From navigating a difficult hiring landscape to techniques for more effective context switching, here are our top five articles from last month to help you get 2023 off to a strong start.
1. Richard Speed, 4 hiring trends engineering managers can’t ignore in 2023
The new year brought with it one of the biggest shocks to the tech hiring landscape seen in decades, as hundreds of thousands of talented professionals found themselves out of work.
Here, Richard Speed outlines four of the largest trends shaping a complex hiring landscape that engineering managers will have to navigate. The topics discussed range from hiring during a downturn to the impact of new AI tools on the future of work.
Speed writes, “All of these factors could mark an abrupt change for many engineers who have become accustomed to operating within a high-growth industry and engaging in a fierce war for talent.”
2. Cara Borenstein, Context switching strategies to preserve your focus
It probably comes naturally to many engineers, but context switching can be a quiet productivity killer. In this article, CEO and Co-Founder at Stashpad, Cara Borenstein, has some invaluable tips for preserving your focus when switching between tasks.
Borenstein writes, “Context switching is an unavoidable part of being an engineering leader. It’s a natural side effect of working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. The good news is that there are simple and effective strategies for lessening the effects of context switching on your focus time.”
3. Anita Singh, Demystifying managing managers
Making the shift from a manager to a manager of managers is bigger than many people account for. That was certainly the case for Anita Singh. In this article, Singh breaks down common misconceptions of the managing managers role and provides insight on the correct way to approach this shift in your career.
Singh writes, “When I stepped into a manager of managers role, I naively thought this would be an easier transition than from individual contributor to engineering manager, and I was wrong!”
4. Josh Fruhlinger, DevOps for engineering managers
It’s one of the defining buzzwords of the decade for engineers, but engineering leaders should take time to think hard about if it’s the right approach for their organizations. Here, Josh Fruhlinger lays out the fundamentals of DevOps and what managers need to consider before rolling it out for their teams.
“If your company is considering making this shift, you will need to know how this major change will align with your existing organizational structure, the skills your engineers will need, and how to measure success,” he writes.
5. Adriana Villela, How to be an ethical engineering leader
Software systems touch many people’s lives, so it is the responsibility of those building them to try and do so ethically. Here, Adriana Villela, Senior Developer Advocate at Lightstep, explains how she has balanced day-to-day business pressures with the desire to do the right thing as a software engineer.
“If we have enough of us in the industry trying to do the right thing, then maybe, just maybe, we’ll get to a place where ‘the right thing’ is the default behavior. Isn’t that worth fighting for?” she writes.
