# Maciek Wojcik's Manager Readme

**Software Development Manager at Mettle (NatWest)**

# Manager readme

This document is to provide insight into what I see my role as, and my management style and expectations. It’s not meant to be a substitute of knowing me in person however.

# My role

I see my role as an enabler, helping my teams be successful, productive and happy. 

# Management style

I believe communication should be open and honest. I share information as much as possible, but if I can’t share something because it’s confidential, I will say so. This open communication works both ways - if there is something I should know about, please bring it up. Former Splunk CEO had this saying that I subscribe to: 

> Bad news does not get better with age. Bring it up quickly - that gives us time to do something about it. The worst thing that can happen is to get bad news, late.

I trust my engineers to do the right thing. I believe that engineers who are trusted and empowered to make decisions work better and are more satisfied with their jobs.I found that people don't appreciate detailed instructions when they don't need them, and they think you doubt their ability, especially when they're willing and capable.

I assume engineers are good at their jobs. If it feels like I’m questioning you it’s because I’m either trying to gather context, or I'm trying to be a sounding board.

I encourage engineers to work smart and not long. That means making the best possible use of the working day and minimising distractions, so that nobody has to stay after hours to get the work done. For more context see [Paul Graham’s post](http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html).

With high trust and flexibility comes big responsibility. I expect you to keep me in the loop when making important decisions. Use your best judgement, but I’m always here if you want advice/opinion. [Nordstrom’s employee handbook](https://www.businessinsider.com/nordstroms-employee-handbook-2014-10) sums it all.

# My expectations

- Be open and specific in your communication and own your work.
- Set core hours of availability and notify beforehand if your availability will change.
- Any time there is an issue or feedback please come and talk to me directly. If you want to complain about something, try to think of a constructive suggestion for improvement.
- Include me in any decision meetings. I will typically just observe and let you get on with your job.
- Include me (cc) in communication outside the company or immediate team. This helps me with visibility of external blockers and allows me to quickly jump in if things need chasing. 
- At times you will fail at something. That’s okay. What is not okay is not putting in effort and not learning from mistakes.
- Tell me when I screw up. This is very important. I screw up more often than I would like to admit, and sometimes I don’t notice. I need to know or I’ll likely do it again.

# 1-1s

These meetings are for you and you should take the lead on the agenda. As we go through 1-1s, you should feel that you are heard and understood, that our 1-1 is a safe space (if this isn't the case, please provide that feedback to my manager), that your professional needs and career growth are understood and that you have a clear idea of how you are performing.

At the end of our periodic 1-1 I will ask you the following:

- What else is on your mind?
- What do you need from me?
- Do you have any feedback?

If there is something urgent bothering you, please don’t wait until the next 1-1. No matter how busy my calendar is, I will make some time.

# Personality quirks

- Dry sense of humour - if I say something that sounds incredibly mean, it’s probably meant to be a joke!

# What triggers me

- Opinions stated as facts.
- Not putting in effort. Again, it’s okay to fail, but only if sufficient effort was put in in the first place.
- Ignoring processes. If a process is wrong, let's talk about how to change or improve it. Ignoring it is not the way to go about it.