Kevin is the VP of Engineering at Abnormal Security, overseeing all aspects of growth and execution. In this class, Kevin describes the requirements for building a well-rounded and highly functional engineering team from both a technical and cultural perspective. Kevin spent time at eBay and Quantcast prior to becoming an early-stage engineer leader at TellApart, then a Director of Engineering at Twitter.
I think the first thing that you have to think through, I think through, for myself is what is the type of engineering leader you strive to want to be in the term?
Kevin W: I guess the question is what legacy do you want to be remembered? As an engineering leader and then make sure you're practically spending your time investing in developing those skills that is going to actualize that legacy. And again, there's no one, one size fits all for every leader. Some leaders are going to want to be known as,the most talented technologists, Who can really see the future and make sure they're building the right technical systems to help that future come to fruition. Other leaders go on and want to be no. The best mentors are people leaders they've seen in the company. They want every team member to say the highlight of my career was I got to spend time with this particular leader.
I learned so much in my career thrive because of that interaction. And you would therefore spend a very different, you spend your time [00:33:00] very differently, developing those skills based off of what that legacy actually is. So that's the first thing I would encourage him to think about. What do you want your legacy to be?
And are you spending your time actually developing and actualizing that legacy? I think the other thing, once you've determined the. You have to be the owner of your own career, own skills development. Reading books, talking to mentors, listening to podcasts, interviews from other leaders who are truly amazing in that field.
You have to be continually, intellectually curious and striving to learn and improve over time, as the only way to keep adopting and excelling. And, everyone learns differently, right? Some people. I do that more from in-person conversations, With mentors and leaders who are two years ahead of them in that journey.
Other people do that through reading books. And there's a wealth of information out there. both online and,published books as well. So it really just comes into you finding your own way to make sure you're focusing and prioritizing your own development.
