I have spent several years as a Team Leader (also known as an Engineering Manager), heading up teams of about 4–6 developers from different backgrounds, seniority levels, and abilities. The first time I led a team was during my army service as an officer in the elite 8200 unit. I oversaw a team of brilliant aspiring software engineers and our work revolved around making sure the right information made its way to the right places, at the right time. While being a developer in the army is the dream of many young adults, this dream is usually accompanied by many responsibilities, in addition to those typical army-related duties. Managing people is challenging enough, without having to deal with other “side” distractions; soldiers who are currently on duty the exact moment you discover a bug in production, soldiers who are sick and, therefore, get sent home (also known as “gimelim”), or even soldiers who fulfilled their army duty and moved to work at a high-tech company or started their degrees. While little “blips in the radar” are common among any regular R&D team, it’s important to realize that you can usually ask the relevant person to fix the issue, have them log in from home, or from anywhere else they may be. Dual ownership to the rescue! Having to ‘manage my soldiers’ chores, vacations, sick days, etc. in addition to routine engineering activities, forced me to adopt the first guideline on my best practices list: dual ownership! Let me explain; every… Read more