How to Build Influence as an Engineering Leader | Kelly Vaughn

This week, host Conor Bronsdon welcomes back Kelly Vaughn, Director of Engineering at Spot AI, to talk about building influence as an engineering leader. Kelly shares insights on the importance of leadership skills for both individual contributor and managerial roles and outlines her three pillars of trust, communication, and empowerment. Conor and Kelly discuss strategies for staying technically fresh despite moving up in management, exploring the balance between staying close to product development and avoiding micromanagement. Lastly, they touch on the potential of AR/VR technology, with a focus on the business implications of Apple's Vision Pro and the future of immersive experiences.Episode Highlights:01:09 How should engineering leaders think about building influence?03:53 The impact of changing roles or companies on your performance 08:07 Why you lose important context when making assumptions09:32 How ICs can help manage their team10:49 Key ways to build influence and trust16:00 How important is trust when giving or recieving feedback?22:27 How do leaders stay close to their product as their org grows?28:58 Our thoughts on Apple Vision Pro and AR VR in generalShow Notes:Kelly VaughnLessons in Engineering Leadership | Kelly Vaughn | SubstackSpot AI: Video Intelligence for Better Decision-MakingRadical Candor | Feedback Training, Coaching & ConsultingOFFERS Start Free Trial: Get started with LinearB's AI productivity platform for free. Book a Demo: Learn how you can ship faster, improve DevEx, and lead with confidence in the AI era. LEARN ABOUT LINEARB AI Code Reviews: Automate reviews to catch bugs, security risks, and performance issues before they hit production. AI & Productivity Insights: Go beyond DORA with AI-powered recommendations and dashboards to measure and improve performance. AI-Powered Workflow Automations: Use AI-generated PR descriptions, smart routing, and other automations to reduce developer toil. MCP Server: Interact with your engineering data using natural language to build custom reports and get answers on the fly.

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