Leading software teams? Here are 5 things I’ve learned that you can use to build a thriving career

At the risk of being accused of false modesty, I would say that in 20 years as a software engineer and leader, I’ve made my mistakes. I’ve spent most of my working life as an outsider - I didn’t set out to program computers as an undergrad at MIT (and am old enough to be excused for not seeing the revolution coming), and the choices I’ve made have been consistent if only in my willingness to take risks - some lucky, some dumb, but all interesting and worthwhile.

My career has been a rollercoaster that took me from my own small startup in San Francisco’s Mission District to Apple Maps (20x growth in three years), Uber (100x growth in six), and several startups in Bogotá, Colombia where I have lived with my family for the past six years. The most fulfilling opportunities I’ve had are working with small to medium sized teams in Latin America, and Valere has been the best yet.

The challenges of leading teams is bringing your experiences - good, bad, exhilarating, tiresome, all of them - and embracing a pragmatic syncretism in approach that allows your team to grow around you. In Colombia this is not a simple undertaking - forget for a moment the upheavals in a labor market where salaries doubled during the pandemic and have since fallen back down by 50%. What I mean is that being an American can sometimes be like being a bull in a china shop when working in the context of other cultures, not to mention an American who spent the bulk of his career at a company with a somewhat dubious, ahem, reputation.

So, what advice do I have for someone who wants to emulate my admittedly quirky path? Here’s what’s worked for me.

Set your values early and be consistent. One of the great things about Valere is that we’ve established a set of values that guide the types of jobs we take on and the kind of teams we want to build. In my career as a manager, the single most important thing I’ve done is set up consistent expectations for my employees around the values of the company I’m working at at the time, and used these guidelines to discuss career growth in the context of clear, consistent definitions of technical and soft skills (what we call “características blandas” in Spanish). It’s okay that these are different from what people have seen before, as long as there aren’t any surprises when it comes time for promotions.

Be authentic. While it’s important to adapt to the environment and culture in which you are working, people know when you’re not being true to yourself. And being an outsider can give you a convenient excuse you can use (with caution): “I may be the gringo here, but …”.

Be humble. I’ll be honest - there are things about the way that business is done in Latin America that drive me crazy. But rules are set up to build trust in a system, and it’s important to understand why things are the way they are. An example: in freewheeling Silicon Valley, it’s common to have an “unlimited vacation” policy (which for many means no vacation, but that’s another story). In Latin America this is unheard of - days off or even simple medical visits require permission and reporting, and employees are used to complicated contracts with specific benefits that are important to their labor satisfaction. Not understanding this can lead to unnecessary friction.

Be flexible. One of the most exciting things about working in LATAM is that the market for talent in computer science is relatively new and fast growing. But this means that salaries can change wildly year over year, and that expectations around roles (what to expect from a “senior engineer” vs. a junior, what types of technologies are in vogue at a given moment) can make leveling and team management challenging. To work around this, set a budget, maintain standards in interview quality, and choose smart, young talent to build teams around. Exactly what those teams will look like year-over-year is anyone’s guess, as long as you get the big things right.

Don’t compromise on quality. At Valere, our clients are primarily US-based, with certain expectations around product delivery and the quality of work. As long as these expectations are clear, talent in LATAM has shown a consistent ability to rise to the challenge. What doesn’t work is a patronizing view where less expensive engineers are not held accountable for their end product (e.g. minimum standards for unit testing, an obsession with user experience). Having gone through the wringer at Uber, I’m not afraid to make clear the level of excellence I require.

For those of you deciding about setting out to work in a different culture, the single best advice I can give you is: “Enjoy the ride.”

Jed Horne lives in Bogotá, Colombia, where he is Managing Director and Technical Lead for Valere’s newest office, Valere Logic. He can be reached at jed@valere.io.