My personal manual

This post captures my style, thinking process and how to better interact with me. The intention is to have a place where I can point people to when they want to learn how to better collaborate with me.

💈 My Style

• I have been a developer since 2002. I love to code. In my free time normally I’m coding something new just for the pleasure of coding.

• Like all good developers, I’m lazy! I want to do the minimum necessary and, if possible, automate it somehow.

• I’m a practitioner of visual management. And I prefer Information Radiators over Information Refrigerators.

• I like to ask questions. Questions are my favourite tool of engagement. Sometimes people perceive my questions as challenges. Most of the time they are not challenges, they are just my way of keeping my brain focused on the topic. Other times they are nudges to guide people to a place that I believe is important to visit.

• If I have a challenge for the idea discussed, I would say it without a question. E.g. “That doesn’t sound good to me”, “I disagree”, “Maybe is better if…”, etc.

• I believe that a good team is a team that is prepared for the challenges ahead. So I focus on “How can my team be [prepared|better prepared] for this [challenge|project|task]

🥇 What I value

• I value transparency over power. I like to be transparent with the people around me and I expect that as well. I like to be as transparent as possible, to the level of saying: “I know more about it but I cannot disclose it yet” I believe that transparency requires maturity, that means that if I share a piece of information with you I expect you to be mature enough to handle it.

• I value relationships over “efficiency at all cost”. I spend more time with people inside the company than with my family during the week. So I want to create reasons to smile when I see you and vice-versa.

• I value agreement over consensus. I like people who have different opinions, but we must be able to agree on something and move forward.

• I value servant leadership over the champions. I prefer good team players, who are willing to work as a team than some excellent professional who has to work alone.

• I value conflict not combat. I have this tendency to keep people who have different opinions close to me. I believe they can help me cover my blindsides.

😫 What I don’t have patience for

• People who believe they know everything.

• Disrespect with other people’s struggles.

• People who cannot demonstrate empathy.

• Low quality work. (Quality is not negotiable)

🗣️ How to best communicate with me

• Face to face > Video > Voice > Audio message > Text Message/Whatsapp > ask someone to talk to me > e-mail

• Avoid sarcasm. With English as a second language I still far from understanding sarcasm in English.

• Start with the headline. Be straight. Don’t be afraid that I will take your point as an aggression. I’m good at receiving feedback.

• I like to give space to people to explain their point of view, and I expect the same. If I could listen to you for a few minutes, I believe you can do it as well.

• If you want to move me, give me a question instead of an affirmation.

• Give me advice instead of opinions.

🆘 How to help me

• Give me feedback. If you didn’t like anything I did or something I didn’t do when I should have done you can tell me, text me or email me.

• If you see any strange behaviour from anyone in my team, I encourage you to give feedback to the person first and then let me know. I encourage everybody to give feedback in person, but if you think I should pay more attention to something let me know.

• Don’t be afraid to suggest me to change my course of action, e.g. in a meeting. I’m very open to suggestions and advice.

🧩 What people misunderstand about me

• At home, I speak Portuguese, not Spanish. :smirk:

• Questions are my way to engage. If I question your idea it doesn’t mean necessarily I disagree with it. I can just be the case that I want to learn more or I want you to expand your vision.

• I moved to Australia with my wife (who still learning English) and two kids. I have other things to think about besides work :wink:

• Although I can play guitar and sing, I struggle to do that in English. It takes me weeks to learn a new song in English, while in portuguese, I can learn multiple songs per day.

02 Dec 2022