Sumanth - ReadMe
A guide to understanding Sumanth.
Who is Sumanth?
About a year ago, I joined Fyle. Before joining Fyle, I worked at several startups (I have an aversion to big companies) and ran my own startup.
My journey to becoming an Engineering Manager has not been conventional, so my style of managing might not be considered conventional either. One thing about me is that I strive hard to make my reports successful, and the more successful they become, the happier I am.
Outside of work, I enjoy hiking, travelling, and watching cricket, especially when India plays.
Why do you need to read this guide?
For every library we use, there is a ReadMe that helps us successfully use that library and eliminates the steep learning curve.
This guide is essentially a ReadMe of how I work and how I would like to work with my reports. It aims to help those who work with me understand my work hours, preferred modes of communication, and how I conduct 1x1s, etc.
In this guide, I will aim to give insight into who Sumanth is as a person. This is important to know, as you will spend most of your productive waking hours with me.
Without further ado, let's begin.
What are my working hours?
I generally start my day around 9 AM and work until 5 PM. I like my reports' work hours to overlap with mine, as it helps unblock them if they are blocked. Once they reach the senior engineering level, they can prefer to work at any time.
I generally schedule 1x1 meetings after 10 am in the morning and before 3 pm in the afternoon. This allows me some time for my individual contributor (IC) work.
Unless it's a P0, I don't respond to work-related messages after 6:30 pm. If a P0 occurs after 6:30 pm, please call me on my phone.
I don't expect anyone to work beyond their preferred work hours, and I don't work on weekends, nor do I expect anyone to work with me on the weekends, unless it's a P0.
What is my management Style?
As a manager, I believe that I am the bridge between the company's goals and my reports. It's my duty to ensure that the company goals are achieved and that my reports grow in multiple dimensions while working with me. As a manager, I prefer to guide, coach, and support my reports, rather than being a taskmaster.
I like to give my reports space and independence to achieve their assigned tasks. I trust that they will regularly provide me with updates on their progress without me having to prompt them.
I don't mind helping my reports and guiding them, even if they need help with non-work-related goals.
Trust and transparency, along with hard work, are very important to me. I prefer honesty, and I can be sensitive to falsehoods.
How to communicate?
For a successful working relationship between two individuals, effective communication is crucial. It is also important to understand the different modes of communication and when to use them.
For day-to-day tasks, I prefer the use of public channels for communication. This is because:
It keeps everyone in the company informed about your progress and goals
If you encounter any obstacles, others can assist you more efficiently
It promotes transparency and accountability.
Private 1-on-1 conversations, such as those relating to technical or personal growth, can be conducted through a separate channel, as these do not require an immediate response.
For highly personal and urgent matters, direct messaging is appropriate. Please note that I do not generally respond to work-related direct messages.
I infrequently use emails and am available for emergency calls at any time, regardless of whether they are work-related or not.
How the projects are run every quarter?
Every quarter, certain initiatives (projects) are picked up based on the business priorities. Each initiative will either be a new feature or an improvement to engineering efficiency in a specific area of the product.
At the start of each initiative, a ClickUp is created with all tasks broken down into minute-level details, and a due date is assigned to each task. This is typically a collaborative exercise between the report and me. If the report is a senior engineer at Fyle, we conduct this process through asynchronous communication, otherwise, it will be done via a call
After the click-up is created I prefer daily updates in the initiative channel in the following format. This format helps me quickly identify blockers promptly:
Completed Milestones:
Milestone 1
Ongoing Milestone: <name of the milestone>:
Tasks completed 1
Ongoing tasks:
Example Task 2
Blockers: Blocker 1
Example:
If there is a blocker, I will generally attempt to resolve it asynchronously. However, if a call is necessary, we can schedule one and resolve the issue together
When and how should you reach out to me when you are stuck with a problem?
It is natural for all of us to get stuck with a certain problem at some point. These problems may include trying to fix a bug, understanding technical concepts, or comprehending a specific use case of a product. If you find yourself in such a predicament, my expectation is that you will take certain steps such as tracing the code, comparing the expected and actual output, and conducting a basic Google search. Even after taking these basic steps, if you are still stuck, we can have a call and work together to find answers to these questions
What is the problem that you are facing? What is expected out vs actual output? Which area of the code is the problem in? What are the solutions that you have already tried?
Failing to answer these questions during the call will lead to frustration and not being able to find the solution effectively to unblock you quickly.
How frequently do the 1x1s happen? What can be discussed?
Generally, I would like to conduct two one-on-one meetings each week: an operational one-on-one and a non-operational one-on-one.
Operational One-on-One
Duration: 45 minutes Frequency: Weekly Agenda:
The project you are working on
The bugs you are addressing
Non-Operational One-on-One
Duration: 45 minutes Frequency: Weekly Agenda:
Your goals
Discussion on how to achieve those goals
Any other professional or personal topics you would like to discuss
How to get Feedback and Give Feedback?
It is very important for any relationship, especially a professional one, to receive and give feedback in order for it to grow well. Feedback provides an opportunity to align expectations and understand each other's perspectives. It typically pertains to areas of growth such as timely delivery, technical abilities, communication, and so on.
As a manager, I also encourage my reports to give me feedback on how I can improve and help them achieve their goals. I provide feedback with specific examples and explain why it is important, along with suggestions on how to improve. I appreciate it when my reports give me feedback in a similar manner.
Every quarter, we have a performance review where we discuss what went well and areas we both can improve.
What would break this relationship?
Until now, we have discussed ways to strengthen our relationship. On the other hand, there are certain behaviours that can harm it, including:
Failing to be transparent in our work and eroding our established trust.
Showing disrespect towards our peers.
Ignoring feedback and repeating the same mistakes.
Not taking the initiative to research and gather information before asking for help.
Not communicating openly and effectively
What are some of the things that I am working on?
I have a tendency to forget about meetings, particularly when I am engrossed in debugging. If I happen to be late by three minutes or more, feel free to remind me.
While I may not excel in writing lengthy documents, I am striving to improve in this area by composing this document.
Sometimes, when I think, I tend to express my thoughts out loud, which might seem like disjointed rambling. If this occurs, please don't hesitate to ask me to repeat myself in a more organized manner.
I also have a tendency to underestimate project timelines.
Saying "no" is a difficult skill for me to master, and it often results in overpromising and underdelivering.
I am currently focused on enhancing my knowledge of advanced database concepts.
These are some areas I believe I can improve upon. Please feel free to add any other suggestions as we work together. I will take one item from this list every quarter, prioritise it, and work on improving it.
Final
I hope this document provides you with a comprehensive understanding of who I am and how we can work together effectively. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at any time.
I am confident that our working relationship will be productive and beneficial for both of us, as we grow and learn together.