Tag: leadership

Learn In Public – week 04

A sense of humor is one of the most underestimated leadership skills

Following the recommendation in “The Great CEO Within” I listened to “The One Minute Manager”. In one of the chapters, they mention the usage of Humor as a leadership tool. It is not about becoming a comedian but rather showing up as humans. Humor is a powerful and often overlooked tool.
Why it matters:

  • Humor helps build trust and rapport – people are more likely to engage and collaborate when they feel comfortable and connected.
  • It can reduce stress and tension, boosting well-being and performance.
  • Humor makes leaders more approachable and memorable, signaling confidence and emotional intelligence.
  • Shared laughter fosters psychological safety, helping teams voice ideas and take risks.

Of course, balance is key – humor should complement clarity and respect, not replace them. Too many jokes or poorly timed humor can actually backfire, so think of it as a strategic leadership tool, not a default setting. It’s about knowing when a light moment can lower defenses, reset the room, or simply remind everyone that work is done by humans, not robots.

Related resources –

5 interesting things (02/11/2025)

Measuring Engineering Productivity – Measuring engineering productivity is a topic that has been discussed as long as the field of engineering has existed. This post acknowledges the tension of measuring engineering work (where metrics can be easily manipulated). It proposes a pragmatic system of minimal burden, high visibility, and context-sensitive metrics, rather than focusing on lines of code.

https://justoffbyone.com/posts/measuring-engineering-productivity/

Stop Avoiding Politics – Politics usually have a bad name, but the article argues that avoiding the “politics” of an organization doesn’t remove politics; it just removes your ability to influence outcomes and let others decide for you. This is a helpful reminder that part of seniority is engaging in stakeholder dynamics, not just writing code.

https://terriblesoftware.org/2025/10/01/stop-avoiding-politics/

Team Dynamics after AI – This post critiques the rush to utilize AI to scale engineering artifact production and argues that what matters most remains the “illegible” human and team elements: context, feedback loops, diversity of roles, and the social glue that holds work together. I link it to the “Measuring engineering productivity” post in the sense that simply measuring throughput or artifacts might miss the hidden “team health” or context dimension.

https://mechanicalsurvival.com/blog/team-dynamics-after-ai/

Useful Engineering Management Artifacts – This is a practical collection of templates for various purposes, including team charters, career development plans, and decision briefs. It complements the productivity and team dynamics posts by providing actual artifacts you can use to operationalize some of the ideas.

https://bjorg.bjornroche.com/management/engineering-management-artifacts/

Stop Caring So Much About Your People – I find this post a bit weird. In the post “Radical Candor” era, it feels obvious that giving feedback is both essential and meaningful. I agree with the author’s point that leaders sometimes over-prioritize team happiness at the expense of organizational health, and I’d extend that further: over-protecting people from discomfort also hurts their own growth. As leaders, giving feedback is often uncomfortable, but it’s one of the most valuable things we can do – to help our people, our teams, our company, and even ourselves evolve.

https://avivbenyosef.com/stop-caring-so-much-about-your-people/