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Newsletter archive
AI agents and the missing link in DevOps
AI agents aren’t just assistants anymore – they’re making decisions. Are engineers ready for the shift or are they just too skeptical?
Carving out time for large-scale engineering chores
Determine what to prioritize, set out a path, and be prepared for some hiccups along the way.
Encouraging a passion for productivity
In this edition of DirectorPlus, Neha Batra, VP of Engineering at GitHub, explains how she creates a culture of productivity.
Framing AI rollouts in the right light
How can you introduce AI into teams in a way that doesn’t invite unrest within your org? It starts with presenting it in the right light.
Latest
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The 3 tenets of a usable vision
Making your vision believable, motivating, and attainable is what drives team momentum.
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How AI will shape software engineering in 2026
It’s time to close the gap between expectations and reality.
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Is “agent-shoring” the end of software team offshoring?
The days of offshoring software development could be numbered
London • June 2 & 3, 2026
Rands, Nicole Forsgren,
& Matej Pfajfar confirmed
Essential reading
What is a Director of Engineering? The glue keeping engineering together
A director of engineering is responsible for keeping an entire engineering function humming. Find out what skills you need to climb the ladder to this vital position.
On our DirectorPlus playlist
Strategies to hone commercial awareness and drive business outcomes
Learn effective strategies for enhancing commercial awareness in tech teams, turning engineering into a business driver through alignment, impactful initiatives, and stakeholder engagement.
The path from Director to CTO: How to follow it, or how to mentor it
This talk is aimed at both aspiring Chief Technology Officers and those who are in a position to mentor future CTOs. Explore the journey from a Director of Engineering role to a CTO, focusing on the skills and experiences needed for this transition and how experienced leaders can guide others on this path.
Making the manager of manager’s mindset
Suzan Bond covers the difference between the two roles and the key mindset shifts leaders need to make to manage managers.
The festival for modern engineering leadership
London • June 2 & 3, 2026
More for managers of managers
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Tech CEOs reckon with the impact of AI on junior developers
CEOs are concerned that the rise of AI tools like Copilot and GPT is causing junior developers to lose touch with core coding skills.
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AI-first hiring is everywhere and it’s not slowing down
Engineers might start being penalized for not using AI in technical interviews.
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How Jit overcame developer resistance to shift to Cursor
Israeli startup Jit overcame engineer pushback and boosted productivity by transitioning from JetBrains to the AI-powered coding assistant Cursor.
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AI, platform engineering, or DX? How to choose where to invest
With so many opportunities on offer in the market right now, how can leaders make sure they’re investing in the right thing?
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Why developers and their bosses disagree over generative AI
How to fix the disconnect over generative AI adoption and developer productivity.
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Build psychological safety in a world of layoffs
How engineering leaders can build trust, stability, and innovation in an era of tech layoffs and uncertainty.
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Focus on improvement metrics that actually matter
It’s time to focus on “improvement metrics” and finally turn developer productivity data into real, measurable action.
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Why leaders trust AI more than their colleagues
The rise of the AI executive advisor and what it means for how business decisions get made.
Videos for managers of managers
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Debugging self-doubt: A framework for building confidence
Explore a practical framework for tackling self-doubt with a debugging mindset to build lasting confidence and stronger teams.
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The twin mandate: What leaders still don’t get about observability
Learn why many teams miss observability’s full potential and how leaders can unlock exceptional engineering performance through it.
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The joy of being wrong
Discover how rethinking assumptions drives better decisions, strengthens leadership, and builds more adaptive, collaborative teams.
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Target architecture – Align. Execute. Deliver.
Explore how defining a clear target architecture boosts alignment, speeds up execution, and scales teams through better decision-making.
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Machine learning in production. The hidden effort
Uncover the hidden engineering work behind real-world ML products, from scaling and orchestration to cost control and team alignment.
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Couple’s therapy for product and tech
Learn how to build a strong, lasting partnership between product and tech through alignment, trust, and intentional collaboration.
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Journeys in diversity – what difference really means
Discover what true inclusion means by exploring practical ways to support neurodivergent colleagues and create genuinely diverse teams.
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We brought AI into our sprints, here’s what changed
Explore how integrating AI into product sprints changed team habits, improved delivery, and revealed what works and what breaks in practice.
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Rethinking interviewing in an AI era
Explore how to redesign technical interviews for an AI era by focusing on real-world thinking, communication, and human-centered evaluation.
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Migrations done right: Success stories and lessons learned
Learn proven strategies for executing large-scale system migrations safely, using incremental rollouts, clear planning, and strong stakeholder communication.
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Latency, load, and leadership: Building a team nervous system
Discover how to build feedback systems that detect early stress signals, enabling healthier, more resilient, and productive teams.
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Building AI into critical systems: Lessons learned
Learn how the Financial Times built AI into paywalls and retention systems, navigating trade-offs, risks, and real-world complexity at scale.