korrents

What Charity Majors thinks about management

@charity-majors · 50 positions · 1 change of mind

Co-founder and CTO of Honeycomb, previously an infrastructure engineer at Parse, Facebook and Linden Lab. Co-author of "Database Reliability Engineering" and "Observability Engineering". Writes at charity.wtf about on-call, hierarchy, hiring and the engineer/manager pendulum.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

Charity Majors did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

6 dated positions, 2017 to 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Charity Majors has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingKind leaders usually do beat sociopaths in the same role, but only if they are also good at business.

    Their wordsit's it's not enough to be a good person. I believe that people who are kind and care about people can and and usually do do better than sociopaths in the same roles, but only if they're good at business.

    ↗Stop being skeptical about AI for development with Charity Majorsyoutube.com 25th of 26 in this recording

  2. 20 months earlier

  3. Our reading"Hire great people and get out of their way" is dangerous advice for anyone in a leadership role.

    Their wordsEarlier this year I started writing a piece on why “hire great people and get out of their way” is such terrible, dangerous, counterproductive advice to give anyone in a leadership role.

    ↗“Founder Mode” and the Art of Mythmakingcharity.wtf 1st of 8 in this piece

  5. Our readingNeither running everything through the founder nor pushing decisions down is the better way to run a company; each only works if it fits that company’s own resources and values.

    Their wordsEither can work. Both have tradeoffs and implications. If you try to import either philosophy wholesale, it will break in unexpected ways; if you try to mix and match, it will probably be an unfettered nightmare.

    ↗“Founder Mode” and the Art of Mythmakingcharity.wtf 3rd of 8 in this piece

  6. 11 months earlier

  7. Our readingA few larger teams under experienced engineering managers outperform many tiny teams each led by a working tech lead.

    Their wordsBut everything I have ever experienced leads me to believe that a fewer number of larger teams, each helmed by an experienced engineering manager, should way outperform this gaggle of tiny groups.

    ↗Questionable Advice: "My boss says we don’t need any engineering managers. Is he right?"charity.wtf 4th of 5 in this piece

  8. 7 years earlier

  9. Our readingMaking management the only path to career progression is a mistake that costs a company the senior engineers it needs.

    Their wordsFuck the whole idea that only managers get career progression.

    ↗The Engineer/Manager Pendulumcharity.wtf 1st of 4 in this piece

  11. Our readingThe best engineering managers are never more than two or three years away from hands-on work, and the best individual contributors have done time in management.

    Their wordsThe best frontline eng managers in the world are the ones that are never more than 2-3 years removed from hands-on work, full time down in the trenches. The best individual contributors are the ones who have done time in management.

    ↗The Engineer/Manager Pendulumcharity.wtf 2nd of 4 in this piece