Grow Your Tech Career with this Framework: A Conversation with Dropbox's Head of Cloud Platform

In today’s episode, we have Vladimir Sheyda, Director of Engineering at Dropbox. He’s a passionate engineering leader with over 15 years of experience in application security and cloud infrastructure. In this episode you'll learn: ➡️ What are the most important topics to cover in a 1:1 with your manager ➡️ What is the GROW framework nd how it can help your career ➡️ The big myth about who has more control, an engineer or their manager Follow Culture of Code ➡️ Twitter - https://twitter.com/FelixThea ➡️ Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/culture-of-code-podcast/id1563271780 ➡️ Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0fqIsZcqFeB6NTdKaHSJtP Timestamps: 00:00 Into 03:01 The challenge of managing a large surface area for an infrastructure team with many internal clients, and how Vladimir stays abreast of everything. 04:25 How Vladimir prioritizes identifying and filling gaps in his team, specifically regarding hiring and training. 06:30 The Ignite program at Dropbox, which brings in people from other industries to provide new perspectives and technical training. 07:12 What makes an individual contributor (IC) coachable and able to upskill, according to Vladimir's experience. 09:05 The willingness to take risks and fail publicly as a necessary attribute for growth 11:41 Dealing with investing time into team members who may eventually leave or transfer teams. 13:36 The importance of taking risks in investing in team members, and that the alternative is much worse. 14:06 The manager's or director's job in identifying what motivates people to stay, and advice for those who are less experienced and don't yet know what motivates them. 17:17 Felix asks about the best way for ICs to get the most value out of one-on-one meetings with their managers. 20:26 How to handle situations where an IC doesn't agree with their manager's assessment of their work, and how to calibrate better in those situations. 24:42 The importance of being on the same page and using a growth framework to establish common goals between managers and ICs. 28:15 The skills needed to manage a growing team, and how to develop them along the way. 31:17 The differences between a top-down and bottom-up culture, and the pros and cons of each. 33:11 How to lead without relying on authority in a bottom-up culture, focusing on establishing common goals and optimizing approaches rather than being married to a particular solution. 35:06 Vladimir dispels the myth that managers have all the power, explaining that ICs actually have more control and power in the relationship dynamic at Dropbox.

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.