9 lessons I’ve learned in two years at Slack

Time truly flies when you’re having fun. But what did I learn over the last two years? How did I grow? What did I contribute? How much have I epically f̶a̶i̶l̶e̶d̶ learned? Here are nine lessons I’ve learned during my time here.

Lesson 1: Appreciate every moment

I started on June 1st, 2015, when the company was around 168 folks as a Staff Software Engineer on the Test Automation team. Currently we’re 800+ globally and I’m on the Android Foundation team.

Working at Slack is such a unique opportunity that I can’t help but to feel lucky to have landed here at the time I did. It’s been amazing to see so much growth.

When I started, almost all of our engineering team met weekly in a single conference room to discuss what we were working on. The best part was hearing from Megan Anctil on our Ops team. She’d often deliver her team’s update in a sort of word play, rhyme or short-story. It became something I looked forward to each week.

As our team got bigger, this kind of meeting didn’t scale, and we replaced it with other means of coordination. It’s dangerous to hold onto processes out of nostalgia, but it’s good to remember them. The exact combination of coworkers, projects, and companies that you’re part of today may never be duplicated in the future. Appreciate it!

Lesson 2: Do your BEST work

One of the most motivating factors for me coming to Slack was reading “We don’t sell saddles here!”. Specifically this quote:

“The answer to “Why?” is “because why the fuck else would you even want to be alive but to do things as well as you can?”

I’ve been self-driven my entire adult life and nothing is more motivating than working on a team that’s just as determined to do something amazing. I’m a firm believer that there is no fulfillment to be found doing mediocre work.

While working here I’ve often heard, “We may not get another opportunity like this in our lifetime, so let’s do the best work of our life”. This lit a fire for me to work harder than I ever have before.

Nothing has been more fulfilling for me than going home at the end of a hard day knowing that I did my best and have added value to something bigger than myself.

Lesson 3: Growth is a two way street

Most of my career I’ve sought out mentors to help me grow and today it remains one of the biggest drivers of my professional growth. Learning from others is something that’s always been valuable for me.

I’ve also discovered that I can learn and grow by mentoring others. In fact, I’ve found that helping others through challenges I’ve overcome solidified my own understanding of that topic.

Many people seek out mentors in their careers; don’t neglect to also seek out people that can learn from you.

Lesson 4: Be an expert at learning, not a programming language

When I started out in my career, I was sure that if I became a certified Java Engineer I’d be set for life. Over time I’ve come to realize that being able to learn any programming language or tool is far more beneficial.

When I started at Slack, I wrote mostly Ruby code for QA tools and tests. I’ve built four engineering tools and I’ve helped establish some of our testing best practices. Today I focus on tooling and infrastructure for our mobile teams. I’m currently tasked with helping improve our performance and quality monitoring across Android and iOS.

Over the last two years I’ve learned PHP, JavaScript(React), Python, and, most recently, Swift. I’m no expert in these languages, but I can proficiently build tools and write tests. This trend continues to today; I’m still picking up new goals and new skills! I’m especially interested in how Machine Learning can be leveraged to improve test automation.

Being a fast learner has enabled me to add value and contribute in new areas quickly. In a startup this is vital!

Lesson 5: Share your story

I’ve been fortunate enough to have had opportunities to share my journey in Tech so far. The most rewarding experience has been the Breaking into Startups podcast interview I did a few months ago.

Initially it was terrifying because I felt that the story of how I’ve gotten into tech was one I should be cautious about telling. I was concerned that because I was a POC with a nontraditional background I would be judged negatively by the community.

That is until I told Jules Walter my story. He not only helped me to be proud of my journey, but also convinced me that if I shared my story I’d be helping others who are facing similar struggles. I trusted him and he was right.

Above is one of hundreds of similar messages I received. It was incredibly humbling! Share your story; you have no idea how much you could be helping others.

Lesson 6: Work-life balance does matter

I work pretty hard at Slack; no one has to push me, because I push myself. I can recall quite a few nights where our CEO Stewart Butterfield said to me, “Rodney, go home!”.

As I’ve developed in my career, I’ve learned that consistently burning the candle at both ends is not the most productive way to operate. Doing things like eating lunch outside on nice days gives your brain a chance to reset, and makes you more effective.

I’m making my own progress in this area: Last October, I took my first real vacation with my family to Disneyland!

Lesson 7: Seek out organizations that help you grow professionally

Since joining Slack I’ve also joined /dev/color, an organization where Black software engineers help one another achieve ambitious career goals. Together we’ve coordinated on several events; I couldn’t be prouder of how they turned out!

Having an external network significantly increases the amount of information and guidance I have access to. This has helped me excel in my career in ways I did not foresee. One example that immediately comes to mind is the need for emotional support.

It can be really exhausting fighting to fit into the world of tech. Being a part of /dev/color makes this a little easier because as a community we share a lot in common. We’re all engineers, we’re all incredibly talented, and we all know exactly what it feels like to be the only POC in the room.

Lesson 8: Diversity and Inclusion aren’t just buzzwords

Slack is the most diverse working environment that I’ve ever been in. I’ve met so many amazing people! The bonus is that some of those people happen to look like me!

Many times I’ve felt that surreal moment when you realize you’re living your dream.

And I’m 100% certain that this is a direct result of working in an environment that is truly inclusive!

I never understood why it was so important to work in a diverse environment because I never really had that before. What I’ve come to learn is that there is an increased feeling of belonging when you’re not the only Black person in the room. I’d imagine the same could be said for any non-majority group.

This feeling has empowered me to be bold at Slack, and to always strive to add as much value as I can.

Lesson 9: It’s okay to fail, epically, in front of everyone

I’ve failed a lot at Slack, but I’ve always felt that it was okay as long as I’ve paid attention to feedback, learned, and corrected my mistakes.

Especially when learning something new!

Each time I’ve failed I was encouraged to identify what I’ve learned, apply what I’ve learned to my next attempt, and evaluate my results again. This process has led to all of my successful projects at Slack.

It’s also important to mention that being open about your failures enables everyone to learn from the same lesson or lend a hand if they have additional information or experience.

Mark Zuckerberg said recently “The greatest successes come from having the freedom to fail”. I can honestly say that as an engineer I have that at Slack. If you’d like to have that freedom as well, come join us!✌🏿

Special thanks to Ross & Jules for helping me in my journey!