Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Autonomous Engineering Teams: What Works, What Breaks
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Autonomous Engineering Teams: What Works, What Breaks
In this episode of "How Many CTOs Does It Take?" podcast, hosts Scott Porad and Brad Hefta-Gaub unpack one of the most debated questions in engineering leadership: Should engineering managers also serve as tech leads? They explore the organizational signals that indicate whether a team is ready to thrive with true cross-functional autonomy, and what can go wrong when roles and responsibilities blur. And of course, it wouldn't be a How Many CTOs episode without a dive into AI-assisted coding—Scott and Brad share some recent wins (and fails) using tools like ChatGPT Codex.
- 00:00 Introduction and Host Greetings
- 00:53 Generative AI Tools Discussion
- 01:41 Challenges with AI and Coding
- 05:07 Onboarding New Engineers
- 10:03 Engineering Management Structures
- 25:02 Identifying Team Anti-Patterns
- 25:45 The Role of Psychological Safety
- 26:30 Product Manager's Influence
- 27:07 Balancing Centers of Gravity
- 27:59 Importance of a Tech Lead
- 28:37 Risks of Siloed Teams
- 32:14 Tech Lead vs. Engineering Manager
- 39:09 Prerequisites for Cross-Functional Teams
- 47:34 Core Beliefs and Team Structure
- 48:54 Conclusion and Call to Action
Resources:
- How Many CTOs Pod: https://howmanyctospod.com
- Scott Porad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottporad/
- Brad Hefta-Gaub: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradheftagaub/
- Mindsets That Shape Software Delivery Team Structures - https://medium.com/@rethinkyourunderstanding/mindsets-that-shape-software-delivery-team-structures-51d25f20638c
#TechPodcast #EngineeringPodcast #DevTalks #PodcastForDevs #HowManyCtos #Podcast #Ctos #CtoPodcast #Technology #Engineering #SoftwareDevelopment #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Management #EngineeringLeadership #TechnologyLeadership #EngineeringManagement #EngineeringProductivity #TeamVelocity #DevCulture #TeamCulture #EngineeringCulture #EngineeringManager #TechLead #ProductEngineering #OrgDesign #TeamStructure #TechLeadership #PeopleManagement #EngineeringCulture #StartupLeadership #EMvsTL #TeamDynamics #LeadershipTradeoffs #ScalingEngineering #OrgRoles #CollaborationMatters #ManagementVsLeadership
View all episodes
By Brad Hefta-Gaub & Scott PoradIn this episode of "How Many CTOs Does It Take?" podcast, hosts Scott Porad and Brad Hefta-Gaub unpack one of the most debated questions in engineering leadership: Should engineering managers also serve as tech leads? They explore the organizational signals that indicate whether a team is ready to thrive with true cross-functional autonomy, and what can go wrong when roles and responsibilities blur. And of course, it wouldn't be a How Many CTOs episode without a dive into AI-assisted coding—Scott and Brad share some recent wins (and fails) using tools like ChatGPT Codex.
- 00:00 Introduction and Host Greetings
- 00:53 Generative AI Tools Discussion
- 01:41 Challenges with AI and Coding
- 05:07 Onboarding New Engineers
- 10:03 Engineering Management Structures
- 25:02 Identifying Team Anti-Patterns
- 25:45 The Role of Psychological Safety
- 26:30 Product Manager's Influence
- 27:07 Balancing Centers of Gravity
- 27:59 Importance of a Tech Lead
- 28:37 Risks of Siloed Teams
- 32:14 Tech Lead vs. Engineering Manager
- 39:09 Prerequisites for Cross-Functional Teams
- 47:34 Core Beliefs and Team Structure
- 48:54 Conclusion and Call to Action
Resources:
- How Many CTOs Pod: https://howmanyctospod.com
- Scott Porad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottporad/
- Brad Hefta-Gaub: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradheftagaub/
- Mindsets That Shape Software Delivery Team Structures - https://medium.com/@rethinkyourunderstanding/mindsets-that-shape-software-delivery-team-structures-51d25f20638c
#TechPodcast #EngineeringPodcast #DevTalks #PodcastForDevs #HowManyCtos #Podcast #Ctos #CtoPodcast #Technology #Engineering #SoftwareDevelopment #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Management #EngineeringLeadership #TechnologyLeadership #EngineeringManagement #EngineeringProductivity #TeamVelocity #DevCulture #TeamCulture #EngineeringCulture #EngineeringManager #TechLead #ProductEngineering #OrgDesign #TeamStructure #TechLeadership #PeopleManagement #EngineeringCulture #StartupLeadership #EMvsTL #TeamDynamics #LeadershipTradeoffs #ScalingEngineering #OrgRoles #CollaborationMatters #ManagementVsLeadership