Staying Hands-On as a Director of Engineering

When I first stepped into the role of Director of Engineering, I had to come to terms with a hard truth: my schedule was no longer that of a “maker.” Between one-on-ones, leadership syncs, planning sessions, and cross-functional meetings, my calendar became fragmented beyond repair. The reality is that, as a director, you cannot rely on having long, uninterrupted blocks of time to write meaningful amounts of production code. And honestly, trying to force it usually results in frustration—for you and for your team.

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Why Your Team Feels Stuck — and What to Do About It

Over the years I’ve learned that when a team feels stuck because they are constantly busy but not moving fast the answer isn’t more effort but better focus.

I’ve seen talented engineers grind through backlog after backlog, push late nights, automate everything in sight and still, somehow, progress stalls. Features pile up waiting to ship. Bugs reappear. Morale dips. And everyone wonders: What’s going wrong?

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Outcomes vs. Output: The Leadership Mindset Shift That Matters Most in Engineering

As a Director of Software Engineering, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is the distinction between output and outcomes. It’s not just a matter of semantics; it’s a mindset shift that defines the difference between being busy and being effective, between a high-velocity team and a high-impact team.

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Troubleshooting Port in Use Errors On Linux With Containers

Troubleshooting Port in Use Errors On Linux With Containers

When you encounter a “port in use” error on Linux, it typically means that another process is already using the port you are trying to bind to. Here’s how to troubleshoot and resolve this issue. NOTE: You may need superuser privileges to run some of these commands. If you run the commands without sudo, you may not see all processes.

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How to Use CTRL+D To Close A PowerShell Window

If you’re familiar with using CTRL+D to exit out of your shell and want the same functionality for your PowerShell, here’s how to do it.

Open your PowerShell profile (Documents\PowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1):

notepad $PROFILE

and add this line:

Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key Ctrl+d -Function DeleteCharOrExit

That’s it. Now reload your profile (or open a new terminal):

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