# Dwight's Manager Readme

**Tech Lead at interviewing.io**

Hi, my name is Dwight Gunning. I am the Tech Lead at Interviewing.io.

**Aim**

This readme aims to help the reader get to know me better, in a "working together" sense. It covers how I think about collaboration, working within a team and as part of an organization.

**About me**

I live in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, with my partner. I'm from Australia and have lived abroad for over ten years. I geek out on NBA basketball, coffee, craft beer, camping and hiking, and bands/music. I run ~50km a week and occasionally head out for a long ride on my road bike.

**My working style**

- I value transparency and encourage working together on psychological safety.
- I look to find learnings from situations and events that worked well or that proved challenging.
- I expect and appreciate occasional disagreements, in which case I seek understanding and alignment at more foundational levels.
- When planning work, I try to identify the key outcomes, make helpful suggestions, and empower people to find the best way to deliver.
- When giving advice, I try to draw on experiences and present options rather than being prescriptive.
- On feedback: I try to deliver feedback in ways the person is most comfortable with and most responsive to. My personal preference is to give/receive critical feedback privately, and in person or on video call.

**What I assume about others**

- You think and act with good intentions, and always try to give your best effort
- Trust has to be earned; once established you'll generally be open to feedback
- You have many responsibilities and priorities beyond the scope of our work together
- You will offer me feedback as it arises and may seek help from other colleges if needed

**Communicating with me**

_Day to day:_

Get in touch via any of the methods below, in order of preference. When a topic proves complex or is sensitive, I'll often suggest switching to a call.

- Slack me 24/7/365 for anything that's time-sensitive and not an emergency.
  - If I'm disturbed, that's on me for not setting my notifications. I don't expect this of others.

- Schedule a call in advance my calendar.
  - No need to ask for permission to send an invite.

- Email for anything non time-sensitive
  - Expect it may take up to 24 hours for a reply. I try to check my email 1-2 times per day.

- Call anytime in case of emergency.

**My 1:1s**

_Getting started_

With folks I've not worked with before, I like to roughly follow the approach outlined in Radical Candor to start things out. I tweak the topics to be clear that we're learning about each other, potentially identifying shared experiences or interests, and how we can help one another.

- How did we each get to where we are with our role and career, as it is today?
- Where are we each looking to get to, in our role and career, assuming we achieve wild success?
- What can we do to be successful today and keep progressing in the right direction?

I've found this the most effective way to build the foundations of our working relationship and to help me identify how I can be immediately helpful.

_Ongoing_

- We'll use shared agenda document that we can both contribute to.
- The agenda is generally led by you. I usually have a few topics up my sleeve if there's space.
- All topics are fine however I prefer to steer away from the day-to-day work. Coincidences of timing may lead us to discuss technical challenges, issues, blockers, etc. Generally other channels/forums that are better suited for these things.
- I like to look out for interesting and high value "homework" that we can complete and report back in the next session.

**Books I can recommend**

- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- Getting Things Done
- The Culture Map
- Crucial Conversations
- Thanks for the Feedback
- Radical Candor
- The Manager's Path
- Managing Humans

**Get in contact**

- Email: [dwight@dwightgunning.com](mailto:dwight@dwightgunning.com)

- Web: [www.dwightgunning.com](https://www.dwightgunning.com)