The End of Engineering's Blank Check: Accountability in Software Leadership • Laura Tacho & Charles Humble

GOTO - The Brightest Minds in Tech

This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted.
https://gotopia.tech
Laura Tacho - CTO at DX & Executive Coach at Laura Tacho Consulting
Charles Humble - Freelance Techie, Podcaster, Editor, Author & Consultant
RESOURCES
Laura
https://x.com/rhein_wein
https://bsky.app/profile/lauratacho.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauratacho
https://lauratacho.com
Charles
https://bsky.app/profile/charleshumble.bsky.social
https://linkedin.com/in/charleshumble
https://mastodon.social/@charleshumble
https://conissaunce.com
Links
https://getdx.com/research/measuring-ai-code-assistants-and-agents
https://www.conissaunce.com/professional-skills-shortcut.html
https://getdx.com/research/measuring-developer-productivity-with-the-dx-core-4
https://dora.dev
https://getdx.com/blog/understanding-dora-metrics
https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3454124
https://getdx.com/blog/space-metrics
https://getdx.com/research/devex-what-actually-drives-productivity
https://getdx.com/news/introducing-genai-impact-report
DESCRIPTION
Laura Tacho, CTO at DX and executive coach, shares her take on the challenging transition from technical contributor to business leader. She discusses the most common leadership skill gaps she sees in CTOs, particularly around setting clear expectations without falling into the "micromanagement spiral of doom".
Laura explains the development of the DX Core 4 framework for measuring developer productivity through four balanced dimensions:
• Speed
• Effectiveness
• Quality
• Impact
She emphasizes the critical importance of connecting technical work to business outcomes, arguing that the era of engineering having a "blank check" is over and that today's leaders must think like business leaders who speak in terms of ROI and impact. The conversation with Charles Humble also covers emerging trends in AI-assisted development and unconventional approaches to performance management.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Will Larson • An Elegant Puzzle • https://amzn.to/4gb9VyC
Will Larson • The Engineering Executive's Primer • https://amzn.to/3UURQuT
Meri Williams • The Principles of Project Management • https://amzn.to/4lj5B1G
Daniel H. Pink • Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us • https://amzn.to/3UHx535
Kathy Sierra • Badass • https://amzn.to/4b9fb2V
James Stanier • Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager • https://amzn.to/3vHrx1E

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Kapitler

1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. Common leadership challenges & skills gaps (00:05:22)

3. Measuring team & manager performance (00:13:34)

4. Understanding developer productivity & the DX Core 4 Framework (00:17:02)

5. Choosing frameworks & avoiding pitfalls (00:35:49)

6. AI's impact on developer productivity (00:40:31)

7. Measuring manager performance (00:44:07)

8. Recommendations & resources (00:47:26)

9. Outro (00:48:50)