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Newsletter archive
Cooking up a culture of continuous learning
Continuous learning is an important part of building a collaborative culture.
Retaining engineering talent in a chaotic market
With Bloomberg’s global head of engineering, Adam Wolf.
Encouraging a passion for productivity
In this edition of DirectorPlus, Neha Batra, VP of Engineering at GitHub, explains how she creates a culture of productivity.
Using AI to make a “sci-fi” developer experience
The future of AI-assisted development is so greenfield it’s neon-green, says Dana Lawson, CTO at Netlify.
Latest
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Why 70% of engineers avoid measuring lines of code
And four other key findings from the 2024 LeadDev Engineering Team Performance report.
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Is agile manifesting or preventing AI adoption?
In the rush to adopt AI, many organizations have forgotten – or conveniently overlooked – the fundamentals of agile software delivery.
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Why everyone’s suddenly talking about AI agents
What exactly are AI agents and how are they different from AI assistants?
November 5, 2025
A unique one-day event for Heads, Directors, VPs and CTOs exploring core leadership challenges.
Essential reading
What is a Director of Engineering? The glue keeping engineering together
A director of engineering is responsible for keeping an entire engineering function humming. Find out what skills you need to climb the ladder to this vital position.
On our DirectorPlus playlist
Strategies to hone commercial awareness and drive business outcomes
Learn effective strategies for enhancing commercial awareness in tech teams, turning engineering into a business driver through alignment, impactful initiatives, and stakeholder engagement.
The path from Director to CTO: How to follow it, or how to mentor it
This talk is aimed at both aspiring Chief Technology Officers and those who are in a position to mentor future CTOs. Explore the journey from a Director of Engineering role to a CTO, focusing on the skills and experiences needed for this transition and how experienced leaders can guide others on this path.
Making the manager of manager’s mindset
Suzan Bond covers the difference between the two roles and the key mindset shifts leaders need to make to manage managers.
November 5, 2025
A unique one-day event for Heads, Directors, VPs and CTOs exploring core leadership challenges.
More for managers of managers
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Content sponsored by X-Team
A beginner’s guide to building a sustainable learning culture
Software moves fast, how can you build a culture ready to keep up?
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Content sponsored by X-Team
Cultivating a culture of learning
Establishing a genuine learning culture takes time and attention, from all levels of the organization.
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How Zalando uses its own Tech Radar to make better technology choices
A tech radar can help track emerging technologies and make better adoption decisions.
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4 things you need to know from the latest Thoughtworks Tech Radar
Here’s why AI-assisted software development, open-ish source, and the stubbornness of the pull request should all be on your radar.
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Can we cure imposter syndrome in tech?
After years of leaning in, imposter syndrome is still prevalent amongst women in tech. Can it be eradicated?
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Ask Mathias: How do I define my role without any guidance?
Once you get to a certain level, it can be difficult to understand the parameters of your role.
Videos for managers of managers
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Growing the next generation of leaders: Levelling up your teams
Dana discusses how you can identify the skill gaps in your teams and support your managers as they transition to leadership.
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Make it count; A no-nonsense guide to engineering metrics for the busy leader
Gain practical insights on engineering metrics that help busy leaders prioritize effectively, address delivery challenges, and measure team performance to maximize impact and productivity.
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Alignment, autonomy, accountability
Explore essential management principles that build trust, enhance team engagement, and support smooth progress, equipping leaders with strategies to guide without micromanaging.
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It’s time to pay off your management debt
Explore management debt’s impact on organizations, uncovering inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Learn actionable strategies to identify, track, and eliminate management debt for sustainable growth.
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Culture, Clarity, Velocity
This session explores how leaders can examine proposed changes and prepare their teams to move from a culture that impedes progress to one that enables strategic change.
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From cost to impact: Leading through infrastructure investment decisions
This session explores tools like SLOs, KPI Trees, and the FinOps culture to make cost management a shared responsibility across the organization.
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Modernizing legacy systems: A technical strategy for evolving monoliths into modern architectures at HelloFresh
Gain insights into transforming legacy systems into scalable architectures, with practical strategies for balancing stability, managing technical debt, and enabling growth opportunities at HelloFresh.
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Strategies to hone commercial awareness and drive business outcomes
Learn effective strategies for enhancing commercial awareness in tech teams, turning engineering into a business driver through alignment, impactful initiatives, and stakeholder engagement.
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From engineer to executive: Leading the shift and inspiring business-minded tech teams
Explore the journey from engineering leader to CTO, with insights on bridging technology and business strategy, leading with influence, and fostering business-minded tech teams.
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What we talk about when we talk about leadership
Exploring key leadership themes from years in tech, this talk offers guidance and practical strategies to help engineers become the leaders they want to be.
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Ice, confusion, and the 38,000ft crash
Uncover the critical lessons from AF 447’s final moments – how small factors spiraled into disaster and what it teaches us about building resilient systems.
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Estimates as probabilities
This talk introduces a probability approach to estimations, aiming to transform delivery discussions into stress-free, trust-based conversations between tech teams and stakeholders.