Ema's Management Manifesto.

First, we’ve no “manager only” role in the company.

We expect every manager to also play an IC role. We don’t have any ‘manager only’ position in Ema, this includes senior leadership as well. Our managers spend a percentage of their time going deep and building/creating themselves. For example, in engineering, managers will write low level designs, build prototypes, write code, perform code reviews, and delve into any technical topics as needed. Our managers actively reduce mundane busywork to be able to focus on excelling in their IC role.

This does not mean…

…we do not care about hiring world class managers or developing management skills for our employees. In fact just the opposite. We'll invest in growing our managers while making sure they are capable of and willing to do IC work.

Ema managers build championship teams, don’t win popularity contests.

Hire people who are better than yourself. Continue to raise the bar on talent for the team and for the entire company. This means consistently finding people who are better qualified than the manager and the existing team.

Primary job of managers is to unlock the true potential of every individual and create the most productive teams. Imagine you are trying to coach the Math Olympiad team for your country. You won’t fill the team with average math students, you want to find extraordinary talent and you want to stretch them and coach them to be the world's best. That’s the philosophy we follow at Ema.

Management is not a popularity contest. Your job is not to please everyone in the team. Your only job is to empower our teams to create maximum impact for the company.

Invest your time and resources in high performers. These are the individuals who will drive the team's success and impact. Ensure that their skills are matched perfectly to their roles. By concentrating on high performers, you create an environment where excellence thrives. Let low performers go quickly. Tolerating low performance demoralizes high performers. Read the book “First Break All the Rules”.

Keep raising the bar on performance. We believe in the Netflix motto of ‘adequate performance deserves a generous severance package’. We expect every employee to go above and beyond. As managers your job is to uncover the next level of performance for your team and for the company.

Embrace the impossible.

"The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible." – Arthur C. Clarke

Ema managers encourage their teams to challenge the status quo and explore new frontiers. Impossible goals help us think through the constraints more crisply and allows us to think outside the box. For example, encourage the team to think ‘why does it need 3 months to build this feature? Can it be done in 3 weeks? How about 3 days? How about 3 hours?’, ‘Can this feature scale to 10000 documents? How about a million documents? How about a billion documents?’ ‘Can we get 100 customers in 30 days? How about in 7 days?’ Ask questions and challenge assumptions. That’s how we innovate.

This does not mean…

…you should encourage your teams to cut corners to get something done. As an enterprise software company trust is everything for us. We build robust, secure and compliant software. Embracing the impossible is a thought experiment that allows us to constantly challenge the status quo thinking.

Don’t be afraid to “micro-manage”, we call it “micro leadership”.

(We’re inspired by Brian Chesky’s philosophy of managing products)

Our managers are not paper pushers. Our managers are hands-on leaders who immerse themselves in the details of their team's work. They set clear expectations for their direct reports and actively engage in all aspects of the project. This deep involvement allows managers to accurately assess the quality of work produced and gain valuable insights into team members' performance. By staying closely connected to the day-to-day operations, our leaders can make informed decisions, provide meaningful feedback, and drive continuous improvement across the organization.

This does not mean…

…you should continue to micro-manage every individual all the time. Once you gain a deeper level of alignment with your team, you want to empower the team to move faster and not be a bottleneck.

Instill resilience.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." – Winston Churchill

Setbacks are an inevitable part of any journey towards success. As a leader, it's crucial to foster resilience within your team. Encourage your employees to view failures as valuable learning experiences rather than defeats. Create an environment where calculated risks are encouraged and mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth.

Teach the importance of persistence in the face of adversity. Help your team understand that significant achievements often come after overcoming difficult challenges. Celebrate not just the final success, but also the determination shown along the way.

Continuous improvement means using feedback to constantly improve and maintaining a mindset of tactical enhancement. We reject the notion that something working well cannot be improved. Foster a culture where feedback is actively sought and implemented. Regularly review processes, identify areas for improvement, and celebrate progress. Empower your team to own their development, stay curious, and apply new knowledge. Prioritizing continuous improvement keeps your team agile, competitive, and ready for future challenges.

Crises can be commonplace. Treat each crisis as an opportunity to not only improve the product, but also improve the process and team bonding. Startups will have crises.

Lead by example in demonstrating resilience. Be open about your own struggles and how you've overcome them. This transparency can inspire your team to adopt a similar mindset. Provide necessary support and resources to help your team bounce back from setbacks, such as mentoring programs or professional development opportunities.

By cultivating resilience, you're equipping your team with a powerful tool for long-term success and personal growth. Remember, true resilience isn't about avoiding failure, but about how effectively you can learn, adapt, and keep moving forward.

Prioritize impact over activity.

Understand what it means to create impact at Ema. Shift focus from mere busyness to meaningful outcomes that drive the organization forward. Encourage your team to ask themselves: "How does this task contribute to our company goals?"

Define clear metrics for success that align with the Ema’s mission and strategic objectives. These should go beyond simple activity measures like tasks completed, instead focusing on tangible results and value created for our customers. Remember, sometimes the customer could be an internal customer.

Teach your team to differentiate between high-impact work and low-value busywork. Empower them to challenge processes or tasks that don't contribute significantly to the company's goals. Foster an environment where quality of output is valued over quantity of input.

Regularly review and prioritize projects based on their potential impact. Be willing to reallocate resources from low-impact activities to high-impact initiatives. Encourage your team to regularly assess their to-do lists and calendars, ensuring they're dedicating most of their time and energy to impactful work.

Celebrate and reward impact-driven achievements rather than just effort or activity. This reinforces the importance of focusing on outcomes and encourages a results-oriented mindset across the organization.

This does not mean…

…we do not try out new things and experiment constantly. Generative AI is still in its early phase and we’ll learn by trying out new things. Many things we try will fail. Learning what does not work and articulating the insights clearly is meaningful impact for the company.

Build trust, excellence and accountability, not entitlement.

Trust: Build trust with and within your team. Lack of trust results in conflicts, politics and slow decision making. Building trust requires

• Consistency: Be reliable and consistent in your actions. Follow through on commitments and promises.
• Transparency: Communicate openly and honestly. Share information and decisions promptly and clearly.
• Follow-Up: Ensure you follow up on tasks and promises without needing reminders. This demonstrates reliability and respect for others' time and contributions.

Coach yourselves and your team on Fast Decision Making: Most teams slow down and don't demonstrate excellence because decisions are stuck in never ending discussions. Encourage holistic and efficient decision making but refrain from decision paralysis due to hypothetical scenarios. As managers never:

• Agree and don’t support a decision – this is sabotage and will not be tolerated.
• Don’t agree and don’t support -> you are disengaged. You should not be here.

Excellence requires information, communication and operating cadence: Excellence demands clear information, communication, and operating cadence. At scale, well-defined processes and automation are crucial. A regular planning rhythm ensures smooth execution, while concise documents aid decision-making. Managers should focus on impactful execution, ask the right questions, provide timely feedback, and guide the team with clear communication. Effective delegation and encouraging team members to identify and address issues are essential practices.

Demonstrating positive leadership is crucial for a productive and positive workplace. Managers should maintain high and positive energy. High energy levels are contagious and can significantly impact team productivity and morale. Prevent negative energy and heavily call out cynicism and negative talk about colleagues or customers.

Ruthlessly eliminate entitlement: Managers should eliminate entitlement in the workplace by fostering a culture of accountability and merit-based recognition. Entitlement, the belief that one deserves special treatment without earning it, can lead to resentment and decreased productivity. Set clear expectations and ensure that recognition and feedback is completely based on performance and contribution, not tenure or perceived status. Open and honest communication is crucial; addressing entitled behavior directly and providing constructive feedback can realign expectations.

Give and take feedback as often as possible.

Make feedback a cornerstone of your team's culture. Provide honest, constructive, and actionable feedback regularly, not just during formal reviews. High performers thrive on timely input that helps them grow. Offer specific observations and suggestions close to the relevant events or actions.

Create a two-way feedback environment. Actively seek input from your team members and demonstrate openness to criticism. This sets an example and builds trust.

After receiving feedback, communicate which points you'll act on. Follow up on feedback you've given to ensure implementation. By normalizing frequent, honest feedback, you'll cultivate a team that's continuously learning, adapting, and improving.

Always be available for your team.

Leadership is a 24/7 job. Share your contact information with team members, including your phone number, to ensure they can reach you when truly needed. Share your plans with them if you would not be available, including who they can reach out to in your absence.

Maintain an open-door policy, encouraging team members to approach you with questions or concerns. Be responsive to urgent matters, even outside work hours, but set clear boundaries to maintain personal work-life balance and prevent misuse of your availability.

Regularly check in with your team, especially those working on critical projects. This proactive approach demonstrates your support and engagement.

Remember, being available isn't just about physical presence – it's about creating an environment where your team feels supported and empowered to seek your guidance when necessary.