The Retrospective

Jeremy Brown & Péter Szász

The Retrospective: A Podcast for Engineering Leaders If you want to learn more about leading engineering teams, this podcast can help you improve your skills and grow in your role. We are Péter Szász and Jeremy Brown, experienced technology leaders and your hosts. We created this podcast to help people who manage tech teams or want to learn how to do so. We cover principles and concepts, provide how-to guides and tools to help you meet common challenges, share stories from our experiences, and offer advice on how to be effective leaders in the tech world. Each 20-30-minute episode discusses one topic. We aim to cover all areas related to engineering leadership: How to grow your career and become an engineering manager Starting to manage a new team and helping new people join your team Delivering results that align with the business goals Working well with other teams in the company Enabling team and individual success Building and maintaining a strong organizational culture Hiring practices and growing your team Managing managers and scaling leadership Team topologies and organizational structure The podcast is helpful for: Engineering managers and those who want to become engineering managers. Those on the technical leadership track and who want to grow their leadership skills. Senior managers who want to improve themselves and the managers they coach.

  1. S3:E1 - Task Relevant Maturity

    10/29/2025

    S3:E1 - Task Relevant Maturity

    Effective Delegation Using Task Relevant Maturity In this episode of the Retrospective podcast, Jeremy and Peter kick off the third season by discussing the concept of task relevant maturity in engineering leadership. They explore the common challenges new managers face, such as micromanagement and hands-off leadership. Jeremy introduces the idea from Andy Grove’s book ‘High Output Management,’ emphasizing the need to adjust management styles based on the maturity of a person and the task at hand. They delve into how to assess an individual’s maturity, the benefits of pairing team members, and the importance of maintaining a balance between autonomy and oversight. They also provide actionable insights on how to help team members grow and how to use task relevant maturity to improve overall team performance. 00:00 Introduction to Season Three 00:38 Understanding Task Relevant Maturity 00:56 Challenges Faced by New Managers 03:05 Framework for Assessing Task Relevant Maturity 10:51 High Task Relevant Maturity 26:21 Balancing Critical Projects and Personal Growth 30:22 Conclusion and Resources Links from the episode: High Output Management by Andy Grove - The original source of Task-Relevant Maturity The Most Important Management Concept You’re Missing: Task Relevant Maturity The Most Important Aspect of Task Relevant Maturity Many Leaders Forget The Manager’s Path by Camille Fournier - Builds on TRM concepts for engineering leadership Share your thoughts about the episode (and the podcast) at feedback@the-retrospective.com!

    31 min
  2. S2:E04 - What Puts the Senior in Senior Software Engineer?

    11/12/2024

    S2:E04 - What Puts the Senior in Senior Software Engineer?

    In this episode of The Retrospective podcast, co-hosts Jeremy and Peter delve into the characteristics that define a senior software engineer. They explore the multifaceted nature of seniority, emphasizing that it is not just about years of experience but a blend of technical expertise, business awareness, team impact, and leadership skills. Through analogies and personal anecdotes, they illustrate how senior engineers are not just adept at coding but also act as multipliers of their team’s success. They discuss the holistic view and forward-thinking mindset expected of senior engineers, drawing on examples from their own careers. The episode also touches on the importance of fostering growth in others, handling technical debt pragmatically, and effectively communicating complex technical topics.  Advice is offered to engineering managers on how to guide team members aspiring to reach senior levels, emphasizing the importance of demonstrating these traits consistently over time. Here are some articles and further food for thought: Senior Engineers Reduce Risk Levels of Seniority Why senior engineers get nothing done An incomplete list of skills senior engineers need, beyond coding Looking a bit further ahead of the Senior level: What a Senior Staff Software Engineer Actually Does VP, Director, what? 00:00 Intro 00:36 Overview 01:40 Senior People Operate on a Different Time Horizon 05:07 The Impact a Senior Engineer Can Have 06:38 Technical Expertise 08:16 Team Impact 11:44 Business Awareness 16:02 How They Behave 18:34 Demonstrating Leadership 20:29 Advice for Engineering Managers 25:42 Summing it up! 26:18 Outro Share your thoughts about the episode (and the podcast) at feedback@the-retrospective.com!

    27 min

About

The Retrospective: A Podcast for Engineering Leaders If you want to learn more about leading engineering teams, this podcast can help you improve your skills and grow in your role. We are Péter Szász and Jeremy Brown, experienced technology leaders and your hosts. We created this podcast to help people who manage tech teams or want to learn how to do so. We cover principles and concepts, provide how-to guides and tools to help you meet common challenges, share stories from our experiences, and offer advice on how to be effective leaders in the tech world. Each 20-30-minute episode discusses one topic. We aim to cover all areas related to engineering leadership: How to grow your career and become an engineering manager Starting to manage a new team and helping new people join your team Delivering results that align with the business goals Working well with other teams in the company Enabling team and individual success Building and maintaining a strong organizational culture Hiring practices and growing your team Managing managers and scaling leadership Team topologies and organizational structure The podcast is helpful for: Engineering managers and those who want to become engineering managers. Those on the technical leadership track and who want to grow their leadership skills. Senior managers who want to improve themselves and the managers they coach.