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Kelly Vaughn is an engineering leader, entrepreneur, and leadership coach, supporting the growth of ICs and early-stage EMs.
Stepping in can solve the immediate problem, but it can also hide the reason the work was stuck in the first place
Jun 16, 2026
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4 min read
On organizational design, team ownership, and deciding who gets to decide
Jun 9, 2026
2 min read
Getting promoted onto a team you already know feels like a head start, but it's also the easiest way to act on a picture you've only seen half of
Jun 2, 2026
It's not a new role, but it's making a big splash
May 26, 2026
What's normal at one company is still new at another, and that gap changes the bar for your job, your team, and your next interview
May 19, 2026
5 min read
Your calendar isn't the bottleneck, your cognitive load is
May 12, 2026
3 min read
I'd love for you to be there!
Apr 21, 2026
1 min read
Like it or not, AI is an integral part of an engineer's work, and with that comes new expectations
Apr 14, 2026
9 min read
When another team’s habits create drag on yours, staying quiet feels polite but slows down progress
Apr 7, 2026
6 min read
If you can't name what you're giving up, you're probably still avoiding the decision
Mar 31, 2026
Most leaders default to jumping in. Here's a three-question framework for deciding whether you should
Mar 24, 2026
7 min read
AI is accelerating how fast we write code, and it's exposing where the real bottlenecks have been all along
Mar 17, 2026
They can feel weird and unproductive if you don't know what to talk about. Here's what actually makes them useful
Mar 10, 2026
The context gap that makes working with peer EMs so hard
Mar 3, 2026
All Access subscribers get free access to my Mastering Tough Conversations course this month
Mar 1, 2026
The invisible gun gets dangerous when you refuse to holster it on principle
Feb 24, 2026
The hardest limit is stepping back from good ones and seeing the ones you've already said yes to through
Feb 17, 2026
The hardest no isn't to a bad idea. It's to a good one, and it's one of the most important choices you make
Feb 10, 2026
We may know how to delegate to our team, but choosing when and how to delegate to AI takes some adjusting
Feb 3, 2026
How to identify and support the 5 types of performers on your team
Feb 1, 2026
We’re using AI to move faster. I’m not yet convinced we’re using it to work better.
Jan 27, 2026
8 min read
Every company has tradeoffs. Six months in is when you start deciding which skeletons matter the most
Jan 20, 2026
Time away is a stress test for your leadership system
Jan 13, 2026
Most leadership advice stops at communication. This is about what actually creates momentum and trust
Jan 6, 2026
How to tell what actually matters when everything is loud
Jan 1, 2026
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![[All Access] Managing performance](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,width=720,fit=scale-down,onerror=redirect/uploads/asset/file/0e1a58e7-4d64-42fc-9c1b-5d07288f05e3/vecteezy_continuous-one-line-drawing-5-phases-of-tree-growth-with_74612346.jpg)
![[All Access] Signal over noise](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,width=720,fit=scale-down,onerror=redirect/uploads/asset/file/9b685481-31d0-4599-b21c-62fa980c0274/vecteezy_audio-icon-one-sound-line-wave-music-art-voice-continuous_66834442.jpg){kind=icon}