I explore the three leadership traits that are often deemed crucial for leaders in tech: Driving innovation, getting things done, and being authentic. I examine each of those and show how they’ve been used to gloss over problematic consequences for individuals, our industry, and beyond. I also share many practical tips for leaders dealing with these issues.

In this candid conversation, we explore the challenges neurodivergent professionals face in technology workplaces and how engineering leaders can better support them. Adya shares her personal experiences as an autistic person with ADHD, highlighting how common management practices and performance feedback often unknowingly target neurodivergent traits rather than actual performance issues.

For anyone who has a manager, learning to manage up is one of the most powerful skills you can develop. Whether you're just starting your career as an engineer or you're a seasoned leader, this guide will help you improve your relationship with your manager in a way that benefits both parties. Learn what managing up means, signs that you should do it more, how to do it well, and how to address common challenges.

Maximize your coaching or mentoring success with practical tips on building a solid partnership, optimizing sessions, and overcoming barriers. Learn what you can ask for and do before and during your work with a coach to achieve your professional goals effectively and confidently. Dive in to discover actionable insights and real-world examples to learn from other leaders.

What should engineering leadership roles in tech look like? We delve into the intense, decades-long debates, and look at how current industry changes affect responsibilities. Learn the crucial skills for effective leadership, and what people and technical leadership roles are right for your company.

Skip-level meetings can be a a catalyst for positive change within your organization, but too often, common interpersonal dynamics get in the way of leaders and employees making the most of them. Learn what these common challenges are and how to address them, to unlock greater team alignment and make your skip-level one-to-ones useful for leaders and employees alike.

Do you want to handle difficult conversations better? Are you clashing with higher-ups who can’t seem to get on the same page? Is your team not receptive to change? Here are questions from leaders and my answers for when you have to communicate a decision you disagree with.

Overwhelm is common among engineering leaders, but we don’t talk about it much. In this article, you’ll find common sources of overwhelm to help you recognize it in yourself, or support peers, and strategies from my work with many leaders dealing with this that can help you cope and get better.

Read tried and tested strategies to foster a culture of empowerment, breaking patterns of micromanagement and heroism, and cultivating a mindset where all team members step up and treat challenges as collective opportunities for growth. Foster shared responsibility and collaboration to help your team/organization take more ownership.

"Why is no one stepping up to fix issues?", or "why is no one taking ownership?" are questions a lot of leaders ask themselves at some point. These symptoms are very often the result of organizations or teams that are stuck in an inertia trap: A range of organizational and team dynamics that have them stuck. Understand what's causing this trap will help you identify the most impactful actions to address it.

Did your boss ask you to come up with metrics for your team(s)? Do you need to get your team on board with metrics? Learn the concrete steps you can take to choose and introduce metrics for your team(s) or organization and make them a success.

What do you do when you’re asked to execute on a company decision with your team(s) and direct reports, but you disagree with the decision? This step-by-step guide will help you navigate a tricky and complex situation.

Working as a "first team" with our peer leaders means that we prioritize our peers rather than focusing mainly on our direct reports. Read about how this approach can help you bridge departmental gaps, level up as a leader, and based on what signs you can tell if leaders are operating as a “first team.”

Leadership coaching has become increasingly popular amongst leaders at all levels in the tech space, which means there are a lot of options to choose from. In this article, I lay out how to find the right coach for your needs, and how to get the most out of your coaching experience.

Answer your boss's question about your engineering team's performance with this practical guide to effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity. It will help you understand your team's productivity and take steps with your teammates to become more productive while maintaining quality and innovation and taking your team along. With a free Engineering Productivity Cheat Sheet for download!

The topic of confidence at work is tricky - many of us want to feel more confident, but here’s the thing: Doing more, or developing more skills and experience won’t actually help you get there. So how is confidence actually built, and what you can do to feel more confident at work?

Struggling with Accountability in Engineering Teams? You're not alone. Learn how to build a culture that thrives on accountability—without sacrificing psychological safety. Marry your leadership values with accountability, overcome common misconceptions, and lead by example for a high-performing team. Master accountability, the unsung hero of effective leadership.

Read about what accountability is and isn’t, how to set up a culture of accountability, and learning from other departments, from my inspiring conversation with Jasmin Jackson-Irwin, a seasoned Revenue Leader who’s built enablement programs in hyper-growth startups.

Build a culture of high accountability in your organization. In the second article of this series, we’ll talk about what accountability is in the context of engineering organizations, lay out how to get started with building a culture of accountability and cover how it benefits your teams.

Accountability is key component of building high-performing teams, enabling team autonomy, and fostering psychological safety. And yet, many leaders ignore the topic - until they can’t. The first of three articles in my accountability series, I’ll help you spot low accountability in your organization.