Noto Group Executive Search’s Post

As the year wraps up, I again attempted by annual century. 100 miles on the road to clear my head and reflect. This year I came up short in miles but not on take aways. Looking back to the beginning of career and understanding what’s made me successful and contrasting that to my short comings in finding the next step in my career, I think I have a better understanding of the job market and how I fit into it. My roles and responsibilities were never anything that could be contained in a job description. If you were to list my responsibilities into a single page, none of it would make sense to anyone on the outside. What kind of project manager discusses surface transitions with designers and gets into the weeds of manufacturing while talking about deadlines to kick off tooling? What engineer is delving deep into defining product road maps and identifying market trends? What kind of product manager is in the trenches with the creative team gathering and creating assets for packaging? As unrelated as all of this seems, the underlying theme here that I think everyone misses is VERSATILITY and EFFICIENCY. The intangibles. Team efficiency isn’t something that I have ever seen in a job description nor is it something I think a hiring manager has ever thought of. It wasn’t even a thing before I moved on from my role as an industrial designer to serve the greater accessories product development team. The idea grew from the typical budget cuts where travel is usually the first to go. Having built strong relationships with our international team and supplier base, I was our designated hitter batting on behalf our design and product management teams.  And if you’ve worked with me, you know we’re getting every project across Homeplate on time. As time went on, my versatility helped lighten the load on the entire team allowing them thrive and grow within their respective roles. Again, not something that can be a nice bullet point on a resume or job description. So, to any of the recruiters or hiring managers reading this, I may not hit all of your requirements in your job description right now, but I can guarantee that you won’t be able to capture everything that I bring to the team in the future.

If you’re curious about what great industrial design looks like, give a quick watch to this video from SharkNinja. We’re proud to have a 2020 grad, Rebecca Murch, contributing to this team! And it looks like their team is growing. #industrialdesign #industrialdesigner #creativity #innovation #productdesign #sketching #prototyping

Starting a new job as an engineering leader comes in two flavors: either you are building a team from scratch, or you inherit an existing team. I wanted to talk about my strategy for connecting with an existing team. This is my favorite scenario, because it allows me to learn something new. When you become an engineering leader for an existing team, there is already a culture in place, relationships already exist between the engineers, between them and their tools, and between them and their processes. My first step is to always, ALWAYS resist that urge to come in and start meddling with things. But I don’t - because the most important thing is to understand the current situation. So I set up a discovery phase which is where I spend the majority of my time for the first 4 to 5 months. I want to learn everything I can about: The individual engineers, their skills, their goals, their pains, etc The product, how it’s built, how it’s been maintained, what challenges lie ahead with it, where it’s biggest values are, etc The processes in place, how the teams perform their work, how they measure success, etc The wider team - the cross functional teams/individuals that work with the engineers, what their priorities are, what their goals are, and how they intersect. The customers - what their lives are like, what their pinpoints are, what their motivations are, and how we are providing value to them. The culture - of the company, of the team, of the customers. Every market has its unique quirks. This gives me the lay of the land - enough to start looking for the pain points. Every org has them. The thing is understanding what can be fixed, what can’t, and what they can live with.    I love this part. It’s exciting, it’s all new. It lets me see lots of possibilities. The other great part - meeting my team for the first time. Getting to know them and finding the best way I can help support them. Finding ways that I can help others grow and succeed is why I moved from being a full time software engineer to being an engineering leader. So this is the first step of what I do when I join a new team. What do you do when you join a new company?

What they don't tell you about being a Head of Engineering... You’re not just in charge of software development. You’re in charge of people. Lots of them. And with great power comes great responsibility. Here’s what that looks like: - Your team's mental health - Hiring top talent - Championing diversity and inclusion - Technical excellence - Professional development - Creating a vision You’re more than a boss; you're a leader. Your job is to help your team thrive and grow. It's a lot of work, but it's incredibly rewarding. Are you ready to step up?

Imagine, you're an Engineering Manager (EM) for a tech company, juggling hands-on coding and managing a team of 10-12 engineers. Suddenly, you realize you're set up to fail, overwhelmed by job requirements, and your team is suffering due to lack of support. Sound familiar? Now picture a world where your role as an EM is clear and achievable. Your team is happy and productive, your customers love your product, and you don't ship "stupid". You've mastered the art of balancing work-life, prioritizing work that aligns with the company's vision, and building a psychologically safe environment for your team. You're also a career guide for your team, ensuring everyone knows their path to advancement. The transformation is possible, with a shift in mindset and understanding of what an EM's role should be. The key comes in balancing technical expertise with "people skills" – setting clear expectations, fostering an inclusive and supportive culture, and focusing on developmental growth for each team member. The role of an EM isn't easy, but it's crucial to the success of any tech team. If you got value from this, please follow me! I write daily about engineering management, team dynamics, and processes needed to build engaged and successful teams. #EngineeringManagement #TeamDynamics #CareerDevelopment #Leadership ----------------------------------- Check out the full article at https://lnkd.in/gJacdy9X

Half way through another week... not getting stimulated by your work & living for the weekend, or are you too deeply intrenched in your work to see there is something better out there for you? 🧐 Use the QR code below, to make sure you aren't either of the above! 🚀 For more in Engineering & IT, follow Tiro Partners Limited #hiring #design #development #project #engineering #manufacturing

What is Product Engineering? Scroll to break down this crucial process, from ideation to deployment. Discover how product engineering enhances product quality and efficiency, driving success in today’s fast-paced tech landscape! #ProductEngineering #TechInnovation #Hiring

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 "𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀". Let's understand this below: If you are hired as Product Manager and has been given to develop a feature, along with timeframe. You are working for the "Output" which technically means - 1. You are working on an identified problem by CEO/Founder/CPO of the company 2. You are assigned with a timeframe to complete it 3. You are will develop roadmap to complete the feature within the time frame. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀 "𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁" Whereas being a Product Manager 1. You will be given a problem to solve. 2. You need to identify the problem area and the solution area Then; 3. You will finalize the features based on the hypothesis you made to solve the problem 4. You will work on the timeframe by alignment of the different supporting teams such as - Designers, Engineers, Marketing and Sales 5. Create Roadmap and execute it 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 "𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁" If you want to clarify this more details connect with me here: https://lnkd.in/grTSHa6b Please share and follow me for such concepts #productmanagement #pivotportal #career #jobroles

Tech in Furniture The future of every business will rely more and more on technology. This will also be true in furniture. There is already groundbreaking software out there that can help provide additional resources to your clients that will help you keep their business. All dealers and manufacturers should start looking at hiring a CTO or a technology manager to help bring these technologies into your business. If you need help finding this talent, let me know.

Higharc is hiring! We have many different positions open right now including: - Head of Product - Product Lead - Solutions Consultant - Product Designer - Engineering program manager Please DM me know if you’re interested! I would love to share my experience here. Especially with those who are “looking for something more” in their careers. Link to all current openings in the comments. #techjobs #hiring #productjobs #solutionsconsultantjobs #engineeringjobs #saasjobs