My name is Niv, and I've been using a computer since I was 3 years old. Being fortunate enough to have access to a computer early in life, I found it fascinating how I was able to connect to the entire world at a click of a button. Growing up, technology has been a big part of my life, whether it was by enabling me to listen to music, supporting me in automatically tracking my workouts, or connecting me with my friends.

Currently, I'm working at Felix, where I'm working to empower Canadians to take control of their health and well being, from the comfort of their home. I lead the Patient Experience, which focuses on making it fast and seamless for patients to fill out a medical assessment, get a prescription, and have their medication shipped. I recently moved provinces, where I spent almost 2 years waiting to get on a waitlist for a physician and even then, I find the process of booking an appointment difficult. I want to help lower the barrier for others to lead a healthier life. I also get to work with some really talented and kind people, which is a huge plus.

💝 #empathy (For your clients, stakeholders, and your team)

One of our values "we put patient care first" is all about empathy for the patients and ensuring we go the extra mile. Our patients are why we exist, and everything we do has to be with them in mind.

Our stakeholders are our allies in our journey of putting patient care first. They provide us with autonomy, meaningful feedback, and a unifying voice to help us tie our objectives to Felix's vision. Empathy here is understanding that we have a common goal, and that when they seek to understand if there's a way we can ship earlier, they're simply aiming to provide us with a different perspective.

Lastly, it's for your team. As a manager, you have the opportunity to shape your team's environment. You can help unlock your developers' potential, and the way you do that, is by leading with curiosity, creating a psychologically safe environment, and actively listening to their challenges and addressing them.

🤝 Win as a #team, fail as a #team

There are places where an individual's output is tracked, which in my opinion, misses out on reviewing the system and how it fits together. When a project is successful, it's not just thanks to the DRI (Directly Responsible Individual), but thanks to all of the developers / designers / product managers / operations / client success folx that collaborated on making it a success. When bad code gets shipped to production, we conduct post-mortems to look at parts of our process, not individuals, in a blame-free way. I believe in optimizing for learning, and collaborating as a team to support each other's growth.

🔍 #transparency

I am an extremely transparent leader. As I learn new information, refine the team org design, set new goals, I make sure to share early and often. This serves two purposes: it creates an avenue for everyone to share their thoughts so they can influence a decision as it's being formed, and it equips everyone with the most up-to-date information so they can make the best decision.

An example of this is the weekly department updates I share publicly with the entire department. This is my way of ensuring that everyone is not only aware of what others are working on, but know what decisions are being made, or what new information has uncovered. In each one, I solicit feedback to ensure that everyone has a voice.

🌱 #growth driven

As a manager, you're uniquely positioned to ensure that not only does your team deliver, but that they get better with every quarter. The way I action this is by ensuring each developer has a development plan, and create opportunities to help them work towards their goals.

When I first joined Felix, I helped create:

• A career matrix for both individual contributors and managers - To provide transparency to each individual on their growth on the expectations, and how their path may evolve.
• A development plan template - To provide guidance and help focus an individual's energy on their growth.

I strive to provide empathetic, helpful, and on-time feedback to help people grow.

Are you a software engineer? Please reach out on LinkedIn. Would love to chat.