# Joseph Abell's Manager Readme

**Senior Software Engineer at Tesco Bank**

# Motivation for this document

I hope this document lets you know what to expect while working with me. I find READMEs to be a good starting point when working with a project, and sometimes I wish people had them too.

# My role

My focus at Tesco Bank at the moment is a rewrite of the Motor Insurance on-boarding form. Most of the time though, this means my role is making sure that other people on my team are happy that they know what they are doing, and are not tripping over each other. I provide technical insight and knowledge sharing across the insurance development team. I train and provide chances for people to show off their skills. I write and rewrite personal projects to keep abreast of latest techniques and tools. I attempt to use empathy as my main decision making tool.

My main goal over the next few quarters is getting the app live with as little fanfare as possible. We will be gradually turning on the app to more and more users, and implementing different entry points to the app as we go. No big bang deliveries. No staying up late. My twins keep me up enough already.

# What do I value most?

- People are treated with respect and dignity.
- Home and work life balance are balanced.
- People work as a team rather than in silos, and assume people have best intentions during interactions.
- Knowledge is shared rather than hoarded. Knowledge is documented for future use.
- Conflicts are handled by the smallest amount of people needed to resolve the conflict. Look for ways to frame failures as institutional, and look for ways to improve constantly.
- Praise is written down throughout the year, shared publicly, and given as a tool for future pay discussions.
- Work should be done professionally, and to a high standard, but chasing that standard shouldn't come at a cost to values above. No personal attacks during code review, no unnecessary overtime.
- Giving people chances to show their skills is as important as mentorship. No point honing your craft if the people who are in charge of pay and promotions are unaware of the good work you are doing.

# My Expectations

- If people need to set time with me, please let me know the context for a meeting. It helps me prepare, and prevents unneeded anxiety.  
- If a discussion can be solved using asynchronous messaging, I'd expect that to take precedence over meetings. It allows people to provide results in a time that doesn't break their flow, and gives us free documentation.
- For async messaging, If you have a question, go straight to the question. I'm happy for pleasantries, but questions should come in the first message if possible. This means I can provide help without having to wait for you to write your question.
- I like feedback to be early and continuous. Especially negative feedback. I can't change if I don't know.

# 1:1s

I have 1:1s with people I manage around once every 2 weeks. Usually the meeting is booked for half an hour but lasts around 10 minutes. Usually it's an informal discussion unless there is something company wide that has been announced that need's sharing or discussing. If you have issues blocking your work, they should be raised outside of 1:1s, but anything less urgent is free and fair game.

# Personality quirks

I've got a 5 year old and baby twins at home, which means my sleep isn't ideal. Sometimes, when I'm passionate about a subject, I jump in a bit too quickly and forcefully. If I ever speak in a way that is intimidating, let me know, it was unintentional, and I'm trying to be better. I have a history of anxiety, so meetings without subject matter can make me irrationally worry. My memory is atrocious, which leads to copious note-taking. I usually build an app to mark any and every significant moment in my life. Baby name apps, carb tracker for diabetes, memory games for significant dates. I love making things, and I hate putting private data in third party apps.