# Thomas Vanderstraeten's Manager Readme

**Co-founder & CTO at Canyon**

# Motivation for this document

As a good tech professional, you're probably used to going through readmes before digging into code. We all know how much time and energy it saves down the road! Similarly, by going through this readme, you'll learn how to make the best out of our mutual collaboration. It ain't as easy as running `npm run start:dev`, but there are easy elements to improve our lives 😉

# My role

My primary goal is to drive the development of the Canyon platform so it consistently delights our customers. This is only possible with a great team. Hence, my day-to-day role consists largely of setting the team up for success. I do this by creating an environment where everyone can become the best version of themselves.

# What management style you can expect

I strive to offer the following experience to the people working with me:

- **Sense of purpose** : I will make sure that you are equipped with the right understanding of the general context surrounding your work. I do this by clearly articulating the big picture and what is at stake, so your work will always be meaningful in the grand scheme of things.
- **Ownership** : I will strive to empower you with the information and decision powers required to be as autonomous as possible in your day-to-day work. As long as you are transparent and I am confident that we are aligned on our goals and priorities, I will keep my interventions low-touch and avoid the trap of micromanagement.
- **Empathy & personal development** : I am passionate about the ways we evolve and interact as humans, and I strive to be caring to the specific needs of each individual. As long as we've established common trust, you can expect 100% support from me in your moments of both highs and lows. I will also be transparent on my own moments of down.
- **Constantly raising the bar** : working with me means being ready to be constantly challenged on becoming the best version of yourself in the Canyon context and beyond - humanly and technically. Receiving constant tips and feedback from me does not mean I am dissatisfied with your performance - it rather means I believe in your improvement potential, so it is a good sign.

# My expectations

In order for me to offer you the best experience, I expect the following:

- **Transparency** : I expect that we maintain a fully open communication at all times, and that you let me know when you're feeling frustrated, when you're feeling down, when you're not feeling up to a certain task, when you think you've made a mistake. I make sure to create the blame-free, empathetic safe space for this to happen. This is the key for genuine exchanges that will allow our mutual development.
- **Over-communication & structure** : I expect that you communicate in extremely clear terms at all times, that you are crisp on progress, challenges faced, plans you have. This is especially important in our full remote environment. I expect your communication to be written with care, and that it spontaneously addresses questions the reader might have (be extra mile: what will reader think naturally as next step when they read your brief?). This is the key enabler of ownership - if you're not communicating enough, I may enter a micromanagement mode because I am stressed that we are not aligned or that I have no visibility on progress.
- **Hunger for improvement** : I expect that you're willing to become the best version of yourself, and that we are in this to constantly challenge each other. I will push you to constantly improve and become world-class on certain topics, but that requires that you work hard to get there.

# Communication style

- Frank and direct, no beating around the bush
- Direct call/sms for critical tech issues
- I never expect you to read your Slack/mail on week-ends
- No whatsapp for anything work-related please, except for critical issues (but prefer calls or sms)
- I expect you to check your mails everyday
- I expect you to check Slack every few hours
- I love planning meetings in advance, no super found of impromptu calls
- Expect reply from me on Slack and email in 24h max, ping me again if I don’t reply

# Schedule and work/life balance

- No meeting after 18h
- No meeting before 9h (I run in the morning)
- I try to group meetings in the morning
- I strive not to have any meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I can do deep work
- Love working late at night, but I don’t expect the same from you, esp. don’t feel obliged to reply at late hours
- I often work on Saturdays as a normal day

# What I love and do besides Canyon

- All things geek - Hacker News addict
- Productivity and self-improvement
- Ultra-endurance (once ran a 100km - without even puking at the end!)
- Nature (found of wilderness and keen birds lover)
- Zero-waste and home-made stuff & food