How to Work With Me

This is a living document that I’ll continue to evolve. My goal is to give you a sense of how I think about work, what I value, how I work best and how I see my role as Head of Engineering. Feedback is always appreciated.

The intended audience is anyone who works with me, wants to work with me, or is curious about how I work.

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Besides playing with my kids, cars and the sea are my happy places!

My core principle

My number one priority is to create an environment where everyone can excel.

What I value most

  • Alignment, clarity and transparency
  • Autonomy and accountability
  • Continual learning and iteration
  • Impact over activity
  • Feedback
  • Family First

Why this matters

My aim in working this way is simple: to create a safe, high-trust environment where people can excel. When people feel aligned, empowered, and supported, they bring their best selves to work. That gives us better products, happier customers, and a stronger company. As Richard Branson said, “Look after your staff and they will look after your customers.”

How I like to work

I practice servant leadership. I meet people where they are and help them grow from there. It’s not always possible to get it right for every situation, but I aim to, and think my track record and references reflect that.

Helping you grow as a person and in your career is one of the most important things I can do. I want to create an environment where everyone feels valued and has a clear sense of career direction and opportunity. I’ll support you as much as I can, but it’s up to you to put in the effort and take ownership. If you need help, just ask.

I value continuous learning and understand that people grow in different ways. What matters most is that you are progressing, how you choose to do that is up to you.

I enjoy building product, teams, technology and systems. I approach this iteratively: breaking work into the smallest meaningful units, measuring impact, and adjusting quickly. I double down on what works and pivot when it doesn’t.

How I manage 1:1s

1:1s are my main tool to support you, but if something is on your mind, do not wait, just ping. These conversations are for you. They are a safe space to reflect, look ahead, share feedback both ways, and focus on your growth and career.

I use a simple, possibly quirky, framework I’ve adapted over the years. We will start with a personal check-in, move through a series of questions, and adapt the flow based on what matters most to you. They are not for tactical updates, we have other forums for that.

I prefer to schedule them monthly, with extra catchups as needed. If monthly feels too little or too much, we will adjust. My only ask is that you come open minded to the process, and together we will tailor it so you get the most out of our time.

What I expect from you

I start from a place of assuming positive intent; that you are skilled and great at your job, with more knowledge and expertise in your area than I have. My role is to help create the conditions for you to do your best work.

I want everyone to feel ownership of their work and to take pride in the impact we create:

  • Clarity and openness → Share your thoughts, raise questions, and speak up if something isn’t clear. I’d rather hear too much than too little.
  • Ownership → Take responsibility for your work, whether it’s moving something forward, asking for help, or admitting when something isn’t going to plan.
  • Curiosity and learning → Keep looking for ways to improve yourself and the systems around you. Progress matters more than perfection.
  • Respect and collaboration → Value the perspectives of others, listen actively, and aim to make the team stronger than any one of us individually.
  • Bias for action → Small steps forward are better than waiting for the perfect plan. Iterate, learn, and adjust as we go.
  • No nasty surprises → Share both good and bad news quickly. Early communication builds trust and gives us the best chance to respond together.

With the above in place, I am happy to be accountable for the decisions you make…

How I make decisions

I prefer to start with data and evidence, combined with intuition and experience. I like to test theories on a small scale first, measure impact, and then adapt. An OODA approach.

I think about decisions in two categories borrowed from Jeff…

For reversible decisions (Type 1) I value speed and action. For irreversible decisions (Type 2) I prefer thoroughness. In both cases, I expect clear reasoning, a discussion of trade-offs, and a concise record of the thought process that can be shared with others.

I want the team to own as many decisions as possible. I value your input and feedback, and I will support you in making calls. Empowerment does not remove accountability, I remain accountable for the decisions you make and for engineering overall.

What I value most in decision-making is transparency, alignment, and knowledge sharing. Surprises and hidden agendas make it harder for us to succeed together.

How I like to communicate

I prefer asynchronous communication and find Slack far more effective than email. I volunteered to help roll it out across IBM for more than 400,000 IBMers, managing three of the largest workspaces. I wanted the whole company to benefit from it and gained valuable experience through the process.

You can message me on Slack anytime and I will do my best to respond. If something is urgent, please call or WhatsApp. To protect my family time, I do not keep Slack on my phone.

I also make deliberate use of scheduled messages. It is one of Slack’s most valuable features and I use it to avoid sending non-urgent messages outside working hours, when people are away, or when they need focus time. For me, it is a simple way to respect boundaries while keeping communication flowing.

Note: If you’d rather I just send the message, let me know.

How I like to manage my time

I work best with structure and keep my calendar up to date. If you need time with me, please book a slot directly. It helps a lot if you add context e.g an agenda, a note about the decision you need, or the topic you want to discuss. That way I can come prepared and we can make the most of the time.

If something is urgent: Slack, WhatsApp, or call. We’ll figure it out.

I am dabbling with time boxing as a result of The MacSparky Productivity Field Guide (highly recommended).

How to get the best out of me

I think best out loud and enjoy exploring messy problems together. If you need to rubber duck an idea or talk something through, I am always up for it.

When raising issues, let me know as early as possible. I value it even more if you bring potential solutions alongside the problem.

For updates, keep them short, regular, and to the point. I prefer clarity over detail.

Challenge me in the moment, just send it. I appreciate transparency, curiosity, and accountability.

If you need support, Slack me with a brief outline of the context and your current thinking. If it is urgent, call or WhatsApp.

I am far from perfect. I am usually high-energy and open. A proud dad of two fiercely independent daughters and very much in love with their mum, who may or may not be part of the reason they are so independent. There will be times when family life makes me a little tired or distracted, but I believe being open about that helps me stay grounded and approachable. I take the opposite approach to Professor Robert E. Kelly (he later apologised and set the scene better, and I don’t tend to be on Live TV)…

Family first

Life places many demands on us, and for those with dependants it can be especially unpredictable. My philosophy is family first, always. Whatever family means to you, if life gets in the way, let me know and we will work around it together.

This is both a team culture and a personal leadership philosophy. As a team, we dig a little deeper when someone needs time and trust that balance comes through give and take. It all comes out in the wash.

I try to model this myself by keeping Slack off my phone, limiting phone use around my family, and sticking to a shutdown routine. It is not always easy working from home, but being explicit about it helps create permission for others to do the same.

Things I’ve written if you want to read more

Software I depend upon

Books that have shaped my thinking

  • Getting Things Done – David Allen
  • The Effective Executive – Peter Drucker
  • The Trillion Dollar Coach – Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, Alan Eagle
  • The Phoenix Project and The Unicorn Project – Gene Kim
  • Rework, Remote & It doesn’t have to be crazy at work – Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
  • High Output Management & Only the Paranoid Survive – Andy Grove
  • The Hard Thing About Hard Things – Ben Horowitz
  • Extreme Ownership – Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
  • The Pragmatic Programmer – Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas
  • Clean Architecture – Robert C. Martin