headscientist

6 ms·

1.
by headscientist 4y ago
Thank you. Appreciate your thoughts. > Sometimes the most important thing isn't absolute max productivity. This is a really great point to keep in mind.
2.
by headscientist 4y ago
> If a junior employee was to write up job descriptions for all of the roles on the org chart, what would the CTO's role and responsibilities be? This is a fantastic question and good way to think about the issue. It may very well b
3.
by headscientist 4y ago
Writing it out beforehand and rehearsing seems like a great idea. So much easier to just end up using non-productive (or violent) communication if you don't rehearse a bit and make an effort to keep your communication and language very
4.
by headscientist 4y ago
Thank you! Was going to reply to your other comment because I saw that one first and I could not figure out what NVC referred to haha.
5.
by headscientist 4y ago
This is a good point. You're right that it really does come down to getting from him the things that I think the team and I need in order to succeed. Sometimes, however, I worry that I'm not getting the point across if I dance aro
6.
by headscientist 4y ago
In the kind of conversation you're proposing, do you think that, in addition to the very concrete asks I would have, there's a place to say something along the lines of "I just generally want to feel like you have our back, t
7.
by headscientist 4y ago
I'm torn on this. It's possible he would be very receptive and appreciate the frank conversation. It's also possible he will wonder where I get the gall to suggest to him, in however a constructive or trying-to-help way, that
8.
by headscientist 4y ago
This is great feedback. Thank you.
9.
by headscientist 4y ago
Oh and yes, I do think he's "trying" to recover in a sense. The thing I'm unsure about — and maybe he himself is unsure of — is whether that ship has sailed and he's either unable or unwilling or unmotivated to reco
10.
by headscientist 4y ago
Great question. If he were fulfilling what I view as his responsibilities, I would not necessarily feel it imperative to take over for him. If he were to leave — whether voluntarily or forced out — I would gladly take over the role. I'
11.
by headscientist 4y ago
Thank you, this is very helpful! I like this approach
12.
by headscientist 4y ago
That would be great. I'll send you an email later this evening. Thank you!
13.
by headscientist 4y ago
That's the thing. It seems self-serving (and I guess it is), but I am handling an increasingly huge area of responsibility and working around the clock, while he seems only half-committed at best. At some point, this does just point to
14.
by headscientist 4y ago
Right, I've thought this too. I mentioned in another reply that, on the one hand, I appreciate the CEO giving me some time/space to figure out how to approach this delicately. On the other hand, I feel he should be providing more
15.
by headscientist 4y ago
Right. No, we don't. He messages me when he needs help with things since I'm holding a lot more in the hands-on stuff. One of the problems is that he tends to work in a silo whereas I prefer to act as just another engineer when I&
16.
by headscientist 4y ago
I didn't flesh this out enough in the original post, but the CEO isn't actually dismissing it casually. He actually said this is really serious and said he thinks we should address transparently sooner than later. It's more t
17.
Ask HN: How can I approach our CTO who seems checked out?
16 points by headscientist 4y ago|40 comments