The best frontline eng managers in the world are the ones that are never more than 2-3 years removed from hands-on work, full time down in the trenches. The best individual contributors are the ones who have done time in management.

And the best technical leaders in the world are often the ones who do both. Back and forth. Like a pendulum.

Slides and notes for the Being Glue talk.

When your team escalates to you, it is not always necessary (or wise) to "accept" the escalation. Sometimes, the right thing to do is to hand the problem back. That doesn't mean being unhelpful, though! The HBR article provides a set of really good questions to help frame these kinds of conversations:

• “What have you tried?”
• “Who—or what—is getting in the way of tackling this?” helps you get to the root of what’s stopping them from solving the problem themself.
• “What support do you need?”
• “What would you do if you were in my seat?”
• “Is there anything else I should know?” leaves them to solve the problem while validating your support.