Team Leadership and Project Management: A Technical Leader's Experience

This article shares the work experience and thoughts of a technical leader at NetEase Yanxuan. The author is an applied mathematics PhD who has built a supply chain algorithm team from scratch and designed systems like package recommendation, inventory allocation, and automatic replenishment.

The article discusses how the author categorizes projects into three types: mature projects (stable with predictable returns), challenging projects (uncertain but promising), and innovative projects (exploratory). It details how the author assigns team members based on project risk and complexity, and how they manage their time by focusing on high-level oversight rather than micromanaging technical details.

The author emphasizes the importance of discovering problems through direct engagement with business teams, sharing their experience of rotating through different departments to understand pain points firsthand. This led to the creation of a cross-departmental efficiency improvement project and an internal rotation mechanism.

The article also covers how the author handles challenging projects, including mobilizing additional resources from other teams when facing tight deadlines. It discusses exploratory projects like data visualization videos and 3D modeling, highlighting the value of pursuing interesting work even without immediate business pressure.

Finally, the author shares their principles for work, including doing difficult things, being prepared for failure when innovating, understanding business needs, and maintaining a positive attitude. The article concludes with personal reflections on the importance of trust, compromise, and staying true to one's ideals in the workplace.