10 Ways I Approach Engineering Leadership That Doesn't Leave Me Hating Myself

Leadership in engineering isn't just about writing code or managing timelines—it's about creating an environment where teams thrive, products succeed, and everyone grows along the way. Over my career, I've had the privilege of working with incredible teams and companies, and I've learned some key lessons on what makes leadership effective (and doesn't make people sad).

Here's my take:

  1. Balance Speed with Stability Building quickly doesn't mean compromising reliability. At WorkMade, I focused on monitoring and deployment while still delivering new features fast.
    "Ben has a keen mind for evaluating and making responsible eng tradeoffs to balance speed with stability and reliability which is invaluable in a startup environment." - Anya Hargil

  2. Know Where to Cut Corners (and Where Not To) Chase Croft put it best: “Ben intuitively knows where to cut corners for speed and where shortcuts would come back to haunt us.” Threading this needle can make or break a startup.

  3. Lead by Mentoring, Not Micromanaging I believe in mentoring engineers—helping them grow their skills while giving them space to solve problems independently. Regular, but optional 1:1s.

  4. Prioritise Communication Whether it's guiding a team through best practices or aligning on architectural decisions, great communication underpins great leadership.

  5. Create Foundations for Long-Term Success Building scalable, maintainable systems isn't optional.
    "At Mytheresa Ben was paramount in crafting the architectural foundations of a React Native application, while also training and guiding the other engineers" - Philipp Barthold

  6. Be Hands-On When Needed A CTO isn't just a title. It's being ready to dive into infrastructure spikes or squash bugs when the team needs you. I don't believe in leading from a distance.

  7. Focus on the User, Always Whether it's launching a React Native app or revamping an aging SaaS platform, keeping the user's needs front and center drives meaningful results.

  8. Teach, Share, Elevate Teaching isn't just for workshops.
    "He is an excellent teacher and more than willing to share his knowledge building and scaling web applications" - Svilen Gospodinov
    Sharing knowledge builds stronger teams and better outcomes.

  9. Be Personable, Always Leadership isn't just technical—it's human. I want the people I work with to enjoy the process and feel valued.
    "Unlike your stereotypical uber-techie, Ben is very personable, and everyone enjoyed working with him." - Duane Jackson

  10. Leave Teams Better Than You Found Them Leadership is about legacy. Helping teams adopt best practices and frameworks that endure after I've left is something I strive for on every project.

Leadership that doesn't suck is about balance, empathy, and constant learning. These principles have guided me as an engineer, CTO, and advisor.

What's one thing you've seen great leaders do?