Non-traditional Thanksgiving fare and excitement about cabbage rolls Kendall's adventures in escalating vegetarianism The definition of "assuming positive intent" How the power dynamic matters Why it's unreasonable to expect marginalized people to assume positive intent by default Kendall realizes once again he's playing the game on "easy" mode When assuming positive intent works well, why it's valuable and to whom Why this episode has the "explicit" tag :) A time when Kendall did not assume positive intent The dangers of making "assume positive intent" a corporate policy How this relates to injustice in the greater social world Kendall's unflagging optimism about people rachel's tactics for navigating a situation where you can't assume positive intent Why intent is not as important as impact How to serve a colleague or employee who reports discrimination Our desire for more topics to discuss, tweet us at @djpiebob and @blatanterror with your requests! Special thanks to Mel Stanley for our theme music <3

In this episode, Kendall, rachel, and Marilyn talk about: Wishing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our guest :) Growing up in a household that had computers Working in tech: doing math, but also making money! Going back to school, getting an internship at Google The value of just having credentials (why to get a Masters degree) The Wrong Kind of Management Training Going back to being an IC....briefly Getting crappy leadership advice When not to "lighten the mood" and how the rules are different for men vs women Enjoying the peer support of being a leader among several instead of being The One Boss Educating Kendall about K&R, a rare opportunity to gatekeep for rachel :) Enjoying being involved in decisionmaking vs being The Authority Enthusiasm for houseplants and reading during the pandemic You can find Marilyn on Twitter as @mmmarilyn :) Special thanks to Mel Stanley for our theme music <3

In this episode, rachel, Kendall, and Eli talk about: The most apt failed startup name ever A terrible first experience as a manager and being voluntold to try it again Enjoying the force multiplier of leadership vs individual contribution Oracle acquisition zingers (nice one, Kendall) Being Guild-less at Spotify Going from being told what to build to asking what should be built Learning that it's important to also care about the business plan Communicating and marketing business context to [naive|entitled] engineers How that context helps drive a more collaborative process and empowers engineers How big is too big? Kendall asking the important questions The inevitability of acquiring a "superstructure of bullshit" Outgrowing the "rah rah" aspect of working at a company Feelings of beard inadequacy and enjoyment of bicycles The romance of building a sailboat with your life partner You can find Eli on the Rands Leadership Slack and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/eli-daniel/ Special thanks to Mel Stanley for our theme music <3

In this episode, Kendall and rachel talk about: Kendall's amazing inflatable hot tub Having a little bit of guest visit enjoyment, as a treat The quaint marvel that is rachel's small-town paper's Police Blotter (here's the video i reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mG2RGp-lcw&t=5s ) Wildlife encounters Not blaming people who choose safety over working a service industry job The need for a social safety net A heartwarming tale of anonymous free fancy dinner How companies who think "remote first" was just a phase are losing employees to the ones who realize it is the way of the future The investment in support and infrastructure needed to successfully implement a "remote first" workplace Ego-driven leadership and the need to survey one's domain A theory about innovation needing people being in a room together Whether the ability to multi-task during your Zoom meetings /really/ mean you're more productive? How not having drive-by interruptions all day definitely helps The possibility of a cultural split among companies -- in-person culture vs remote-first culture Whether our listeners want more of this kind of episode--let us know! Special thanks to Mel Stanley for our theme music <3

In this episode, rachel and Kendall talk about: More than you wanted to know about grocery store ginger purchases How some people use the term "a couple" to mean something other than exactly 2 and that they are Wrong Examples of technologies that suck but people still use Being caught up in the glories of the past (rachel would like to point out that she used a sharpie to black out Gene Simmons on her KISS shirt) The downsides of Agile/continuous shipping of things vs Waterfall (warning, heresy inside) Blaming growing inflexibility as one gets older Unselfawareness in the face of serial shittiness Two reasons: arrogance or laziness How one gets stuck, how to know if you're stuck Recommendations: rachel: The Great British Sewing Bee (tv show, if you liked GBBO, you'll probably like this too) rachel: The Alienist (kinda gruesome, moody period crime drama) Kendall: fail videos from user mrmrmike on YouTube (great way to learn things NOT to do) Special thanks to Mel Stanley for our theme music <3