Teams at Work by BUNCH Darja Gutnick (CEO, Co-Founder of Bunch)

In this week’s episode, our co-founder Darja chatted with Stephanie Herre, Senior Sales Leader at Remote (ex-Cisco, and SAP). Stephanie shared her take on how AI will impact the future of work, and why we need fewer managers, but more leaders. She discussed the simple steps you can take not to feel overwhelmed as a leader, how to say “no” at work without sounding rude, and still be there for your team. Stephanie believes the skill of asking the right questions at work and being self-reflective is underrated, and the world needs better question-askers, not better talkers. She also shared what she struggled with the most as a first-time manager and how she learned to set communication boundaries at work to maximize productivity, live a full life, and help her team do the same. In this episode, you’ll learn:How Stephanie transformed her under-performing team as a first-time manager and gained her team’s trust while helping everyone achieve their goalsWhat makes a true leader nowadays, and the super skills that will help you to go from good to great leader How to utilize and make the most out of the 30-60-90 plan, and why this good old framework, should be your go-to tool as a first-time managerWill we need managers in the coming years at all, and why in the future with AI, you won’t go far without the human skills Timecodes:4:20 - the question you ask someone at the beginning of their leadership journey6:05 - will AI replace managers, will we need managers in the coming years at all?9:00 - in the future with AI, you won’t go far without the human skills14:05 - the simple steps you can take not to feel overwhelmed as a leader18:00 - how to say “no” and decline meetings at work without being rude26:00 - role play: how to help your coachees or mentees apply what they’ve learned in the sessions29:30 - how Stephanie transformed her under-performing team as a first-time manager30:20 - the number one advice to first-time managers: utilize the good old 30-60-90 plan33:30 - a quick practice to free up your schedule37:25 - the 3 main skills you need to train for the future of work 42:00 - the competitive advantage of introverted leadersConnect with Danielle:Twitter: https://twitter.com/coachsteph2022LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephherre/Udemy Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/306090plan-leadership/Connect with Darja:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darjagutnick/Twitter: https://twitter.com/darjagutnickFollow Bunch:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bunchai/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bunch_HQBecome a better leader in 2 minutes a day with BUNCH, the AI Leadership Coach. Download it for FREE on the App Store

In this week’s episode, our co-founder Darja chatted with Danielle Leong, currently VP of Engineering at Maca, working on SaaS pricing insights. She started her career as an early engineer at Twilio, after that Danielle became a Director of Engineering, building a tech team to lead the development of mission-critical services at GitHub. She is a passionate learner and loves mentoring others on their journey, she also has her own photography studio where she captures and amplifies diverse and unique voices. Danielle shared her nontypical career journey, and how she balances her technical and creative sides (and how they complement each other). She also shared her take on leading by example, why failing is healthy, and how to actually apply learnings from the past to solve problems in the present. Danielle believes even if you are early on in your career or come from a different background you always have something to bring to the table, you just gotta believe in yourself and be curious!
In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why technical talent is made, not born, and the two qualities you actually need to succeed on the tech leadership journey
How to make sense of all the resources out there, adjust them as a template to fit the needs of your team, and then pick out a specific solution
Why leading by example is not showing what you know but rather stepping up and admitting what you don’t know
How failing fast and failing often can help you become a better professional and why none of us actually “have it together”


Timecodes:
6:00 - why curiosity and drive to learn are the only things you need to succeed in anything
8:20 - how to apply learnings from the past, what inspires Danelle today, and what she’s keen on learning more about
11:00 - why you gotta fail fast and fail forward, and how failure can positively shape your journey
13:50 - none of us “have it together” and even leaders fail
16:30 - if people are afraid to admit they don’t know something, you need to lead by example
24:28 - Panda Planner method for productivity
27:35 - unpopular opinions about engineering management
38:00 - no matter what you’re going through, you are not alone, and there are definitely mentors and people out there ready to help


Connect with Danielle:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tsunamino
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielleleong/

Connect with Darja:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darjagutnick/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/darjagutnick

Follow Bunch:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bunchai/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bunch_HQ

Become a better leader in 2 minutes a day with BUNCH, the AI Leadership Coach. Download it for FREE on the App Store

In this week’s episode, our co-founders Darja and Anthony chatted with Eric Weiss, ex-CTO at Rock My World, Angel Investor, CEO, and Podcast Host at Chaos To Clarity, and an Executive Coach working with technical founders and executives to help them overcome the challenges of growth. Eric shared his two guiding leadership philosophies that helped him throughout his career, and his key learnings on the pillars you have to oversee and manage as an engineering leader, and how to balance them all. Eric also shared how was passionate about technology alone at first, but after beginning his engineering career, he discovered his love for working with people and leading teams, how much he enjoyed understanding the motivations of each team member, how to best work and collaborate with them, and leverage their own motivations to achieve the shared team goals, which ultimately led him to become an engineering leader and coach.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why the role of the CTO is the most complicated C-level role and is it even possible to truly excel in it at all
Why executives sometimes make bad decisions and how to prevent it - spoiler alert: Eric does a live exercise for that in the podcast!
Why understanding the product-building methodologies and being customer-centric is more important than being a good coder
BONUS: top learnings from 40 Teams at Work episodes from our co-founders Anthony and Darja
Timecodes:

2:11 - where Eric’s passion for leadership and technology came from
5:15 - why the role of the CTO is the most complicated C-level role
9:15 - the pillars you have to oversee and manage as an engineering leader, and how to balance it all
13:13 - why is it important for engineers to be customer-centric
21:30 - understanding the product-building methodologies is more important than being a good coder
25:15 - Eric’s two guiding leadership philosophies
36:00 - what are the most common challenges executives and founders are facing today, and how Eric helps them navigate this chaos
39:17 - you should be leading out of confidence, not out of fear
42:00 - feeling scared as a leader? Do this exercise
46:00 - Eric’s advice to his younger self

Connect with Eric:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/realEricWeiss
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericmweiss/
Podcast: https://linktr.ee/chaos2clarity

Connect with Anthony:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyreo/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anthonyareo

Follow Bunch:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bunchai/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bunch_HQ

Become a better leader in 2 minutes a day with BUNCH, the AI Leadership Coach. Download it for FREE on the App Store

In this week’s episode, our co-founders Darja and Anthony chatted with Raz Shuty, Senior Director of Engineering at Delivery Hero with over 12 years of experience leading technology teams. Raz shared why he hated the role of a manager at first, and how he struggled to fit in, what he learned about leadership from his father, a chef and why the first manager he ever had is a role model when it comes to management. In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why becoming a manager in engineering means a negative return on investment on the craft that brought you to the role
Why Raz hated his first engineering manager job, quit, and how he ultimately found his role and got to enjoy it
How working in sprints can suck, and what you can do to find a framework that will work best for your team and your goals
The limitations of remote work and why there is an upside to working in an office
Timecodes:
2:06 - how being a Senior Director of Engineering can be a nightmare
9:40 - why you should not become a manager
12:30 - did Raz ever regret becoming an engineering manager
16:00 - go-to tools and hacks to stay productive as a manager
19:50 - how to determine your mission for the week and prioritize effectively
25:05 - what is the primary difference between managing individual contributors vs. other managers
33:30 - the benefits and the struggles of remote work through the lens of an engineering leader
48:00 - growth is not a numbers game, sometimes it’s about doing as much as you can with what you have in the moment
50:30 - creating a fun environment is an underrated part of management that can actually result in better team engagement
53:00 - why Raz despises sprints as a work framework for engineering teams
Connect with Raz:
Blog: somehowimanage.blog
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raz-schweiger-shuty-86299814/
Podcast: techpointcharlie.blog
Connect with Anthony:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyreo/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anthonyareo
Follow Bunch:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bunchai/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bunch_HQ
Become a better leader in 2 minutes a day with BUNCH, the AI Leadership Coach. Download it for FREE on the App Store

In this week’s episode, our co-founders Darja and Anthony chatted with Meri Williams. Meri was the CTO at Monzo - the online bank - before it even became a bank! She led the technology team through a period of immense growth in both the team itself and in the customer base. Now as the CTO at Pleo, Meri is continuing to lead teams through different changes while enabling each team member to reach their full potential. Meri shared her key learnings on what it actually takes to create a healthy, safe, diverse and inclusive work environment, as well as why high-performing teams are the ones who are happy, and feel comfortable in their individual roles. Meri also discussed what she would do differently as a new CTO, some of her best principles for success and why sometimes hotdogs are the only thing you need to make your team happy.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why management (especially in engineering) is a career change, not a promotion, and how can you succeed in it
What it really takes to build a diverse and inclusive team: 3 questions you should ask yourself
What is the real difference between being nice vs. kind to your team and the impact it can have
Why you shouldn’t treat others like you would want to be treated. Rather treat them like they want to be treated
Timecodes:
2:30 - the challenges of joining a growing startup as a CTO
12:00 - purpose, autonomy, mastery, inclusion: the magic formula for high performance
14:00 - the model for DEI: 3 questions you should ask
32:00 - why management is a career change, not a promotion and how can you succeed in it
41:00 - how to help people feel safe at work, enabling them to reach their potential: be nice AND kind
51:00 - how to really be an empathetic person and leader

Connect with Meri:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Geek_Manager
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meriwilliams/

Connect with Anthony:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyreo/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anthonyareo

Follow Bunch:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bunchai/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bunch_HQ

Other helpful resources:
Learn more about engineering leadership from Lara Hogan: https://larahogan.me/
Learn more about being an Engineering Manager: https://nickmchardy.com/2019/02/on-being-an-engineering-manager.html
The home of engineering management: https://leaddev.com/

Become a better leader in 2 minutes a day with BUNCH, the AI Leadership Coach. Download it for FREE on the App Store

In today’s episode, our co-founder Anthony chatted with Alvar Lumberg. Alvar was one of the Founding Engineering Team leaders at Wise (formely TransferWise), now he is an investor, and the CTO, and co-founder at Grünfin. Alvar shared how he uses coaching to help engineering and first-time managers succeed in their roles. He also discussed what makes leading an engineering team and succeeding as a manager at the same time a tough balance to achieve. From learning how to navigate the transition from individual contributor to manager, to understanding how the definition of leadership has changed over time, and what does it take to be a successful leader today. Alvar also shared his top book recommendations, what he is still trying to grow in and why it is essential to understand emerging technologies to plan ahead.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How you can be a leader even if your job title doesn’t necessarily imply it
Being an engineering lead at a big company vs. a startup - tricks, tips, and best strategies to succeed
Why it is important for leaders to take a step back, and revisit the broader picture regularly
What are the biggest challenges engineering managers face today, and how you can overcome those
Best practices to discovering your unique leadership style as a new manager
Timecodes:
1:10 - how and where Alvar’s journey began
6:40 - why passion was the key to kick-starting Alvar’s career and setting him up for success
11:25 - what was it like joining an early-stage startup as an engineering lead
16:00 - Alvar’s leadership style and what would he advise to first time managers
17:00 - your job as a leader is not to tell people what to do, it’s to align on goals and support them with achieving those
21:30 - leadership through coaching - how does Alvar lead his teams
26:50 - the biggest challenge engineering leaders and managers face today
29:20 - why you need to understand emerging technologies to be able to plan ahead
30:05 - Alvar’s books recommendations
33:50 - what it truly means to be a leader and a role model (hint: it’s not about your title)
35:10 - how would Alvar define leadership
36:00 - what Alvar is still trying to grow in
40:00 - what would Alvar advise to his younger self and all first time managers out there
Connect with Alvar:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alvarlumberg
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvarlumberg/

Connect with Anthony:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyreo/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anthonyareo

Follow Bunch:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bunchai/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bunch_HQ

Become a better leader in 2 minutes a day with BUNCH, the AI Leadership Coach. Download it for FREE on the App Store