# Aaron Lerch's Manager Readme

**Senior Engineering Manager at InVision**

# What is this, even?

It’s a bit weird, I get it.

We’ll get to know each other -- if we haven’t already -- over time. This infodeck is a convenient-ish way to introduce myself as an Engineering Manager at InVision.

So… hi!

# My Job

I am primarily here to do two things:

1. Provide context
2. Engage, retain, and grow world-class talent (that’s you!)

**My Goal**

I can take off for a month and it shouldn’t make a difference.

It sounds like a joke but I’m entirely sincere.

# My Goal

If I accomplish my goal it means that:

- You feel empowered as a leader\* to figure out what you need to do and how you think it should be done and then to get it done
- You have enough context to understand your priority and focus over the next month or quarter
- You have built effective relationships with others in the company
- We have a clear roadmap (This has nothing to do with you, but affects my ability to achieve my goal)

\* I define a leader as “a person who is able to influence another person” - it’s that simple, that universal, and has nothing to do with “management”

# The Team

If I describe my ideal for our team and each person on it, it is that we:

- take control of, and responsibility for, our own destiny
- have each other’s back
- hold each other accountable
- expect excellence in ourselves and each other
- assume positive intent
- always question, always ask “why?”
- constantly learn
- laugh together

# Scheduling

- You are always welcome and encouraged to drop a meeting on my calendar, either via Google Calendar or [https://calendly.com/aaronlerch](https://calendly.com/aaronlerch)
- If you want or need to talk to me, and my schedule is not open, DM me on Slack and I’ll make sure we talk that day.

# Comms

- Nothing beats face-to-face in-person communication
- Our next best option is face-to-face video
- I respond to emails within 24 hours, and usually within three.
- If it feels like we’re having trouble communicating, I will always err on the side of, “let’s hop on a video call and hash this out”
- I try to be as responsive as possible via Slack
  - I am working to improve my responsiveness when I’m in meeting after meeting.

# 1-1s (One-on-ones)

- 1-1s are very important to me because they are dedicated space for you to talk about anything and everything you want
- They are meetings primarily for you, and only secondarily for me
- It’s not a status meeting, unless you want to talk about status
- 1-1s are flexible -- they can shift and change to fit around our shifting schedules
- Don’t save urgent matters for a 1-1!

# Feedback

- More than any other factor, candid and compassionate feedback is central to a cohesive high-functioning team
- Feedback is best received in the context of psychological safety; I want you to know, both intellectually and experientially, that **my primary desire is for you to be happy and fulfilled**
- Feedback should happen as real-time as possible
  - I will strive for this
  - In a distributed company, the “normal” post-meeting chats don’t happen; we need to be intentional

# Performance

I follow a Green / Orange / Red performance assessment and communication model. My goal is for you to always know where you’re at. If you ever feel you don’t know, just ask me.

Green - there might be things to improve, or there might not. If nothing ever changed, it’s all good.

Orange - there are one or more behaviors that, if left unchecked in the long term, will not be sustainable. Something needs to change.

Red - there is a significant problem, with a timebox, and we have explicitly talked about both the problem and the timebox.

# O R A N G E

Going orange sounds terrifying. It shouldn’t be. It is absolutely recoverable! Even going red is recoverable.

Recovering from orange (or red) builds a lot of trust. You’ve proven that you accept feedback, acknowledge your role in the situation, and are willing and capable of changing, growing, and improving. That is **HUGE**.