How Culture Fuels Engineering Excellence
How Culture Fuels Engineering Excellence
Building a Culture Where Engineers Thrive (and Maybe Play Ping Pong)
If you are new to Leadership Letters, this is a periodic publication where I share insights into leadership qualities and challenges that are commonly encountered but not frequently discussed. Drawing from my experiences in the industry, working with leaders at prominent companies such as Apple, Google (#faang), and beyond, I aim to explore effective engineering leadership styles. My goal is to infuse a sense of enjoyment into technology, as it rightfully should be for all.
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Often, we discuss large tech companies in Silicon Valley and delve into paths of success. Impact is almost always the pivot we heavily rely on. However, when we take a step back, we see that not all of us have the same experience, even when we are working at the same company. Some of us enjoy the ride and grow a lot faster than average, while the rest of us struggle to find our purpose, then give up to embark on a new journey at another prominent organization.
Today, we are going to discuss some core aspects of running an engineering team, driven by purpose and motivation. It is unfortunate that studies show 80 percent of a company's most impactful work is delivered by only 20% of its workforce. Imagine the results we could achieve by doubling this percentage to have a 40% high-performing workforce, and then raising it even higher.
Although performance depends greatly on the individual and their career stage, I believe the team leader plays a crucial role in the results produced. Most companies today establish core values from the outset. For instance, Google and Amazon prioritize putting users first, Apple emphasizes excellence, and Meta aims to shape the future of human connection. While these are commendable examples and quite motivating, they often become overshadowed by the daily execution, which is consistently prioritized over meeting OKR targets.
A leader is well-suited to address this problem at its root level. A leader who engages with the team to understand each individual's priorities is also keenly aware of their team's position in the larger ecosystem. Sundar Pichai often discusses Google's mission to make information accessible to everyone, but how will I, as an engineer on the infrastructure team, feel motivated by that mission? Sure, I can extrapolate and create a dependency graph to feel good, but is that truly effective?
In an engineering team, culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that shape how the team interacts, collaborates, and works towards achieving its goals. Alignment with the organizational culture is critical, but a team's culture should also feel familiar and comfortable, closer to home. Historically, this has been an organic development as teams interacted with each other mostly in person. However, with the increasing prevalence of remote and hybrid-friendly work environments, it is becoming much harder to avoid the trap of siloed development culture.
Building a strong engineering culture isn't just about ping pong tables and team outings. It's about creating an environment where engineers can thrive, collaborate effectively, and ultimately, deliver exceptional results. Here are some concrete benefits you can expect from a strong engineering culture:
Psychological safety: When engineers feel safe to share ideas and fail without fear of judgment, they're more likely to take risks, experiment, and come up with creative solutions. This fuels innovation and drives problem solving capabilities.
Trust and ownership: Empowered engineers take ownership of their work, leading to faster problem-solving and better decision-making. As a leader all you need to do is align goals with individual motivations and aspirations (it’s no easy feat).
Sense of belonging: A positive culture fosters a sense of community and shared purpose, leading to better morale and engagement. Working in a supportive and rewarding environment motivates engineers to go the extra mile and take pride in their work.
Build your team’s culture by cultivating psychological safety, encouraging diverse perspectives, embracing mistakes as learning opportunities, and fostering open communication. Delegate ownership, provide resources, and trust your team's expertise. Celebrate continuous learning by rewarding curiosity, investing in development, and creating a culture of experimentation. Finally, remember the importance of recognition and appreciation, acknowledge individual and team achievements, fostering a sense of belonging and shared purpose.
Outlined below are several strategies worth considering:
Create a platform for open discussions: Don’t just meet to discuss progress of a project, regularly schedule time with your team to discuss ideas, read books on topics that interest everyone. These outside project discussions will create a welcoming environment and foster a sense of belongingness.
Infuse a sense of collective achievement: Instead of focusing on a key individual, encourage everyone to share their opinions and inputs. The effect will be far reaching and make everyone feel equally valued.
Be transparent: I acknowledge that there are some limitations to it, but be as open as you can be. That means not just sharing the good news you hear from upper management, but the struggles that the organization is facing. When you create a sense of belonging in a team, each member will bring unique insights into making it work!
Today, we discussed how a strong engineering culture can enhance the performance of a team by implementing some simple tweaks in their operations. If you are a leader, consider implementing some of these techniques in your team and observe the members' satisfaction levels. Let's analyze the root cause of performance issues and systematically address them for everyone. We are all working on the cutting edge of technology, and it should naturally be fun!
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