I’ve been thinking about what separates great engineering leaders from the ones who just float above the work.

It comes down to the “Give A Shit” mentality.

You can’t just delegate everything and hope your processes magically produce good outcomes. I’ve seen too many leaders try this approach and fail.

Here’s what giving a shit actually looks like:

Use your own product every single day. Read the docs. Have real talks with your team regularly, and actually listen. Have opinions on designs. When customers complain, treat it as an internal problem, not their problem. Care about the small details. See something suboptimal in another team? Say something. Fight for ideas you believe in. Be paranoid about competitors but respectful. Be vocal and honest about what you (as a team) did wrong in the past.

The leaders I admire most are unreasonably obsessive about quality. They trust their teams but they verify. They stay connected to the work instead of managing from a distance.

It’s exhausting sometimes, but that’s what separates good from exceptional.

ps: This idea was sparked by Lenny Rachitsky interview of Tobi Lutke, CEO of Shopify