# Jason Brown's Manager Readme

**Sr. Engineering Manager at The Zebra**

## **What is this?**

Hopefully a quick-start guide towards us building a solid working relationship.

## **A quick bit about me**

Like many others I meet in tech, I have had a bit of an unusual path to get to here.

I started two small businesses, briefly went to law school (and didn’t like it), taught myself programming because I liked it more, joined a small startup and ultimately discovered that I like managing software engineers.

These diverse experiences make up who I am, and each have had some influence on creating this guide.

## **My job (as I see it)**

- Set clear expectations
- Attract and retain talented people like yourself
- Get obstacles out of your way

## **My key values**

- Empowerment - Do you have the things you need to be successful and support where and when you need it?
- Development & Coaching - I want to understand clearly where you are now and where you want to be, so that I can help you build a plan to get there.
- Collaboration - I’m here because I care about people and the relationships I build with them. Seriously, this is why I quit being self-employed.
- Autonomy - We hired you because you are a smart, capable person and we should allow you to demonstrate that.

I value continual learning. Everyone says that, but I really do mean it, and wouldn’t be here without it. Our field is so broad and constantly changing so you can’t ever sit still.

I don’t know everything. **Nobody** does. You shouldn’t diminish someone else because of what they don’t know, and likewise you shouldn’t feel insecure about any perceived shortcomings.

## **What about you?**

You can make mistakes. I expect you to. It’s one of the best ways to learn, and if I’m doing my job right you should feel that you can safely do so. You do have to _own_ those mistakes though.

You should be critical of me. It’s on me to make you feel enabled to do that and show that I will listen, but I do expect you to be honest with feedback. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing, so in order to help you in the way that is best for you this feedback is crucial.

You should understand the impact of what you are building. We are using code to deliver a great user experience, not tech for tech’s sake. Any engineer can talk about **how** a thing was built, I want to make sure you understand **why** we built it.

We should talk. _A lot_. Speaking of...

## **One on Ones**

1:1s are sacred to me. I like to do these weekly.

Ideally we will walk and talk, outside if the weather is nice.

We’ll start with more frequent and longer sessions as we get to know each other. These will taper back over time, but I am always free to talk more.

My schedule can be hectic, and at times I will have to move these around. Please do not interpret this as the 1:1s not being important or that I’m not available to you. I will boot things from my schedule for you.

These sessions are for you. Ask questions. I want to know what’s on your mind.

They are not for status updates, I can get those elsewhere. This is a chance to step back and look at your role on a certain project, within the team, or your entire career, from a distance and check in.

## **Feedback**

- Should be honest, critical and direct
- Should be delivered to you as soon as it is apparent so that you have time to correct

Nobody wants to hear about behavior they need to fix for the very first time in the middle of a performance review. You should know what to be working on long before then, and the review is more of an evaluation of your own growth in those areas.