# Robert Max Rees II WS CBS's Manager Readme

**Senior Engineering Manager at Ferguson**

# Motivation for this document

Hello!  If you're here, there's a very good chance you're already working with me or you soon will be.  Capturing and communicating values is very important because they help provide context, and I find context is critical.

People are complex, and fully capturing them via a document is difficult.  As a result, view this much more as a starting point instead of a reference manual.  Feel free to take the information here and ask questions.  I have a policy of transparency and am an open book on almost anything about my life, both in and out of work.

# My role

I'm here to help you accomplish 2 things:

- Enable you to do your best work
- Help your job support your lifestyle

To accomplish these, I do things like optimize signal to noise ratios, get you into the projects that you want, and notice when you should probably take some time off.  I hold open doors and remove roadblocks so you can focus on getting things accomplished however best works for you.

I'm also here to help you navigate things like social and political structures inherent to any organization.  Not sure why a particular group is so resistant to your idea?  Can't understand why somebody got really upset over a particular bug?  Unclear about why your explanation for a limitation wasn't well received?  There's usually some combination of history, expectations, and personality at play that generally explain why.  That's generally where I come in.

Remember, context is critical.

# What do I value most?

Honesty, transparency, diversity, and ownership capture my general values.  In order for me to have those values, I hold deep trust in the people around me.  That trust creates an implicit social contract: that you will be forthcoming and not intentionally obscure or mislead, that you will provide your opinion openly, that you won't try to hide your mistakes, and that you will come to me if anything is preventing you from doing any of these things.

I also value initiative.  This takes various shapes, from helping with daily operations like code reviews and releases, to writing documentation and capturing information for others to reference.  These kinds of activities are a tremendous help and make everybody's life easier.  The collectivist in me gets really excited when many people work to accomplish these tasks, as it then reduces the burden on any one person and allows many people voices in ways they didn't have before.

I'm diplomatic and very interested in reducing overall conflict when possible.  This means that I tackle disagreements by first understanding the people involved, the motivations and pressures they have, and what outcomes they ultimately want.   Oftentimes, this leads to clear solutions - we're all aligned in our overarching goals, and when we keep this in mind, conflicts often resolve themselves.

Keep in mind, however, that in _avoiding conflict_ you shouldn't avoid _having disagreements_.  This is a critical distinction, because disagreeing is a normal, healthy part of work.  A little friction can be a good thing, and just because a senior architect, a product manager, or an engineering manager say something doesn't mean it is the final word.  Indeed, sometimes raising objections in those instances can lead to even better solutions.  Win-win.

# My Expectations

If you need me, flag me.  You can hit me up in Slack, schedule a meeting, whatever.  My only request is that you provide me with at least a little context (there's that word again) around the conversation. Nobody likes getting that "we need to talk" message, so any information you can give me ahead of time is deeply valuable.  It also helps get me into the right headspace.

If you aren't sure you need me, flag me anyway.  My number one job is to help you.

I'm pretty flexible when it comes to your availability.  So long as you're generally around during work hours (wherever you are) and are able to complete the work you commit to, I have no complaints.  I am, however, a stickler when it comes to your calendar and Slack status - in general, make sure these are as up to date as possible.  Have an appointment during work hours?  No big deal, just make sure you block off your calendar and set your Slack status so we know not to bug you or expect a response.

If you see a looming issue or are concerned about something, please speak up!  My policy of transparency means that you are allowed to ask any questions you have.  I may not always be able to give you all the details in my answer, but I will do my best to tell you everything I can and help assuage any fears or doubts.

# 1:1s

1:1s are important to me.  They're a chance for us to connect at least once a week and catch up about anything you want.  Bring any topics you'd like and we can discuss them.  I will also use them to disseminate any pertinent info from overall company news, status updates, process changes, etc.

That being said, if you're too busy/can't make it/want to reschedule/whatever, no problem!  You can reach out and let me know you have nothing to cover that week, reschedule/cancel the meeting yourself, etc.  Your call!

I also want to know about you outside of work!  If you're comfortable sharing, tell me about your hobbies, your weekend plans, and your next vacation.  You're a human with your own goals and aspirations - I care about that part much more than just what tickets you got done.

# Personality quirks

I'm _highly_ biased towards action.  This means that I can get pushy to see progress happen.  If you need me to pump the breaks, say so!  There's nothing wrong with slowing down a little and being a little more measured in how we respond or act.

I prefer public communication over private whenever possible, so don't be surprised if you ask me a question and I copy/paste it into the appropriate Slack channel, tag you, and try to get a conversation started.  This is one way to share knowledge with the rest of the organization and gives me a chance to be corrected when I'm wrong.

I'm a process nerd.  If I ping you over, say, making sure that a tracker is in the right status, don't worry.  I do it to everybody.  It helps me feel like I'm reducing entropy and brings me a small level of comfort.

# Where to focus on your first 90 days?

Your first 90 days are sort of an extension of your interview.  And keep in mind that interviews go both ways - you should be evaluating us as much as we're evaluating you.  I don't expect you to jump in and perform any major rewrites or implement some huge features.  Though if you pull that off, more power to you.

Instead, spend your first 90 days learning about us and sharing yourself with us.  Use it as a chance to learn our processes and procedure.  And don't be afraid to ask questions!  Nobody will ever judge or question you and your abilities because you're confused about how we fetch data from our services layer or what some large corporate initiative means for our day-to-day.  Chances are other people have the same questions and are just too afraid to ask.

If you're not sure if you're on the right path, then chances are you're fine.  If you need feedback or clarification about anything, reach out!  I'll do my best to let you know what to work on and what to keep doing.