Software Development Manager

Leadership and values

You lead a team or multiple teams, are a role model and set an example for others at all times. You recognize that as a manager, your actions are magnified and your behaviors set the tone for your team. You relentlessly drive things forward, exhibiting the following characteristics:

• You focus on growing leaders – this means placing an emphasis on all aspects of the employee lifecycle (recruiting, onboarding, performance management and employee development). 
• You build strong, highly-effective teams you can trust, delegating decisions and tasks to others in your organization.
• You build processes that drive accountability within your team, where people assume and take responsibility for actions and decisions.  For example, goals and roadmaps are developed and reviewed frequently ensuring that team members are on track.
• You set the tone, encouraging your team to collaborate and cooperate with teams across a2z. You build good working relationships across the company.
• You constructively and actively manage conflict with peers and management through proper communications and collaboration. You work on the issue at hand, and you follow-through on decisions.  You coach team members to engage in healthy conflict when necessary, helping to clarify and address the most important problems. 
• You communicate clearly both verbally and in writing with your team and with other groups. You listen and facilitate effectively, ensuring that people with different communication styles have an opportunity to express their viewpoints.
• You continue to move forward in the face of ambiguity and imperfect knowledge, innovating with bold bets to drive business growth.  You do not suffer from “analysis paralysis.”
• You proactively support knowledge-sharing and innovation within the team and across your division. You encourage team members to find new and better ways of doing things.
• You frequently seek feedback from your team, partners and stakeholders. You demonstrate the ability to internalize and act on that feedback.
• You exhibit and encourage adoption of  the a2z leadership principles

Technical

You demonstrate a breadth and depth of knowledge in the disciplines called out in the leveling document for the technical area you manage (Software Development, Quality, Database Administration, Support Engineering, Technical Services, Technical Program Management, etc.).

• You and your team recognize and adopt best practices in engineering.
• You solve problems at their root, stepping back to understand the broader context.
• You and your team develop pragmatic solutions. You build flexible systems and processes without over-engineering and choose simple, straightforward solutions over more complex ones.

Business

You build or apply technology for business’s sake, not for technology’s sake. You put the a2z customer first at all times and are a customer advocate. You make sound business decisions, and understand the long term impact and unintended consequences of your decisions.

• You have an understanding and empathy for a2z’s customers and business objectives, particularly those aspects relevant to your team and your division.
• You know who your customers are. You inform and involve your stakeholders in planning and implementation of work within your team.
• You continually align your team’s work, goals and priorities with a2z’s business objectives and deliver significant business value.
• You stretch beyond your current goals and objectives to proactively find ways of growing the business and providing value to customers.
• You make sound decisions using business, financial, and legal data and resources. 

Personal

• Adaptable: You undertake a variety of tasks willingly. You switch from complex to routine tasks when required. You adapt quickly to new technologies and products. You work effectively with a variety of personalities and work styles.
• Quality: You demonstrate appropriate quality and thoroughness, and instill best-practices.
• Integrity: You act with personal integrity at all times.
• Professional: You work within and improve your team’s process, adhering to a2z’s policies and guidelines. You confront problems (even when outside your own domain), propose solutions, and take ownership through to resolution or ensure a clear hand-off. You have a positive, can-do approach and treat others with respect.
• Ownership: You take ownership of your responsibilities: your actions, your team, your projects, challenges and successes.  You are not afraid of new situations and genuinely care about solving issues at hand.  You are proud of the work you do.
• Decisive: You are familiar with different decision making styles, and know when and when not to use participative decision making to reach a conclusion. You are decisive in complex situations where there are multiple viewpoints and others are not able to reach agreement.
• Composure: You radiate calm, control and confidence to your team, even during stressful situations. 
• Motivation: You are an enthusiastic leader and inspire those around you. You creatively find ways to recognize and reward your team for demonstrating behaviors that support a2z’s values and leadership principles.  The end result is that you have a team that is engaged, enthused and excited.