Leadership advice that actually works

Practical, honest insights to help you lead your team with clarity, confidence, and a lot less stress.

Most leadership advice falls apart the minute you try it with an engineering team. It’s usually missing the nuance that comes from real experience—the kind you get from explaining technical debt to an exec on a deadline, onboarding a struggling engineer, running an incident at an awful hour, or sitting across from someone during a tough feedback conversation.

No two engineering teams are the same, and leadership advice isn’t typically “one size fits all”. So I started writing the leadership frameworks, scripts, and mental models I wish I’d had years ago, so you can choose your own adventure and figure out what will work best for your team.

No jargon. No “inspiration.” Just real lessons from managing people while shipping products and learning the hard way.

I’m Kelly, and I write about the parts of leadership no one prepares you for.

I’m a Senior Engineering Manager at Zapier, where I lead multiple teams working on products used by millions of people. Before this, I spent a decade running a Shopify development agency, then led Engineering and Product at a startup. I’ve been an IC, a freelancer, a founder, and a leader responsible for teams with wildly different needs.

I didn’t fall into leadership gracefully. I became a manager while still becoming a better engineer. I led people who were technically stronger than me. I had to get good at communication, systems, delegation, and decision-making fast. And like most new managers, I learned by bumping into walls.

Those experiences shape everything I write. If you’ve ever been handed a “lead” title with no real guidance, I’ve been there. If you’ve ever felt underprepared or overwhelmed, same. My goal is to make the path a lot less confusing for the people coming up next.

Free newsletter: Every Tuesday, I share practical leadership guidance you can put to work immediately.