Published in Bennu·Oct 6, 2020Introducing BennuWe’re excited to unveil early access for Bennu. After talking to hundreds of individual contributors, managers, and executives, we heard one thing over and over again: the landscape of leadership has shifted, but the tools have not. Nowadays, employees don’t want a supervisor; they want a coach, a manager, a…Leadership2 min readLeadership2 min read
Mar 4, 2020What’s next for GuanyinThe last time I wrote on Medium, I said goodbye to Software Engineering at Slack and hello to a new adventure with my startup Guanyin. At the time, my original idea was an enterprise learning and development platform. But before I wrote a single line of code, I asked over…Startup2 min readStartup2 min read
Jan 24, 2019Reaching Out, Reaching InHave you ever brought an exciting new idea to a meeting, only to have it shot down? I can think of a time in my career when this was happening over and over again. It felt like a perpetual cycle of disappointment and frustration. “I don’t think that’s a good…Leadership3 min readLeadership3 min read
Sep 12, 2018Unlock Every Employee’s Potential with Guanyin LabsI taught myself to code in 2013, because I wanted to build products and companies that improve the human experience. I wanted to start a company eventually, so I decided to build my software engineering skills first. I became a Senior UI Developer at Macys.com, then a Staff Engineer at…Internships3 min readInternships3 min read
Aug 16, 2018Goodbye, Slack. Hello, Guanyin Labs.After 3.25 years, I’m leaving Slack to start Guanyin Labs, a company whose mission is to help people reach their full potential at work. I can’t tell you how hard it is to say goodbye. Slack is a place filled with talented people who care about the impact they’re making…Internships2 min readInternships2 min read
Apr 24, 2018Crush Your Summer InternshipA free 12-week program — There’s a lot of clichéd advice like “dress professionally” and “show up on time”. But let’s get real — this isn’t middle school orchestra. You’re an adult, and this is the beginning of your career. You’ll need to develop professional skills that are expected, but unspoken. …Internships2 min readInternships2 min read
Published in Code Like A Girl·Apr 10, 2018Not Technical Enough: What Does That Mean?Throughout the tech industry, women engineers are often told that they are simply “not technical enough”. Ouch! What should you do if you get this feedback from your manager? Step 0: Don’t panic! Keep reading for 3 tips for turning vague feedback into actionable insights for your career. 1. Guide the conversation This type…Leadership5 min readLeadership5 min read
Apr 6, 2018Unlock Your Potential with Executive PresenceA few years ago, my manager told me that my coworkers thought I was “negative”. Words can’t describe how disappointed I felt. I’m an action-oriented person and don’t think of myself as negative at all! This feedback was especially painful, because it was the “double bind” — a situation where…Business3 min readBusiness3 min read
Published in Several People Are Coding·Jan 25, 2018Evolving the Slack APIYou know how to design a good API, but how do you evolve that API when it’s time to make changes? We’ve faced this with each major feature release here at Slack over the past few years, most recently while working on the highly anticipated Shared Channels feature. …API6 min readAPI6 min read
Published in Several People Are Coding·Jul 20, 2017Technical Leadership: Getting StartedBefore I became a software engineer, I thought that the most important part of the job would be coding. I was wrong. The most important (and hardest) part of software engineering is working well with other humans. “I’ll never become a manager!” I told myself, “That way, I can focus…Leadership8 min readLeadership8 min read
