Tiffany Hu Data Engineer, Facebook

• “This program was very high quality. I was always excited to attend the meetings and discuss learnings with other people in the group. The structure and curriculum consistently helped facilitate high quality discussions.”
• “Participating in the guild helped strengthen my relationships, including with my manager. I was able to use him as a sounding board more effectively”
• “I’ve shared some of the learnings and resources with several other people, including my husband who is also an engineering manager. It’s helpful for how we are in our relationship and discussing issues that come up. When we’re talking about work related issues it’s easier to empathize and talk about issues that come up because there’s a framework.”
• “I learn a lot about my communication tendencies. I realized that sometimes my fear of being wrong affects the way I communicate my ideas. I learned how to separate to facts from my own personal judgements in a more intellectually honest way, which helps me give better feedback to people.”

• Matt Dean VP of Engineering, Ethena

“This social learning format is the best learning format that I’ve experienced so far. My last company did engineering manager breakfasts once a month, which was fine but not great…I’d love to utilize a similar approach in the future.”

“I knew that each time I showed up there would be some structure. We wouldn’t just be talking about random tangents. The discussion was solid every time.”

“One big challenge for me is that I didn’t feel like I had that safe space at work to screw up. I would get feedback from colleagues that they loved my energy but that certain moments could have been different. I would start some days feeling nervous about it, which made things worse. Sometimes when you’re nervous you struggle to see reality as accurately. Being able to practice healthy communication skills in a safe place felt good.”

• Lucas Chi Engineering Director, Teachers Pay Teachers

“This made me reflect on what it means to be a successful leader. It shifted my perspective on what matters for the teams I lead. I think more critically about giving people space to feel their emotions and facilitating candid, authentic conversations. We have more ways to speak about our concerns. It also changed my perspective on how to develop leaders effectively”

“A big part of the value was developing a vocabulary for reasoning about emotion and learning tactics to address challenging situations. I learned how to be conscious of your emotions, what they might be telling you, and how they might be affecting you.”

“I’m much more conscious of when I’m not speaking candidly or giving feedback directly to someone. I have a better understanding of how to set expectations and hold people accountable. I also began to hold myself more accountable to agreements, even ones that previously felt minor.”

“Talking about concrete skills and strategies for dealing with emotions helped expose my blindspots and things I hadn’t been able to do before. I’m more successful with interpersonal relationships, which has a significant impact on people management.”