Here is a summary to help you choose your next read (Updated Monthly) — My latest article: Eight Mistakes to Avoid As A Product Manager Most popular article: 8 Mistakes Managers Make in Performance Reviews Most viewed articles: 13 Reasons Why Software Engineers Quit Managing Backlog For Teams That Own Multiple Components People-Pleaser Manager: Blessing or Curse 5 More Types of Engineering Managers You’ll…

Let’s take a look at lessons I’ve learned over the years with the hope that it may help you and your product team. — Product Management is a complex function with a huge impact on multiple parts of the organization. There is no fixed qualification to be a product manager but requires a versatile mix of experience and knowledge in a particular domain. Often times people move from their technical role to a product…

One of these may be a reason why your undeserving coworker got a better rating than you — Even after so many studies and research, performance reviews remain one of the most stressful activities for most workers (including the ones in the management role). Even though managers try their best to do unbiased and honest performance reviews, there are still instances when deserving individuals get overlooked for better…

Find the type of your manager and know how to deal with them — Engineering managers play a very important role in every organization as they are the bridge between different cross-functional stakeholders. They are also the pillars of the team that help drive the work culture. …

Overview of the process involved in deciding the yearly ratings & compensation increases — For most workers who are not in the management role, performance reviews are just filling out self-appraisal and then waiting for the feedback and compensation increase. There are often questions and doubts on how the whole process works. Although it should be a transparent process, in the real world, most…

Guide for software engineers to ace performance reviews — Performance Review is a tedious process and most software engineers hate writing self-appraisals. However, it is an important part of the process, and spending some time to make it better may just pay off. One of the reasons for putting in the effort to improve self-appraisal is that most managers…

Every software engineer questions their contribution at some point in time. Let’s find out what they do. — When I was a software engineer, there were many instances when my team had to work long hours, including weekends, to complete project commitments. In every such situation, I had this thought that why can’t the company fire my manager and hire three more software engineers instead. …

5 types of engineering managers and a few ways to connect with them — Managers play an important role in shaping the work culture of not only their team but the whole organization. In the early part of my career, I had frequent job switches (which was a trend back then) and in the process worked for many startups as well as consulting firms…

Find out how people-pleaser managers impact their workplace — All managers and especially managers in the technology world have a tough job with a lot of expectations. They are expected to excel on multiple fronts — deal with super-smart techies, handle clients, and create reports for executives, etc, etc. In trying to juggle too many things, some managers start…