Let's talk software
Software, leadership and context is a place to talk about engineering leadership in long format, where it's easier to dive deeper into concepts and talk about them at length. I'm Alex Wong, a software engineer by trade, from the days of waterfall and factories producing boxed software to today where we're entering what some call the agentic era. I'd like to share what I've learned through the years, and what I'll continue learn in the years ahead. But if there's anything to share right now in an introduction it's that leadership is multifaceted and difficult, having the real estate to talk about it here can do it better justice.
My career started in Canada working at a number of places, from McAfee to the Canadian government (specifically the CMHC/SCHL). These were formative years before making the trek over to Silicon Valley, where I joined LinkedIn. From there, I've done startups and big tech like Instagram. Every place was another way to grow in my career.
I never want to stand still. It's anathema to my psyche. Each time I commit to something, I want to think about how I'd do it better next time. This ethos has been instrumental to my career but it's also what has earned me stories to share; the kind I'll post here in the future.
Engineering leadership for me has been a series of lessons earned through hard work. I've also built a repertoire of analogies, each more ridiculous than the last: from interviewing candidates being akin to blind wine tasting, to product development being similar to comic book storyboarding.
If there's something I've wanted to do for a while, it's to turn common phrases into true explanations. Ever hear "be curious" but you don't actually know what questions to ask, or what to do with the answers? Software, leadership and context provides the space to put pen to paper.
Stay awhile and read. I hope there's a few gems for you to discover in what I've learned over the years. I'll be starting with the hottest topic of late; what agents mean for software engineering.