Stong VPs of Engineering should be skilled in the following areas:
Since VP is an executive position, the VP is also expected to interact with leaders from other departments in the company.
This translates into the following competency matrix, which leverages the three pillars of competency: Knowledge (what the team member should know), Skills (what the team member should know how to do) and Behaviours (mindsets that the team member should demonstrate on the job).
| Competency | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge 1 | Programming best practices | Should know enough about programming best practices to challenge engineers during code reviews |
| Knowledge 2 | Software development methodologies | Should know the leading software development methodologies to make informed changes |
| Knowledge 3 | Testing and QA methodologies | Should know the tools and the methodologies to put in place to ensure that software products are of high quality |
| Knowledge 4 | Industry trends and emerging technologies | Stays current with new developments in software engineering |
| Knowledge 5 | Engineering hiring best practices | Should know where and how to hire the best engineering talent to scale their team |
| Skill 1 | Coaching | Should be able to coach direct reports to help them solve challenges and develop themselves |
| Skill 2 | Time Management | Should be able to efficiently manage their schedule to avoid business and inspire their team to do the same |
| Skill 3 | Goal setting | Should be able to set ambitious goals for their team and direct reports and coach them to do the same with their team members |
| Skill 4 | KPI analysis | Should be able to identify, measure and monitor the right KPIs to deliver the expected software delivery outcomes |
| Skill 5 | Communication | Should be able to communicate, especially complex technical concepts, and to adapt their speech to their audience |
| Behaviour 1 | Ownership | Should make tough decisions swiftly and talk openly about mistakes |
| Behaviour 2 | Composure | Should remain calm in challenging situations to help team members navigate them |
| Behaviour 3 | Inspiration | Should inspire and motivate team members |
| Behaviour 4 | Growth-mindset | Should help team members achieve more than they thought |
| Behaviour 5 | Ambition | Should consistently set and achieve ambitious goals |
Note: the sample interview questions are in line with the above competencies. You should adapt the questions and the interview schedule if you update some competencies.