Director Expectations
- Daniel Puratich
Expectations
Directors are expected to care about everything.
You don’t have to be an expert in everything, you just need to care.
Asking “Why” questions is completely reasonable when you feel out of your depth.
The idea is that if you care you can push the team to put out their best work and create the best product for their customers.
WARG isn’t a business but the terms product and customer are easily extrapolated to our purpose within https://uwarg-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AD/pages/2567177674 .
Strive to be respected, not liked, by the team.
As director you will need to make difficult calls and your mistakes will have vast consequences.
The team is big enough that you cannot please everyone.
Directors are expected to coordinate the subteam leads to guide the team’s direction whenever possible.
Responsibilities
Define and behave with WARG’s https://uwarg-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AD/pages/2054258963
Inspire & Lead the next generation of great big dreams
Maintain the culture space in confluence
Behave in compliance with past wisdom given in the culture section
Directing infrequent leads socials
Ensure data handling infrastructure
Ensure leads have a sandbox to play in regarding documentation
Current state is given in https://uwarg-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AD/pages/2206040117
Help leads resolve engineering and social conflict
Provide leadership guidance
Provide engineering guidance
Uphold https://uwarg-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AD/pages/2000191510
Propose changes with subteam leads
Define the role of different positions at WARG
More generally, enforcing and maintaining https://uwarg-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AD/pages/2014052354
Direct leads meetings
Ensure scheduling and execution
Ensure optimal meeting minutes are taken and/or taking meeting minutes for leads meeting
As of F23 leads meetings should occur once a week
Direct which projects subteam leads should be pursuing
This should of course be done with subteam lead input, and with input from finances.
At the end of the day the decision lies on directors
Ensure that sub-teams do not start projects without permission!
As of F23 this consists of beginning of term sync meetings with subteam leads with sufficient meeting minutes
Define and follow up on program timelines
This should of course be done with subteam lead input
Directors will define timelines
Directors will check in with subteam leads frequently to assess how projects are going
As of F23 this is done via our competition integration sync weekly meetings which directors direct
We have been doing termly syncs with every subteam to align on their objectives
Maintain relations to SDC
Meeting with director of SDC
there are termly SDC meetings that we must attend, see email for info.
Attend mandatory SDC meetings with Graeme and Teertstra and represent WARG
Ensure to talk over team stances with subteam leads.
For the SDC WARG must have at least one onsite “Team Lead” (we call them Directors) internally so as director you fulfil this role.
Ensure the team is satisfying all requirements of Current Teams | Sedra Student Design Centre
Assist necessities
while leads and members should be orchestrating these, sometimes directors will need to step in
these include:
securing and preserving funding
maintaining recruitment
ensure onboarding process for leads and directors is smooth
upholding SDC relations
Actively Maintain leadership team
Administrate Promotion Process throughout the term ensuring it is going smoothly and bringing it up at leads meeting
Announce Lead List to team in #announcements at the start of every term
Ensure we have a safety captain (who cannot be the onsite team lead).
Ensure we have subteam leads or facilitate ramp down of subteams as a whole.
Handle Reporting Negative Social Incidents
While rare, it is a responsibility
Responsible for scrambling codes