# Sebastiano Armeli's Manager Readme

**Director of Engineering at Upwork**

# What is this?

1. This document is targeted to my direct reports, but it could be helpful for anybody working with me.
2. This document should help clarify what to expect from me and should make our working relationship more effective
3. You can hold me accountable to the points mentioned in this document.

# My role

My main role is about enabling you (my direct report) to be successful creating an effective and efficient team. My main responsibilities are:

1. Set the strategy for my org and connect it with the wider strategy.
2. Remove blockers / obstacles to empower you to accomplish what you need to do.
3. Set the context to understand the ‘why’ you are working on specific goals.
4. Help you in growing your career. You own your career though.
5. Make sure we ship products (or tools) with great engineering quality.
6. Keep re-iterating on our processes.
7. Report to upper management the status and progress of the team.

# Your role

1. I expect you (for EMs) to operate independently and lead your teams with empathy, strategic thinking and execution in mind.  
2. I expect you (for senior ICs) to operate as a Directly Responsible Individual. (You can read more about DRI [here](https://originalfuzz.com/blogs/magazine/83782148-the-directly-responsible-individual)). We hired you because of your experience and skills, I am not here to tell you how to do your job. 
3. I expect you to not hesitate and ask for help when needed.
4. I expect you to collaborate with your peers keeping a positive intent.

Feel free to over-communicate with me. I much prefer over-communication over under-communication.

# Personal Principles

1. I don’t like and I don’t want to micromanage anybody. I’m not an authoritarian boss. 
2. I trust you. Please don’t break it.
3. I value honesty and straight talking.
4. I believe in balance between proactiveness and reactiveness, but I prefer the former.
5. I believe in continuous improvement. Always strive to improve the current state of art.
6. Conflicts are needed only if they are healthy (they are actually a good thing). Otherwise, just be kind and transparent.
7. I feel excited when the whole team is motivated and engaged.
8. I like when you collaborate and solve problems with your peers.
9. I believe mentoring is a great tool to express leadership.
10. Please be empathetic.

# One-on-ones

1. I have weekly or bi-weekly, 30-mins long 1:1 with you.  
2. You own the agenda - please come prepared.
3. I also bring topics and I provide feedback.
4. Either of us can be late due to other meetings, I try not to be late though.
5. You can reschedule the meeting if you are busy, I don’t take it as a personal offense.

# Feedback

1. I encourage you to talk to your peers to give and ask for feedback
2. I am comfortable with you giving me blunt feedback - I love feedback.
3. 1:1s are the preferred way to deliver feedback.

# Work hours

1. I encourage a healthy work-life balance.
2. Unless you’re on call, I generally don’t expect you to work before 8am or after 6pm. 
3. Unless it’s an emergency, if I reach out to you via email or Slack after 6pm, feel free to ignore until next working day

# My calendar

1. You can always ping me on Slack at any time
2. You can always book a meeting with me if you find an available slot
3. I prefer to have meetings in the afternoon before 5pm. Mornings and evenings are my most creative times.

# My personality quirks

1. Working out is a top priority in my life - I typically work out around 5.30pm (rarely around 8am).
2. Eating healthy is a top priority in my life.
3. I like separating work with my life outside work. I typically keep my social media profiles private.
4. I prefer to ask for forgiveness over asking for permission.
5. I have an accent, it’s ok to ask me to repeat something if you don’t understand me.
6. I struggle to work well with people who lack self-awareness, empathy and low EQ.
7. I believe it’s not polite to interrupt people when they speak.
8. I like listening to people.
9. I prefer to think over things vs talking without thinking.  
10. When you need something from me, please ask, don’t tell in an assertive manner.