Having an Efficient Dev Team :: ISEP 2020

1. Having an efficient
Dev team
ISEP - Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto
December 2020

2. hello!
I am Pedro Torres
Director of Software Engineering @ Salsify
12+ years experience running engineering teams (100+ engineers)
I to help Startups, Scaleups, and Enterprise companies succeed
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3. Having an efficient dev team
it’s much harder than it seems
Retain Develop Succeed
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Hire

4. 1.
How to Hire the Team
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5. Hire
✘ Motivation
✘ Hardskills
✘ Softskills
✘ Ethic
✘ Diversity and Inclusion
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6. 2.
How to make the Team
Succeed
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7. Clarity
On the outcomes we expect the team to
achieve
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8. Competence
For the team to achieve the desired
outcomes
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9. Autonomy
For the team to make decisions with the
outcomes in mind
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10. What helps a team succeed
CompetenceClarity Autonomy
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11. Clarity
✘ Why
✘ Purpose
✘ Mission
✘ Expected Outcomes
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12. Competence
✘ Knowledge acquisition
✘ Seniority vs Juniority
✘ Done it vs Doing it
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13. Autonomy
✘ Psychological safety
✘ Accountability
✘ Agility
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14. 14
Side effect
of all this?
GROWTH

15. 3.
Practical Tips
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16. “Be mindful of one’s time
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17. “Set the example, practice what
you preach
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18. “Keep your promises, don't
disappoint your people
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19. “Remember, your team doesn't
work for you... you work for them!
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20. “Don't EVER micromanage
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21. “Trust your people
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22. “Don't measure work by the time
invested but by its outcomes
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23. “Don’t overlook the importance of
soft skills
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24. “Let the team make tactical
decisions
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25. “Do regular "health" check
surveys (hear the team)
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26. “When you speak/explain
something to someone, it is your
responsibility for the other
person to understand it
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27. “Always assume best intentions in
all actions/conversations
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28. “Have meaningful 1:1s
(they are not status meetings)
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29. “Managing a team is much more
about the people than the
delivery
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30. “Focus on flow not on occupancy
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31. “You should strive to be the manager
behind a successful team
(and not the other way around)
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32. “Work smarter not harder
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33. “Use meaningful team metrics
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34. “Read these two books ASAP:
✘Turn the ship around!, David
Marquet
✘Drive: The surprising truth about
what motivates us, Daniel Pink
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35. thanks!
Any questions?
You can find me at
Pedro Gustavo Torres on LinkedIn
@_pedro_torres on Twitter
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36. Credits
Special thanks to all the people who made and released
these awesome resources for free:
✘ Presentation template by SlidesCarnival
✘ Photographs by Unsplash
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