S1E9 - Ryan McIlmoyl, Senior Engineering Manager, GlossGenius

All hands on deck 🏴‍☠️

Your Captain has had the distinguished honour of receiving Ryan from Gloss Genius to chat the night away about his experience in management and building resilient systems.

Given Ryan's track record as a kid's sports coach, we've had the chance to debate the differences and similarities between coaching and management and the importance of human-centered management styles.

And for you out there wearing recruiter hats of all shapes and forms, well, we haven't forgotten to wag our tongues on the subject of hiring and recruiting in the tech industry, and all it's intricate challenges, if you savvy 🦑

As a bonus, you'll get privy to Ryan's ideal interview loop and the importance of creating a positive candidate experience whilst also fostering diversity. Feel free to take and use what makes sense for your current hiring needs fellow founders and recruiting managers!

Takeaways

• Coaching and management share similarities, but there are differences. Coaching is focused on short-term performance and winning, while management is about long-term consistency and building a high-performing team.
• Effective management requires a human-centered approach, considering the well-being and development of team members. It is important to view employees as individuals with unique skills, needs, and motivations.
• Building resilient systems involves planning for unknown unknowns and learning from incidents. It requires a combination of technical and human factors, such as understanding the system, providing feedback loops, and fostering a blameless culture.
• When hiring and recruiting, it is important to consider the employer brand and company culture. Candidates should be evaluated not only for their technical skills but also for their problem-solving abilities, values alignment, and compatibility with the team.
• Creating a positive candidate experience is crucial in the hiring process. It is important to be respectful of candidates' time, provide clear communication, and ensure a fair and transparent interview process.
• The ideal interview loop should include a technical assessment to evaluate problem-solving skills, a discussion about past experiences and cultural fit, and an opportunity for candidates to ask questions and learn more about the role and company.
• Effective communication and collaboration are key in the interview process, including being open to suggestions and thinking out loud.
• Fostering diversity in recruiting requires actively seeking out candidates from underrepresented communities and creating a welcoming environment.
• Creating inclusive work environments involves recognizing and accommodating different strengths and needs.
• Expanding recruitment efforts to reach a more diverse pool of candidates requires examining the current pipeline and making necessary changes.
• Playing to people's strengths and using alternative assessment methods can help identify the right fit for different roles.
• Addressing diversity and inclusion requires a commitment to change and creating a company culture that values and supports all employees.
• Finding joy in work is important and individuals should not settle for being unhappy in their jobs.