Leadership
Leadership is the work of helping people do meaningful work together: setting direction, building trust, clarifying ownership, developing people, and making better decisions under pressure.
In my opinion, it requires careful attention to details, as the small decisions and actions a leader takes have an outsized impact on the team culture and individuals' career paths: how risks get discussed, how delegation is set up, how people grow, what tradeoffs are rewarded, and what the group learns from what leaders actually do.
Making Reality Discussable
Leaders do not help the team by hoping the hard topic stays out of the room. Rather than hoping the issue will "somehow" go away, I want issues raised so we can actively shape what happens next.
Why You Want The Hard Questions
A starting point for how I think about leadership: hard questions are useful signals, especially when the work is messy.
AI And Engineering Judgment
AI now has its own reading path, but the questions still overlap with leadership: delegation, review, judgment, trust, and responsibility for the result.
AI & Agents
Essays about working with AI agents, engineering judgment, and the projects that become possible when experimentation gets cheaper.
Delegation And Team Growth
Delegation is not just handing work away. It is how leaders create ownership, grow people, and still stay responsible for the conditions around the work.
Delegating Doesn't Mean Disappearing
On giving someone real responsibility while providing context and support, and checking in regularly.
Growing Your Team With Stretch Assignments
On balancing delivery with development by choosing stretch work with the right support around it.
What Leaders Teach Through Action
Teams watch what leaders reward, tolerate, and repeat.
Defend Your Standards or No One Will
Standards become real when leaders defend them in the small moments where letting them slide would be easier.
Leadership Across Functions
Working with other teams means sorting out who is responsible for what and listening to feedback even when it is hard to hear.
Your Responsibility In Cross-Functional Communication
Why understanding the whole project matters when you are responsible for only part of it.
How to Take Criticism as Support
How to learn from criticism, even when it stings.