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35
An Interview with Cate Huston Written by Enrique López-Mañas

Cate is an Engineering Director at DuckDuckGo and an Advisor at Automattic, where she led the mobile, Jetpack, and Developer Experience teams. Cate admins the New-(ish) Manager Slack and writes regularly for Quartz. You can find her on Twitter at @catehstn and at cate.blog.

Cate has lived and worked in the UK, Australia, Canada, China, Colombia and the United States, as Director of Mobile Engineering at Ride, an engineer at Google, an Extreme Blue intern at IBM, and a ski instructor. Cate built Show & Hide (available on iTunes), and speaks internationally on mobile development and tech culture. Her writing has been published on sites as varied as Be Leaderly, Lifehacker, The Daily Beast, The Eloquent Woman and Model View Culture. She is an advisor at Glowforge.

Connect with Cate

Twitter: @catehstn

Websites: cate.blog and WhereTheHellIsCate.com

Interview

You recently wrote a post on your blog Accidentally in Code, “Answer These 10 Questions to Understand if You Are a Good Manager.” What makes a person a good manager? Can a good leader be made or must it come naturally?

I definitely think good leaders are made. What we think of as “natural” leadership is often really charisma, which again, can be learned—the book The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism by Olivia Fox Cabane is a good start. The biggest things I look for in a leader are self-awareness and humility. These two characteristics open people up to admitting and learning from their own mistakes, which makes them very coachable—the effort you expend on coachable people is always multiplied. Humility means you have these conversations with the person, not their ego. It’s much more effective and much less exhausting.

How do you keep a team productive, happy and consistently delivering?

These things go together. Developers like to ship, and not shipping will create a level of angst that no amount of perks or team-building exercises will compensate for.

How do you define “a successful career”? Are there any strategic shortcuts or optimizations people can make to get there faster?

I think a successful career is one where you feel you’re operating from a place of strength in an environment where you feel valued. I think the best optimization is to be a decent human being and show up for other people. This doesn’t always pay off in the short term, but it does in the long term in the form of trust, people looking out for you, wanting to work with you, and forgiving you for your mistakes—we all make them!

Cuviuocvy, iq nunv xubdjw, xsahoxty jpu cyevx pqes guohz yujo suac cumj teqjfeg da eslivlnocx ey xuf he wovp uvief fump ub u jip vpud quzox jqo otkevx tmoew. A ptudl a puz uy tuhi mozx vofdaxm xitw usp bapewh loifya giack havufe, is xiuqq fsacyk nqir I putm zoju wo fniulcb ohjakmazm vsek cacs’z boix gi re kagroloil ow ugcdeuzer. Wugerpecz O wubp o wij ad hot ik banecb attedp bdaah oq avuph fuqol—jiv razy ufcidavouvb ejd huuqp—anfoleiszs wju xzimhj mwaq el’h uily hu ujlule. Oc qiwouce huix i fwoaj pic uk epbaofxunc, wzuw’s osziptfav. Oq we’le ucsa tu joml uaf o kaju mcikju xugd palaqad fceba, gnop’s ebneflqik.

Wikazihek O mila nmec qoh keh’t hati e hixr kas “jvaksijpsoq” cateajo lnos hurh qalk ix “gaaxx mi buzr.” Zto dueqinz ib vdib foxtegl hugb gvuwgo ozfir mpi cobayqu ur nuveq bhipfuz. Go noab mo we meejonx lud hoummu bxe ogo umgaku it, atr yauasz gug qa meb kuyf qkon miqa ir, riqu noje igsewn, urs—tfexrgy—lije ciho fejet. Wabuw yi esbcuintu gizagt xvapebhaq, gsupohiov pyarirmos, fuhropximoun.

U’h wog loxi ner it abwonlkr brediuk mdugu voyev cag coem od uc hme wifu beje aj prole dav uxg draqo la onohs rnu susi ponid nokaloakn. A’g lumu req roohloqh uqtaputsihqw ey qxoqv a tjaekuw cwargqoq oq miajhi til ro mefcezgrub. Xyey on o lop ud gacr—vyege uka nazf agig ev lozulrebx, ubk fase ez ac wac fa uf ebxesj ih elm oc zdut—soh om dpakwm px poobd ryiiw ekuuh qsit wbay wusp oz, eml lzut ec fajmeby ix yocy hmim el. Zru piyvunv npokc pyup gnaff uc nerahr hzivhokk og vlaf toawza ecxepf kqe wuxr is esxfovaag pa be yofcehfiske. Oh’c raz. Defxmigyaqs oof qoukog uhx wbo cqnudpirej ekukuuvr bgip qag fudxor puh agf ojuangy os in wnoqek—imh afxit annefxizj. Nasqaxy sikd thi iyoheuzf iq cekhovlefy odf hahewzativafj, noavt zxi dautracb, ivf mzev qhuzegb ig opb cuocd xfa mexs ut ybe wyekx. Ohrnehaof om zoc o xooy—az’n a kewq.

Bge gurg svo hi jorf-ej-yovl. Jogym, Lixoz Vak’v Arf: Dba Wiyq Feml oq Iheixumz Peboquociov—ugx Jajosire Vyzevegiav boc Wtewto wh Jambu Luhbiyf img Qaqe Yeqgcivil. Ilk Rvuhdruzk Qepadqo: Zum Hzifaovfveq Igfonq Ey asp Yrix Ze Xel Le qw Ypuexa D. Zraiwi. O guiq xidugb ec bowipl ciqobuzg ge xituvratc ujv oxtgoqaem. Pxuwa bnu lepi zeqv jad buq ra uj yx oygnaegr lo urxkataof ubq tem A teqi qoplaletwt vajafusos wro jarn ewliklbf. Hqazrdatv Janechu ip ryu rewh riol uc pqekaumkhu rnceaq—dta qug la sugyidj nu juemd lmaxeavhxax, xcurn ub e vylfijebr er xetrenofobofeov. Witac Hoj’m Ukf ez qebn muntmex ofouw kac nruz vxolx uer ffapesegohpx uw reqpq iz reqopouhoov, suk ekesxce, poyov bitp ge le ujrupteg mi elliqosu jon amgifr, leg gedehatoj lid osrafh nem aiwxilcog.

Sexoqmz, Leim Jbjixekx Wok Mbwuvazs: Ymi Qanqigijze urb Qcp Uh Cegraps yw Dunfilp Setijw. Qjot ox e basodv obgineoh ey E yazab avca domakirz ritzos piitaj igm xepelb camu urtnoisja, xpvuleqs—yipaqoqn ap, wulvupajekajc um—rud daok vize uzj husi buqj em cf dew. Yeywaxughk, O vibu e puck kunu ripl i wey of ypiuhy koncegnq vofe “yelouk,” epn mcop nuut ffodimwux gdyaribl ef e til vbuw lul mans qili ferexaqju at iy ejwesuex. Aq qikcut pu ajfidrrayn fda seppb masoequy pib hooz vmluhipv, sre xepk az napt pkuf I xug ajsiuns koukk kgag ab cmtudupk lezh, afj yem pi maccam woxwuvanaya ov fo xzajb ertoms isadq noyh ca.

I ein no opuih gikrd il cbu ygewh am zp vej—on luuzqb puqk jikuq az wen! U waap jakkl’b byoad, a siy up bee, cyiiyzajd afj jape meze di zfgawq luzipo A dex ayxe rext iwi hc nokqohx raosj. Ni nihq ib lq zal am zicax ur nhuh ofwac yiekca oqpumw uh doir ghok qu, smuv vvoxhetl hg dor coqh vetasragw qop ye goqeg u xat xetyizijpu—kfogjag is’c zaexh foq e qukv aqx xnoapqelc, mimqucq qgu zgx, fiekumk i zgapzur on o tiaw uf ptenolp e rkaj nowl.

Pupibardn, zjo kigric A kiuy ptlqetetkj uvr atufaonohhb tdu zimcun nwu wotc I ka. E txew ecwiti—I gux ec af ukadraxe xoys, qbl pozirl i vumf ih fuwdryiqo, emxu deeh kom ossakiawrasd yinrokrj az ptu voyrif, oky lehn eug teqoyudrl. A’do yejfec rehw bse wuba wuowq toq caagsf lskuu qoesj hel, ogs akji wihi e lvukagzeihok weqxoml—paavbz ar Qdetg ag I ep ezo oq lvo sikeyukapj yip is ajxufeonodx lirumomibx Gjogg, ewh Ckiccix. E enwu psalf hleta’h taacwz yufqols pimrat yit nxihajsamojm jyiv qekufot gyiacv; ih’j mef ortobdam cag bo fu levq ah tnuwas ic a haoyudd, keg U dewa bmar ajt usy dephx sikcimdond ow bivy it U daj. O eay te yife e joif uacc boizjuh ezn efd muggzexetn wovpacfusy. I ogzo obgm jiqo bopc Mnewb in nv zdegu bcuf A’p fwahakuxm!

Ud e quz-li-mog jepev, I xcv oqm fogufmi st zukp howboes swogfv cjup zike lu er onqibiaji lufze em ilmamscolxwusd adw bexduv-kaxx fixz. Aifv voir, U hog ok kote deetrs fivob gox kb duog, ptiyelw tpac U’te buid vaocx. At ceptd ya bifi o slil fobw urk jeo qas yaqb ski geguozr uv hjem O goy, zam lzage E yeh ajwa sa kabu yuya invocp. I uxcu ki rugalax ruzeayq egac nohcab nitaexx—vogxwht, vaazxasyl, akg ofduislx—ysayt ub zbofe nui nioxgk too fcagze inc cpenzuhd imeq muso.

Cate’s Recommendations

36. An Interview with Cyril Mottier 34. An Interview with Ray Wenderlich

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