# Biniam Bekele's Manager Readme

**Senior Manager, Software Engineering at Warner Music Group**

I wrote this "Manager README" to share a bit about who I am, how I think, and what I value most. I hope these few words will be a good first step to help us build a healthy and productive relationship. I see my role as an enabler and accelerator: I'm here to help you thrive and to help our team succeed!

Feedback is a gift! Please let me know what you think.

## **A good team**

My desired outcome for our team is that we achieve the following:

- Everyone knows what is expected of them and of each other. We can start by articulating our team values, mission, and rules of engagement. 
- We continually work to cultivate an environment of trust, integrity, and ownership. We are accountable to each other, without blame.
- Our deliverables consistently demonstrate product and technical excellence! When they don’t, we find ways to improve.
- We encourage constructive conflict and discussion of diverse perspectives, so that we can be confident that our decisions are well informed and balanced. 
- We experiment and iterate - we don’t [bike-shed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_triviality) unduly - on our structures, practices and patterns. We are inclusive and value everyone’s voice. We make decisions, measure outcomes, and ratify or revert as appropriate.
- We continually grow as crafters, leaders, and as people. We pursue our own self-improvement, we share our lessons learned, and we support others on their journeys.
- We succeed as a team. We respect and are considerate of each other. Our public and private spaces are safe.

//www.youtube.com/embed/rph_1DODXDU

## My hope for our cultural norms

- We are generous with praise and look for opportunities to share credit.
- We own up to our mistakes, so that we can focus on remediation.
- We prioritize unblocking others: onboarding, PR reviews, and making decisions.
- We deliberately optimize for a [maker's schedule](http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html).

## Execution

You can count on me to:

- Install appropriate structures and processes that produce tangible value and don’t get in the way.
- Hold reasonable opinions on good software engineering practices. I am opinionated, but not prescriptive. I’ve learned that there are almost always many valid paths, and that most Engineering decisions are exercises in deciding how to value trade-offs. I can help us arrive at good decisions quickly.
- Approach code reviews as a constructive and respectful dialog whose objective is to ensure that we ship our best work (viewed through a pragmatic lens) and learn along the way.
- Work across crafts and across the org to successfully manage stakeholder communication and decision making.
- Confront conflict in a constructive way and help you to do the same.
- Listen to and share feedback

## 1:1s

Let's start by holding weekly 1:1s, and then we can calibrate them to be more or less frequent. We respect each other's time, and so it's important that our 1:1s are a valuable use thereof. I promise to come prepared to focus and engage, and ask that you do as well.

Our first few 1:1s will be our best chance to get to know one another and to build rapport. This is also where I will need your help the most: the more fully and quickly I learn your needs and those of our team, the better I'll be able to support you.

We'll cover many topics over the course of our 1:1s, including the following:

- Individual and team dynamics and health.
- Conflict, disagreement, and alignment.
- Your growth and career development.
- Bi-directional feedback.
- Context sharing and questions.
- Execution: unblocking, advice, and help

## Your career development

Once I get to know you better, and I have developed a sense of your strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations, I will guide, mentor or coach you based on your needs and preferences. I will regularly provide measured and well considered advice and feedback. Additionally, I will endeavor to connect you with projects, resources, and other people who can help set you up to achieve your objectives.