AGL 317: Managing Up with Nick Means
About Nick
Nick is a software engineer turned engineering leader who has been leading engineering teams at companies large and small for the last decade. He is currently the VP of Engineering at Sym. He cares a lot about generative leadership: helping teams bring more agency and autonomy to their work so they can build better software, build it more efficiently and find more fulfillment in doing it.
He is also a student of disasters and other complex engineering stories. He has been deeply fascinated by things like plane crashes, nuclear meltdowns, and supersonic flight for as long as he can remember. He has been fortunate to share some of his favorite stories on stages around the world, giving keynotes that bring lessons from the world of physical engineering to how we work together to build software.
He lives in Austin, TX with his wife Alison, their two kids, and their goofy Cavapoo dog named Benny. In his spare time, he is into perfecting his pour-over coffee technique, tinkering with electronics and 3D printing, and he is re-learning how to play piano.
Today We Talked About
Nick's background
Transitioning from engineer to engineering leader
Ruby
Conferences
Hallway Track
Speaking is important
Resources
Turn the Ship Around
Managing Up?
Control... or lack there of
Extreme Ownership
The difference between the best interest of the Team vs. the Company
Umbrella vs Heat Shield
Imposter Syndrome
Creative Problem Solving
Everyone is dumb enough to be fooled anyway... interesting concept
Nice Things File
Highlight Reels vs. Raw Footage
Advice for new leaders
Meta Productivity
Longer Feedback loops
Connect with Nick
LinkedIn
Website
Twitter
Podcast
Leave me a tip $
Click here to Donate to the show
I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!
A2 Hosting
I’ve been using A2 Hosting for several years. They offer state of the art SSD hosting for all of their plans. Their sites are super fast and easy to setup. I rarely need support, but when I was migrating my sites to a larger plan I used their support services and they were phenomenal. I highly recommend A2 hosting for all of your hosting needs. And I also recommend everyone to have a personal website. If you’re in technology and looking for a job and don’t have your own website, I probably wouldn’t hire you. Just sayin’.
Please use my affiliate link when signing up. https://www.ageekleader.com/a2
Nick is a software engineer turned engineering leader who has been leading engineering teams at companies large and small for the last decade. He is currently the VP of Engineering at Sym. He cares a lot about generative leadership: helping teams bring more agency and autonomy to their work so they can build better software, build it more efficiently and find more fulfillment in doing it.
He is also a student of disasters and other complex engineering stories. He has been deeply fascinated by things like plane crashes, nuclear meltdowns, and supersonic flight for as long as he can remember. He has been fortunate to share some of his favorite stories on stages around the world, giving keynotes that bring lessons from the world of physical engineering to how we work together to build software.
He lives in Austin, TX with his wife Alison, their two kids, and their goofy Cavapoo dog named Benny. In his spare time, he is into perfecting his pour-over coffee technique, tinkering with electronics and 3D printing, and he is re-learning how to play piano.
Today We Talked About
Nick's background
Transitioning from engineer to engineering leader
Ruby
Conferences
Hallway Track
Speaking is important
Resources
Turn the Ship Around
Managing Up?
Control... or lack there of
Extreme Ownership
The difference between the best interest of the Team vs. the Company
Umbrella vs Heat Shield
Imposter Syndrome
Creative Problem Solving
Everyone is dumb enough to be fooled anyway... interesting concept
Nice Things File
Highlight Reels vs. Raw Footage
Advice for new leaders
Meta Productivity
Longer Feedback loops
Connect with Nick
Website
Podcast
Leave me a tip $
Click here to Donate to the show
I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word. Thanks again!
A2 Hosting
I’ve been using A2 Hosting for several years. They offer state of the art SSD hosting for all of their plans. Their sites are super fast and easy to setup. I rarely need support, but when I was migrating my sites to a larger plan I used their support services and they were phenomenal. I highly recommend A2 hosting for all of your hosting needs. And I also recommend everyone to have a personal website. If you’re in technology and looking for a job and don’t have your own website, I probably wouldn’t hire you. Just sayin’.
Please use my affiliate link when signing up. https://www.ageekleader.com/a2
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