Taylor Poindexter

Views = mine. Engineering Manager at Spotify 🤓👩🏽‍💻 ✊🏾 Whisk(e)y woman 👩🏽‍🏫🥃 UVA Alum🔸 Scuba Diver 🤿 IG: womanwithwhiskey

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

Random internet manager here 👋🏽 I have so many thoughts here and if you don’t know me, I’m known for building psychologically safe and efficient teams. Some of my favorite compliments I’ve received about my management are: 1- “your team would run through brick walls for you”. 2- “your team doesn’t play about you, even when you’re not around” 3- many of my engineers saying they’d following me “anywhere”

I know it’s not common but I LOVE trying to be the best manager I can be to each person on my team. However, I understand that mode of thinking isn’t for everyone.

But no matter what your mindset is on management, I truly believe a few ways of working will help you build an effective and stable team that’s built to last.

First, the quoted post is right. Some managers intentionally don’t grow engineers to keep the team “stable”. But if an engineer feels they don’t have room to grow and/or are unhappy, they’re not going to do their best work. Potentially creating a drag on the team until they finally find their exit. If you have motivated people, do your best to align them with what makes them tick and let them soar. Quality people will always be able to leave, help them see the value in staying. And when it does come time for them to leave, don’t take it personal. It’s a job 💜

Second, if onboarding people is a grueling task, dig into why. Yes, people take time to get organizational context, but are there other onboarding changes you could make to make things more smooth? Outdated documentation? Breaking down knowledge siloes? Engineers who don’t want to help their team? Whatever it is, lessen the impact of the onboarding drag.

Third, great employees are hard to find. If you find a few, do you really want to lose them because you’re scared they’ll leave? IMHO, I prefer to give these phenomenal employees a work environment that’s hard to find elsewhere. Giving a crap puts you ahead of majority of managers.

Fourth, I want to acknowledge that the industry is in a tight spot right now. If you lose someone, you may not get the backfill. Which can feel scary when the workload isn’t decreasing. But even with the potential of losing the headcount, I still stand by the fact that limiting your people’s growth isn’t the fix here. If anything, managers should lean into coaching and aligning their people with high impact work in case the team’s value ever comes into question.

Lastly, remember that your best people can always leave. If they’re good enough, there’s likely always another company that wants them. Refusing to nurture their career will only expedite their exit. My approach is to make sure they enjoy their time under my management so I can slowly but surely build my “forever team” of people I’d hire anywhere I work.

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

Most managers already know how to run great 1:1s. They choose not to because their org punishes them for it.

Every experienced manager has heard the advice. Let your reports own the agenda. Focus on their growth. Coach instead of direct. They learned it in their first leadership training. They’ve read the books. They’ve nodded along in the workshops.

They still run status update 1:1s. And the reason is structural.

A manager who develops their reports well creates people who get promoted out, get poached, or start asking for the manager’s job. A manager who runs low-energy status updates keeps the team stable, dependent, and unlikely to leave. HR tracks attrition as a negative on the manager’s scorecard. Nobody tracks “I developed three people so well they all got promoted in 18 months” as a win.

The incentive math is brutal. Develop your people → they leave → you backfill → you spend 6 months ramping a new hire → your team’s output craters during the transition → your performance review suffers. Run status updates → team stays put → output is predictable → you look like a stable operator.

This is why advice like this resonates massively and changes almost nobody’s behavior. The managers reading and bookmarking it will open their next 1:1 on Monday and ask “so what’s your status on the Q2 deliverables?” Because their org rewards exactly that.

The managers who actually run great 1:1s tend to work at companies where developing people out of your team is celebrated. Those orgs are rare. And until that changes, most 1:1s stay exactly where they are: status updates with a calendar invite.

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

Has anyone used Surety for their home security system? If so, thoughts?

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

Do folks have whole home alarm systems they love?

We tried Vivint and it was a nightmare.

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@dorynshapes They’re stunning!

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@ifeanyi_otuonye That’s like people thinking my brother is a mechanic because he’s a mechanical engineer 😭

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@KristyT Wishing them an amazing birthday!

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@MyDailyPosts Too dang long

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

I've woken up every day this week and immediately thought "I'm so glad it's Friday" only to be disappointed lol

Tomorrow's my day.

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@Sheeva_8 And it feels amazing! Happy Friday!

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

Of course 💜 that sounds like a hell of time but I love that you and your team handled it like absolute pros.

People here are always going to have some shitty comments and I know it’s not easy to ignore but to hell with them. Most of them have never even used PHP and just hate on it because it’s trendy.

Admittedly, I used to be one of them. But the first job I loved had me code in PHP and Laravel and I loved it. Absolutely loved it.

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

Sending love to all the folks working through these PHP vulnerabilities. I hope today is a bit easier and you're able to do something you love doing this weekend.

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@digitalsleep Luckily I grind my own beans daily

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

Last night I was getting my bi-weekly massage when my massage therapist educated me on the fact that roaches like to live in coffee makers.

It's obviously not a problem in my home, but I immediately flashed to all the places I've had a cup of joe 😂 I've also been playing with the idea of getting a nice espresso machine off FB Marketplace. That idea is completely dead.

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@HateItFrFr I’ve never been there so I’m not familiar with their vibe

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@camperry21 Unfortunately

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

Excuse me?

[R A W S A L E R T S @rawsalerts]

🚨 #BREAKING: Bank of America, Chase, Well Fargo, & other major U.S. banks reveal rogue AI agents have been found “living” in customer’s bank accounts.

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@pierskarsenbarg That’s not what I picked up but maybe?!

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@IPProfEvans Luckily he works magic and was able to relax me again but I was definitely tense as hell 😂

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@theisraataha Questions that need answers !

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@SamuraiPrimz So precious!

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@SamuraiPrimz Tried and true! 😂

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@virtualized6ix Emphasis on blissfully!

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@byron_miller Husband just cleaned ours this morning lol

[Taylor Poindexter @engineering_bae]

@DCoulbourne 😂 I was face down and lifted my entire upper body up to turn and look at them