Lyle Kozloff's README

My Job

My job is to clear obstacles, set context, and build process. In general: to make your (work) life easier, clearer and less stressful.

I drive complex, cross-functional programs across GitLab that help us achieve our business objectives. I work to align stakeholders, identify and mitigate risks, manage dependencies, and proactively surface and solve large-scale organizational challenges.

My Availability

Precious few things are more important than talking to you if you want to talk to me. If you need to talk, let’s talk. I’m here to help unblock your work and enable success.

I snooze my Slack notifications when I’m not available. If you think of something at 2 a.m. it’s 100% okay to send me a message. I expect that you will also control your notifications.

Nothing on my calendar is urgent unless specifically noted as such. If I need time I will specifically denote it as “DNB” (that is, “Do Not Book”).

Communication preferences

1. GitLab: I’m very responsive on GitLab issues when pinged, and have notifications turned on for most trackers in gitlab-com/support.
2. Slack: I prefer Slack for most short interactions and questions. Avoid private messages when you can.
3. Zoom: As noted above, I’m always available for a video call.
4. Email: Email is my notification channel. My email send / receipt ratio is ~1%. Nearly all of those emails were to people outside of GitLab.
5. Phone: I have a phone, but often reject or screen calls from unknown numbers. This isn’t the best way to get in touch.

Notification Priorities

1. GitLab To Do items - if you need me, @lyle me!
   1. MRs - Don’t block others work
   2. @mentions - Don’t block others work
   3. Other items
2. Email Uncategorized - unknown risk and priority for categorizing trends
3. Calendar invites - affects availability
4. General notifications from GitLab (subscribed issues and such)

Other meetings

I’m open to ad-hoc meetings with anyone who wants to chat - whether you’re in my department but report to someone else, or in a totally different department.

My Assumptions

• You’re good at your job
• You understand how your work connects to broader organizational objectives
• You’ll raise blockers, dependencies, or risks early
• You feel safe pushing back and disagreeing constructively
• We’ll tell each other if there’s something we could have done better

Greatest Strengths / Greatest Weaknesses

I’m a collaborative leader and accept input readily. At its best, this means you’ll feel heard and included in decisions. At its worst it means that you’ll feel like I don’t have a clear vision or direction.

• What to do if it’s the worst: Tell me that you’re not clear on the direction or that my apparent indecision is blocking progress.

I reprioritize constantly. At its best, this means that important and impactful things get done quickly. At its worst, it means that I miss a deliverable that you were waiting on from me.

• What to do if it’s the worst: Give me a firm deadline for when you need something by. Check in on progress. I don’t mind being managed up; if what I’m prioritizing doesn’t match your priorities I should be able to articulate what’s blocking me.

I assume good intent and trust people to own their domains: At its best, this means you have the autonomy to make decisions and prioritize work in ways that make sense for your context. At its worst this means you may feel like I’m disengaged or not providing enough strategic direction on the program.

• What to do if it’s the worst: Let me know if you need more context, direction, or strategic input from me. I’m here to provide clarity on how your work connects to the broader program objectives.

I try to shield the people I work with from low-value administrative work by doing it myself: At its best, you’ll be protected from small, annoying tasks that crop up. At its worst, I’ll be drowning in these tasks and I’ll ask you to do something that’s (at best) half-done and probably overdue.

• What to do if it’s the worst: If I’m setting myself up as a blocker, call me on it. I try to build process after I have a full understanding of the problem set, but sometimes I need a nudge before I feel it’s ready to hand off. Sometimes I misjudge the complexity or length of a task.

Learning and Growth

From the time you were very little, you’ve had people who have smiled you into smiling, people who have talked you into talking, sung you into singing, loved you into loving.

Fred Rogers

One of the best ways to learn is to have excellence modeled and to copy it. Therefore:

• Pair with others after your onboarding is over.
• Attend enablement sessions and take courses; ask questions.
• Choose topics, seek out experts and relentlessly pursue them.

I’m passionate about helping people grow and learn, and I’m available for coaching and mentorship. I can / will / have:

• ask challenging questions that help you think through problems differently
• be a “study buddy” and grow/learn together
• help you find opportunities and connections that support your growth
• cheer you on and broadcast your successes

I’m open to taking on mentees through GitLab’s mentorship programs. If you’re interested in working together, please reach out!

Leadership at all levels

I believe that leadership happens at all levels - whether you’re a people leader or leading as an individual contributor. Your ability to influence decisions and drive change is critical to your success and to GitLab’s success.

I will do my best to lend strength to your voice, amplify good ideas, and help your ideas find their way into results. This is part of how I work with cross-functional partners and a responsibility I take seriously at the Principal level.

Feedback

I value giving and receiving feedback, though it’s an area I always want to improve.

I look for opportunities to compliment wins and highlight great work, but I miss things. If you’re proud of something, please bring it up!

If you’d like feedback or input from me, please ask for it in a specific area:

• “Was my communication about X clear for your needs?”
• “Did the program update provide enough context for you to plan your work?”
• “Is this process/meeting structure working well for you?”
• “Should I be focusing more attention on X or Y for this initiative?”

This helps me give clear, timely feedback that will make a difference instead of generic praise.

Behaviours I value

• Initiative: you see a problem, formulate a solution and act on it, asking for input if only when necessary
• Humility: you do excellent work which draws attention to itself
• Consistency: you do what you say you’ll do most (if not all) of the time
• Vulnerability: if you don’t know, you ask (and in so doing, create an atmosphere where it’s okay to not know and ask)

Feedback for me

Like you, I rely on feedback to improve. If you feel there is something I could do better, please tell me! If I get salty, defensive or react negatively: call me on it.

If you don’t feel comfortable addressing this with me directly, please tell my manager or escalate through whatever channel feels appropriate.

Strength of Feeling Scale

Somtimes I’ll express an opinion with a strength qualifier. The scale is 1-10. 1 - Strongly opposed 5 - True Neutral 10 - Strongly for

Confusingly, I may be strongly for a negative. For example: “No, I’m like a 9 against that.” Strictly following my own system, I should say “2”… but I think it’s more easily understood phrased like that.

Other

• My expectations are sometimes expressed softly. If there is any doubt about whether something I say is an expectation, a suggestion or an idea please ask.
• Please feel free to correct me in public channels if I’m wrong about something. I appreciate opportunities to model humility and my commitment to being a life-long learner.