Software Engineering Management Hacks

Note to the reader: This is a repost from LinkedIn

“No Monkeys on Your Back” 🐒 - A Management Hack and other insights like this for Tech Leaders

While drafting this post, I realized I had written about engineering management and “No Monkeys on Your Back” back in 2022 (full article: https://lnkd.in/gaZUsKeh). But the principle is worth revisiting!

The “monkey on your back” concept (from a 1974 HBR article https://hbr.org/1999/11/management-time-whos-got-the-monkey) is about mental energy spent tracking TODOs. Go read this article, it’s a real gem in thinking about how we spend our energy and focus at work.

The gist is that you are spending mental energy keeping track of TODOs (or “monkeys”). You want a zero-monkey-on-back policy. In the original article, the suggestion is to punt it to the team member to keep track and follow up, and to do everything face-to-face, which doesn’t apply to our situation. In any case, the article never quite addresses that we are sandwiched between pointy heads and team mates — we get monkeys thrown to us too.

My solution? Don’t fight the monkeys - build a system for them. Here’s my practical approach: just email myself. Sure, there are fancier tools out there, but keeping it simple works best!

• Email triage: Label important items using gmail filters (e.g., prefix with “MUST DO”)
• Self-email for tasks: Email myself new TODOs to keep everything in one place
• Zero mental tracking: If it’s important, it goes in the system. Period.

🔍 Bonus Insight: The EM Balancing Act Visioneering is such a great word - https://yewjin.com/blog/2022/visioneering/

Engineering management is about balancing two modes:

• Visioneering: Creating and driving toward a better future, challenging status quo
• Problem-Solving: Stabilizing and iteratively improving current systems

Success comes from knowing when to wear which hat! I find EMs early in their careers tend to swing between extremes - either too much visioneering or none at all.

(But seriously more insights like these in the articles I linked in this post!)