Daniil Malykh (Page 3)

Motivation case: challenges are needed

I had an underperforming employee. My team noticed that he underperformed right after a probation period. During a private meeting, he explained that he was not interested in his work and did not have any self-improvement goals. He mentioned that he used to have multiple jobs and did not have any free time to think about working on interesting staff.

It is interesting that he literally asked me to overwhelm him with tasks. 😄 So, after a short discussion, we defined challenges for him and created a self-improvement plan.

I asked the company to pay for courses that interested him. Also, I asked the developer's PO and the team to give him more ambitious tasks that looked too complicated to other teammates. We gave him a lot of challenges as he wanted! 😄

I have learned that I need to have a better understanding of the expectations of each team member that I lead.

Heat pump subsidy in the Netherlands

I live in the Netherlands. Recently I installed a heat pump. Here it is called "warmtepomp". And then I asked for a subsidy for it.

The reason for writing this note is that it is a simple process without a clear starting point to ask for the subsidy.

The link below provides all the details about the subsidy. In the "ISDE aanvragen: warmtepomp" section, there is a link to a portal where you need to create a profile to receive the subsidy. Then, you'll need to fill out an application form with several questions. You'll also need to prepare an invoice from the company that installed the heat pump and a bank statement as proof of payment. Some more checkboxes and input fields, and voilà, the request for a subsidy is sent to the government!

ISDE: Warmtepomp woningeigenaren

Subsidie voor woningeigenaren voor een (hybride) warmtepomp. Met de Investeringssubsidie duurzame energie en energiebesparing (ISDE) vraagt u subsidie aan voor een (hybride) warmtepomp. Op deze pagina vindt u de voorwaarden waar u aan moet voldoen om deze subsidie aan te vragen.

RVO.nl

Know the team through the first one-to-one

The purpose of the initial 1-2-1s is to gain insight into a teammate's perspective on their responsibilities and current assignments, as well as to clarify the manager's capacity to support the teammate. Also, discuss their opinion on wells, improvements, and challenges they face.

The first 1-to-1 meeting is full of expectations and unknowns. It is a good time to introduce yourself again with detailed explanations about your role's duties, responsibilities, plans, etc... Additionally, during the meeting, you can gain knowledge of the team's concerns, impediments and challenges. I find it most interesting to hear my colleague's opinion about the team's future plans from his point of view.

For example, some questions for the first meetings:

What is the project you are currently working on?
Also, can you share the most recent project the team completed that you were proud of?
In your opinion, what is the primary responsibility of the team?
How are your fellow team members doing?
What do you find the most enjoyable about working here?
And, what do you don't enjoy as much?
What would you improve in the company/team/processes?
What would you get rid of from your job?

Don't focus only on a team; remember to talk about your teammates too! I'll make some notes on this topic later.

Engineering Managers Tools

I continue reading James Stanier's "Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager", and I made some notes regarding the second chapter.

One of the keys to success is to organize yourself. James recommends tools:

A calendar is an essential instrument for planning activities for every day.
A to-do list to plan and execute anything. Check it every time!
Mailbox as a primary channel for communication. Create rules to sort emails by priority.
A tool that you can use as a temporary place when you are far from your workplace.

In my opinion, the most important thing for every tool is to have only one place of truth. Any chosen instrument must always be available on a phone, laptop, iPad, and everywhere. There should not be three calendars and five different notepads spreaded by various devices.

Currently, Woldline's ecosystem allows me to use Confluence for notes and Microsoft ToDo for tasks, which is perfectly integrated with Microsoft Outlook Calendar. All these products are also available on my phone. 😀

First Week as an Engineering Manager

I'm reading James Stanier's "Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager" book, which my mentor recommended. I would like to have some notes and my additional thoughts somewhere. I assume that this blog is the perfect place.

The book's first chapter is dedicated to a first week in an engineering manager role. So, what to do?

Observe team's and managers' behaviours and expectations. I would add peers here. How do they feel? What is important for them?
Introduce yourself to the team in the most natural way possible. It is better to split introductions into a general introduction to the whole team and 1-2-1 introductions with every staff member.
Create a meeting with a manager to understand performance metrics and expectations from his point of view.
Understand the scope: individuals in the team, priorities, current project, workflow. It would be valuable to get advice from everybody. People can recommend it a lot!