TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP AT GOOGLE: A TPM’S PERSPECTIVE MEET MARIYA NAGORNA

An interview with Mariya Nagorna, Technical Program Manager of Terra Bella, Google's satellite division. An alumna of the Rutgers School of Engineering ’09 and Princeton School of Engineering and Applied Science ’11, Mariya has been a longtime passionate advocate for women in technology. At Rutgers, she was the President of Women in Computer Science and an active member of the Rutgers SWE Chapter. At Google, Mariya is an active mentor to other women and serves on the scholarship review committee for the Women Techmakers Scholars Program (formerly known as the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship Program). We’ve asked Mariya to share her experience and the following interview is only the personal experiences and beliefs of Mariya and does not reflect or represent Google or their constituents as a whole.

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CLP: Give us some background about yourself.

MARIYA: I am a Technical Program Manager at Google and in my six years at the company, I’ve worked on Gmail, Google My Business, Project Loon, and most recently Terra Bella. Each of these programs are in different technical domains and program focus areas (product, core infrastructure, software, hardware) -- this variety has for sure kept things interesting for me. At Terra Bella, we've built high resolution satellites with off-the-shelf electronics that offer a unique look at how our world is evolving, and how we can make positive changes in it. But our vision has always extended far beyond boxes in the sky. As Google revolutionized search for the online world, we have set our eyes on pioneering the search for patterns of change in the physical world. I'm proud to say that I've been part of the team that has built the world's most advanced small imaging satellite platform to capture timely information of locations that matter and to uncover the signals that drive the global economy. You can find out more about us at terrabella.google.com.

CLP: What does a program manager / technical program manager (T/PgM) exactly do?

M: From my experience at Google, T/PgMs lead complex, multidisciplinary engineering projects. This means ushering projects through the entire project lifecycle by working with internal teams, project stakeholders, external partners and executive sponsors. Some day-to-day activities might include gathering requirements, developing and managing project schedules, identifying and resolving risks, and discussing technical trade-offs during product creation. A good T/PgM is someone who can keep the big picture in focus, drive everyone who’s contributing toward common goals while also being able to dive into the engineering challenges that teams face daily.

CLP: Are there different types of program management?

M: At their core, every “type” of T/PgM strives to usher complex, multidisciplinary projects to completion. The T/PgM function could differ in several ways. One is Program Management and Technical Program Management: in the latter role, there is an expectation that you contribute to your projects in a technical manner and exercise technical judgment, like writing process automation scripts, data mining and data analysis activities, and evaluating technical tradeoffs of infrastructure or product solutions. Additionally, the discipline of program management differs by the domain. For example, the hardware product lifecycle is different from the software product lifecycle, the project stakeholders may be different, the internal teams are different, and the nature of their problems are different. So the day-to-day tasks of the T/PgM are also different.

CLP: What does it take to be a technical program manager (TPM)?

M: At a high level, a good TPM is someone who can keep the big picture in focus for herself AND her team while at the same time, be able to dive into the technical challenges that her team and stakeholders face daily. To accomplish this well, a good TPM may rely on a certain set of skills. For example, having a good technical understanding of the domain and good knowledge of the product development lifecycle in that domain. Also, having the ability to create order out of chaos by bringing clarity to ambiguity and balancing competing priorities. Finally, a good TPM has great interpersonal and communication skills. These enable the TPM to develop productive working relationships and drive progress with cross-functional teams like engineering, product management, marketing, executive staff, external partners, and other key stakeholders.

CLP: Is product management (PM) different from program management (T/PgM)?

M: From my experience at Google, PMs for software products normally define the product vision and strategy and are responsible for working with our users, business, and engineering stakeholders to gather and develop product requirements. T/PgMs normally lead the execution phase, working with PMs, engineers, other internal stakeholders and sometimes external partners. On under-resourced or small teams that don’t have T/PgMs, PMs may play the role of the T/PgM and focus on the execution as much as the vision. But on products whose vision is so grand that it requires several multidisciplinary teams to execute and whose stakes are high, the scope and complexity normally drive the need for additional help to ensure the development of the product is executed well. This is normally when T/PgMs may be brought in to drive the program. From my own experience, I often have found overlap in the skills and responsibilities of good PMs and good T/PgMs. The actual title depends on the day-to-day expectations of the role and I’ve found that in many smaller companies, the distinction may be negligible.

CLP: Is there a difference between leadership and management?

M: Leadership and management are not the same thing but they do go hand in hand. In the workplace, a manager has subordinates, objectives and key metrics to deliver on and generally plans, organizes, coordinates and is able to rely on having the direct authority over her employees to get the job done. Leadership is about having a mission and guiding people towards it even without having direct authority over the people she leads (often referred to as “influencing without authority”). Just like a good manager, a good leader must have the ability to plan, organize and coordinate but a great leader also recognizes the importance of inspiring trust and motivating people to spring into action and contribute towards their vision. Leadership may extend beyond the workplace and can be expressed in our everyday lives, for example through team-based extracurricular activities or even within our families.

CLP: What skills and/or characteristics does it take to be an effective leader?

M: There are a myriad of characteristics that effective leaders possess - if this was a simple answer, there wouldn’t be 190,000+ books under the “leadership” category on Amazon! I’ll highlight 3 characteristics exhibited by leaders I have found to be effective in the organizations I’ve worked in. One is having a vision and the ability to communicate that vision in such a way that it resonates with employees and motivates them to bring that vision into reality. Another is establishing a risk tolerance and being able to take smart risks in the spirit of discovery, progress and innovation. And the final characteristic I’ll call out is having good self-awareness, strong values and a focus on creating an organizational culture that reflects those values.

CLP: How do you stay organized?

M: I prioritize exceedingly and set expectations honestly. When I get many requests to do various things, I always clarify how important they are, who’s relying on them, evaluate the effort it would take, think hard about when I can complete them given other deadlines I have and communicate clearly and often with those that rely on me to get something done. In terms of tools, Google Calendar is my primary organizer. I have a work calendar that’s shared with my co-workers for meetings and office events. Additionally, I have a personal calendar visible only to me where I note my to-do’s and also keep track of my weekend get-togethers and vacation plans. I always have both calendars displayed at the same time in different color.

CLP: How do you deal with bad situations/people on your team?

M: I try hard to understand the full complexity of the situation. Everyone has their own point of view -- oftentimes strongly opposing points of view -- and I try my best to look at it objectively and understand what is motivating each of the people involved. Sometimes difficult situations arise not because of anything work related but because something may be happening in the person’s life that’s affecting them negatively at work. Being transparent, empathetic, and communicating clearly are the things I keep in mind when working through tough situations.

CLP: What is it like being in a leadership role for a big tech company? Is there pressure to perform? Do you feel like you have to know everything?

M: At Google, we have a regular and well-defined performance management process. It starts with Objectives and Key Results (OKRs): every leader -- including Google’s CEO -- sets goals for their teams and outlines a series of quantifiable results that will help them achieve that objective. Laszlo Bock, who was a former Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google, wrote the book “Work Rules!”, where he shares the rest of the process and its key components like peer feedback, calibration, and measuring performance. As Laszlo points out in his book, there’s a big focus on personal growth rather than ratings and rewards. So a good leader not only sets clear objectives for her organization and delivers on them, she is also open to growing her knowledge and expertise in the process as her leadership scope broadens over time.

CLP: Any advice for those who want to be PMs?

M: Pick a side project or activity that you’re passionate about and that involves working with others, contribute to it as a PM or T/PgM and see it through to completion -- that last part is key since oftentimes the last 10% of the project takes the most amount of effort. Doing something on the side where your grade doesn’t depend on it opens the room for unconstrained experimentation, interesting team dynamics and you should feel empowered to be more liberal with risk-taking. Once you experience what that feels like -- and the failures and successes that come with it -- you’ll learn a lot more about yourself and discover new and hopefully exciting areas for learning and opportunities.