S1E8 Navigating the scaling journey with Gymshark's Engineering Director, Dan Blundell

Building effective partnerships and relationships across the business is crucial for engineering leaders - understanding other departments’ needs and speaking their language

When scaling rapidly, it’s important to regularly assess leadership team capacity and create sustainable headroom rather than running at maximum constantly

Success in engineering leadership comes from being curious about the business domain, customers, and other departments - not just focusing on technical aspects

Values and culture need to be authentically lived daily, not just written on walls - this helps with hiring, decision making and team alignment

Career progression often happens through saying yes to opportunities and being willing to step out of comfort zones, even if the path isn’t clearly defined

Regular check-ins with teams about wellbeing and capacity are crucial during periods of rapid growth and change

Technical concepts need to be explained clearly to non-technical stakeholders - abstracting complexity while maintaining trust

When scaling teams, focus on sustainable growth rather than just hiring rapidly - ensure proper support structures are in place

Understanding your own principles and boundaries helps make better decisions about team structure, hiring and technical direction

Moving into leadership requires shifting mindset from solving problems yourself to enabling others to solve them effectively