Re:An Update on Our Outage
by NikolaNovak on Monday November 01, 2021 @08:50AM
(#29066069)
One of the greatest values of good technical manager is to run interference/shield for your team. Establish a chain of communication, or if there isn't one in place BE the active reporter, to ensure your hands-on-keyboard people aren't interrupted every 5 minutes (and this is a realistic timeline) for updates from various managers, execs, C-levels, and so on.
Otherwise, it's mostly things you can do before and after an incident like this.
Depending on your role and place in hierarchy, yes DO sit on calls, even if you are quiet; to understand what's going on, to help prioritize if needed, to see if your experienced "spidey sense" catches some risk others may not even though they're closer to the problem (or precisely because of it), encourage, guide, and focus; but all of that without being overbearing or making them feel watched. You need to feel like an ally, part of the team, a friend as opposed to political officer. This again is best achieved ahead of time by demonstrating your value to the team by being supportive and effective always.
Otherwise, it's mostly things you can do before and after an incident like this.
Depending on your role and place in hierarchy, yes DO sit on calls, even if you are quiet; to understand what's going on, to help prioritize if needed, to see if your experienced "spidey sense" catches some risk others may not even though they're closer to the problem (or precisely because of it), encourage, guide, and focus; but all of that without being overbearing or making them feel watched. You need to feel like an ally, part of the team, a friend as opposed to political officer. This again is best achieved ahead of time by demonstrating your value to the team by being supportive and effective always.