Ananth Ramachandran is a seasoned engineering leader who has got experience in building happy, productive and high performing engineering teams. He authored a book on engineering management - more details here: https://www.highperformingmanager.com/. He has worked as a developer, lead engineer and a manager in varied domains ranging from healthcare to traditional and modern banking systems to shipping business. He started his career in a fortune 500 company and later found his passion in startups and building engineering teams from the ground up. He’s passionate about scaling up people, product and technology strategy ultimately contributing to organization’s success. A team architect, who orchestrated multiple team re-organizations and transformations to achieve organization goals and objectives. Ananth runs a newsletter for Engineering Managers, techmanagerguide.substack.com, where he writes about day-to-day experience, challenges, and modern engineering management practices and techniques. He also speaks on podcasts and at meetups, mentors and trains software professionals and aspiring leaders.
My Mentoring Topics
- Tech Leadership
- Building strong engineering culture
- Defining Engineering KPIs, OKRs and quarterly tech roadmaps
- Career progression in Software Engineering
- Engineering Metrics
- Software Engineering
- Scalable Backend Systems
- Microservices
- Domain Driven Design
- Architecture
- Event Driven architecture
- Agile
- Polyglot programming
- Product Management
J.
21.May 2024N.
18.July 2023I had a great session. he cleared all my doubts.he was super helpful and humble. he is the perfect mentor. he provided all the steps for my preparation.I am short of words to say thank you. thank you so much Ananth for all the help and guidance.looking forward to meeting you soon:)
S.
4.January 2023Session was really helpful with Ananth. He tried to get all the specific details about my blockers and provided valuable suggestions to move forward.
Y.
2.January 2023The session with Ananth was very helpful. He understood my career goals and my current state and gave me genuine advice and showed me a direction on how to reach my goal. Thanks Ananth, wish you all the very best :)
Y.
27.September 2022It was extremely helpful to learn more about backend architecture and system design.
P.
15.September 2022This session was to the point and very helpful to what I had expected.
r.
8.February 2022Yes. It was fruitful. Definitely helped me to get an overview of everything I wanted to know. Looking forward to more of these.
A.
27.January 2022It was a really very good session. I got to know where to keep my footsteps now and how to plan ahead of my career. I will recommend everyone to get connected with him.
A.
27.January 2022Hopefully, we will connect soon.
G.
7.January 2022It was very helpful. Ananth was so informative and shared the information in a detailed way.
A.
1.October 2021Overall it was a great session. Ananth listened carefully to my current situation and his inputs were really valuable. I could able to make a clear decision after the discussion with him.
V.
20.August 2021I really appreciate your way of conducting the mentoring session by getting to the core of what needs to be done in order to help your mentees in the very initial session. I was impressed by your patience to listen to all the queries and the quality of showing empathy, sharing your knowledge in all aspects. You are one of the best mentors I have ever met.
B.
14.August 2021Your session regarding microservices was very informative and it was an eye opener for a budding developer as me. The architecture was clearly explained with precise details and after the session, I was able to come up with a thought of implementation on my own. Thanks much for your initiative and effort.
K.
21.July 2021Had a great session with him. Got to explore various career options ahead. He is good at mentoring students like us
A.
20.July 2021Thank you very much for the meeting. The session was helpful and informative. we discussed approach and roadmap to have a career in software development. Hopefully we will connect soon.
J.
3.July 2021Very helpful. The mentorship session is planned well and the discussion is very informative
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The Art of Leadership - Small Things, Done Well
Michael Lopp
Key Facts and Insights Leadership is about a collection of small, well-executed actions, not just grand gestures. Trust is the foundation of successful leadership. The most effective leaders are those who recognize and nurture the potential in others. Communication is crucial in leadership, and leaders must learn how to effectively communicate their vision and expectations. Successful leaders are adaptable and able to respond to changes in the environment or team dynamics. Being a leader means making tough decisions, even when they're unpopular, and taking responsibility for those decisions. Leaders must understand the importance of time management and prioritization in achieving their goals. Leadership is not a solitary act; it requires building and maintaining strong relationships with team members and stakeholders. Self-awareness and emotional intelligence are key components of effective leadership. A good leader is always learning and improving, recognizing that leadership is a journey, not a destination. In-Depth Analysis "The Art of Leadership - Small Things, Done Well" by Michael Lopp is a profound guide that takes a closer look at the concept of leadership, highlighting how small actions, when done well, can have a significant impact. Leadership is about a collection of small, well-executed actions, not just grand gestures. This fundamental premise of the book challenges the conventional wisdom that leadership is about making big, bold decisions. Instead, Lopp argues that the most effective leaders are those who pay attention to the details, demonstrating consistency and reliability in their actions. This is a concept that resonates with James Clear's idea in "Atomic Habits" where small, consistent actions lead to significant results. Trust is the foundation of successful leadership. In the book, Lopp emphasizes the role of trust in leading teams. He posits that leaders must earn the trust of their teams through honesty, transparency, and integrity. This echoes the thoughts of Stephen M. R. Covey in "The Speed of Trust" where trust is treated as the cornerstone of effective leadership and high-performing teams. The most effective leaders are those who recognize and nurture the potential in others. Lopp points out that a key aspect of leadership is the ability to identify and foster the strengths of team members. This reflects the principles of transformational leadership, a style of leadership that involves inspiring and motivating team members to exceed their own individual performance goals. Communication is crucial in leadership. According to Lopp, leaders must be able to clearly and effectively communicate their vision, expectations, and feedback. This aligns with Daniel Goleman’s theory of emotional intelligence, which posits that effective communication is a critical component of leadership. Successful leaders are adaptable. Lopp argues that leaders must be flexible and responsive to changes in the environment or team dynamics. This taps into the concept of situational leadership, where leaders adjust their style to fit the development levels of the team members they are trying to influence. Leaders must understand the importance of time management and prioritization. Lopp highlights the role of effective time management, prioritization, and delegation in achieving leadership goals, which is a central theme in time management theories such as the Eisenhower Matrix. Leadership is not a solitary act. It requires building and maintaining strong relationships with team members and stakeholders. Lopp's emphasis on relationships echoes the principles of servant leadership, a leadership philosophy that puts the needs of the team above the individual leader's self-interest. Self-awareness and emotional intelligence are key components of effective leadership. According to Lopp, leaders must be aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and understand how their actions affect others. This is in line with Goleman's theory of emotional intelligence, which places self-awareness at the core of effective leadership. A good leader is always learning and improving. Lopp emphasizes that leadership is a journey, not a destination, and leaders should always strive for improvement. This lifelong learning concept is deeply embedded in the growth mindset theory proposed by Carol Dweck, which posits that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work. Overall, "The Art of Leadership - Small Things, Done Well" provides important insights into effective leadership, emphasizing the significance of small, consistent actions, trust, communication, adaptability, time management, relationship-building, self-awareness, and continuous learning. By applying these principles, leaders can enhance their effectiveness and inspire their teams to achieve their full potential.
ViewThe Complete Engineering Manager - Build High-Performing Engineering Teams for Your Organization
Ananth Ramachandran
Take a 360 degree tour of the engineering manager’s role and responsibilities. This book brings them to life with practical scenarios and references, and ensures their relevance to your daily work. From upkeeping technical skills, to managing people and stakeholders, to ensuring timely deliverables, the job of the engineering manager is fast-paced, complex, and often short on learning resources. Fear not, this book has you covered with tips on managing evolving processes, delivering impactful projects in a timely manner, setting goals and priorities among product and technical initiatives, and helping your team focus and deliver. The Complete Engineering Manager will leave you with a broader perspective and deeper skill set to apply to engineering management. What You Will Learn Build a compelling roadmap with your product manager and set strategy, direction, and goals with your team Identify what’s working and not working for your engineering team Evolve your team’s development, delivery, and technical processes to improve their efficiency Recognize priorities that matter the most for you, your team, and your organization Prioritize aggressively between product and technical initiative Adopt modern engineering management practices such as utilizing AI Who This Book is For New, aspiring, and experienced engineering managers who are looking for resources to address challenges in their role.
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P.
8.January 2025I had a mentoring session with Ananth. He is a great listener and hears you completely. His guidance on Backend engineering, Career and networking is very valuable, practical and accurate.