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May 15 · Issue #144 · View online
Level Up delivers a curated newsletter for leaders in tech. A project by https://patkua.com. Ideal for busy people such as Tech Leads, Engineering Managers, VPs of Engineering, CTOs and more.
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Lost knowledge I was recently asked whether I get tired of teaching the same concepts again and again. Considering that I’ve been more or less training future technical leaders full or part-time for almost a decade, I think the short answer is no. The longer answer reminded me of an insight I had when I was consulting, moving from team to team and organisation to organisation, sharing the same core concepts of agile software delivery, designing for continuous delivery, or basic development practices like refactoring, writing good automated tests or teaching skills like test-driven development or effective pair programming. I realised early on in my consulting days I shouldn’t be frustrated that people didn’t know what I knew. As obvious as it sounds, just because I learned a concept doesn’t automatically mean others will be familiar with or know the same concept. Here are some of the systematic forces at play:
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Our industry is constantly evolving - Although it’s true that not every day we discover fundamentally new principles, our industry does continue to evolve, meaning we need to recontextualise existing principles in the current environment, and sometimes, but less often, learn a new principle.
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We have a low barrier to entry - It doesn’t take much for someone to get started in tech. All it might take is a self-guided tutorial, and someone might start as a programmer or web developer. Not everyone gets to go on a structured course or have the privilege to do so, either.
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Formal education has its limits - Even those who might graduate with a formal Computer Science or Information Technology/Systems degree will often miss fundamental concepts as our field is so broad and diverse. Some schools may be more progressive with their curriculum, but I believe many are perceived to teach concepts using older technologies or concepts that are less relevant to a vast majority of roles - e.g. C pointers, anyone? 😉
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Poor role models - Given a number of the previous points, newcomers join environments where teams do not have examples of “good practice.” For instance, there are still many teams not using source control systems, sharing files via folders or via email 😅
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Limited networks reduce exposure to new ideas - Before the Internet and public knowledge sharing places (i.e. blogs, news sites, open-source pages), people relied on their local networks. A limited network or a network closed to new ideas means people don’t get a chance to experiment and learn new concepts.
If you have learned a concept, it’s natural to feel like we have “lost knowledge” as an industry. What’s obvious to you is not obvious to others. It’s also one of the reasons I try to avoid the phrase “You don’t know X? 🙄” This phrase does nothing but guilt or shame other people; neither very helpful for learning. In our industry, and for many reasons, it’s impossible to know everything, which is why learning how to learn is such a key skill for our industry and why we need more people to teach, mentor and share their skills. Given the number of individual contributors pushed into either technical leadership roles (like tech leads, staff engineers, etc.) or into management roles (such as Engineering Managers), I think there will always be more people who could do with some support 😉 and we need people who enjoy helping them level up 🥳. Enjoy this week’s newsletter, and please pass it on to a friend or colleague who might benefit.
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It can feel like we have "lost knowledge" as an industry, when in reality, people are just starting on their learning journey
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Push. Build. Deploy! Instantly build and ship code anywhere in one consistent process for your entire team with DeployBot.
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Why Success Is Often Elusive at the Highest Echelons
Reading time: 6mins
Cindy Sridharan (@copyconstruct) looks at some of the constraints about why leaders at high levels in a company may have success in one place, but fail to have an impact in another.
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You don’t have *the* answer
Reading time: 5mins In a recent twitter storm about whether or not managers need to be technical, this article is a good reminder that it’s asking the wrong question. Even if a leader is expected to know the answer, Eric Nehrlich (@generalist) reminds us how our experience/advice isn’t necessarily the answer. |
Why I left Google: work-life balance
Reading time: 5mins Everyone has different priorities at different points in their life. This recent article from Scott Kennedy (@stkenned) shares some reasons why he moved on from Google. I often ask leaders, “What is most important to you right now?” and this is the hard question no one else can answer but you. |
Limited seats left for the upcoming group-based workshop to level up your technical leadership skills.
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Apple officially retires the iPod
Reading time: 4mins
Lance Ulanoff (@lanceulanoff) reports on Apple announcing its end to the iPod. It’s hard to argue the impact this had on the industry, as both a revolution for CD players and as the predecessor to the iPhone.
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The A11Y Checklist
Reading time: 10mins I recently came across this checklist from the fantastic folks at The Accessibility Project (@A11YProject). The website is a wealth of resources for building a more digitally accessible website and this checklist is a great start! 🎉 |
Samsung and LG preview the future of weird phone displays - The Verge
Reading time: 4mins It’s hard to deny the impact that touchable and mobile devices have had on making computing anywhere possible. Jon Porter (@JonPorty) reports on the latest foldable screen technologies released by Samsung and LG, including a couple of videos to see this for full effect. |
Struggling with time? Take this self-guided course to find out different approaches that might work for you
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What do great engineering managers need to know about compensation and equity?
Reading time: 13mins
Jade Rubick (@JadeRubick) offers a good overview of the process many companies use to figure out compensation as well as an exercise to do with your team.
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How Intentional Planning Changes Organizational Culture for the Better
Reading time: 10mins A lot of leaders I work with ask how to best introduce change. This recent article from the NOBL Collective (@workNOBL) offers a good guide on doing so and how to be deliberate in the process. |
The great tech hiring slowdown
Reading time: 7mins
Anna Kramer (@anna_c_kramer) reports how some big tech companies are instituting hiring freezes and some layoffs. I think competition in the market is still hot (demand still outstrips supply of talent) but it may get tougher for job seekers.
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An interesting thread on a major tech acqusition many years later that you don’t get to read about. Click the tweet to read more 🤔
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In 2014, I was the Chief Business Officer of WhatsApp.
And I helped negotiate the $22 billion sale to Facebook.
Today, I regret it.
Here’s where things went wrong:
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if someone is in leadership at a beef company are they called steakholders
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If you enjoyed this newsletter, send me feedback and share it with others! |
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Patrick Kua, Postfach 58 04 40, 10314, Berlin, Germany
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