Simon Pickles
@sipickles.bsky.social
Progressive politics, pizza, cycling, net zero, Reluctant Leadership blog: https://reluctantleadership.substack.com/
Pinned
Simon Pickles
@sipickles.bsky.social
· Jul 16
Reluctant Leadership | Simon Pickles | Substack
The hardest part of tech is people. Click to read Reluctant Leadership, by Simon Pickles, a Substack publication. Launched 2 months ago.
reluctantleadership.substack.com
My blog, Reluctant Leadership, is for engineers who accidentally became managers. Honest reflections, mildly unhinged ramblings, and practical advice on leading humans without losing your mind or credibility. The hardest part of tech is people.
reluctantleadership.substack.com
reluctantleadership.substack.com
You can get my Engineering Manager OS from the Notion marketplace now. I'd love to hear how it helps you.
Lead with confidence.
The Reluctant Leadership Engineering Manager OS is now available as a Notion template, making it easier than ever to use.
www.notion.com/en-gb/templa...
The Reluctant Leadership Engineering Manager OS is now available as a Notion template, making it easier than ever to use.
www.notion.com/en-gb/templa...
Reluctant Leadership Engineering Manager OS Template | Notion Marketplace
A Notion operating system to help you transition seamlessly into effective leadership while staying true to your technical roots. With practical insights and relatable experiences, you will lead teams...
www.notion.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:38 AM
You can get my Engineering Manager OS from the Notion marketplace now. I'd love to hear how it helps you.
Today’s Reluctant Leadership post digs into nudging as a leadership skill. Not manipulation, just the quiet art of helping someone reach their own best idea without taking over.
If you’re a manager who prefers asking to ordering, this one might resonate.
If you’re a manager who prefers asking to ordering, this one might resonate.
Some managers give instructions.
The best managers create the conditions for insight.
If you’ve ever watched someone excitedly pitch your own idea back to you, you’ll recognise the dynamic.
open.substack.com/pub/reluctan...
The best managers create the conditions for insight.
If you’ve ever watched someone excitedly pitch your own idea back to you, you’ll recognise the dynamic.
open.substack.com/pub/reluctan...
Leading People to Their Own Best Ideas
Some managers give instructions - The most effective ones help people reach their own best ideas - Here’s how to lead without taking over.
open.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Today’s Reluctant Leadership post digs into nudging as a leadership skill. Not manipulation, just the quiet art of helping someone reach their own best idea without taking over.
If you’re a manager who prefers asking to ordering, this one might resonate.
If you’re a manager who prefers asking to ordering, this one might resonate.
Reposted by Simon Pickles
In the UK, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's friendship with Epstein has led to total disgrace.
He's been stripped of his titles, reduced to the status of a pariah.
Nobody is defending him.
He's a TOTAL disgrace.
In America, Jeffrey Epstein's close mate, Donald Trump, remains the president.
Insane.
He's been stripped of his titles, reduced to the status of a pariah.
Nobody is defending him.
He's a TOTAL disgrace.
In America, Jeffrey Epstein's close mate, Donald Trump, remains the president.
Insane.
November 13, 2025 at 9:58 PM
In the UK, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's friendship with Epstein has led to total disgrace.
He's been stripped of his titles, reduced to the status of a pariah.
Nobody is defending him.
He's a TOTAL disgrace.
In America, Jeffrey Epstein's close mate, Donald Trump, remains the president.
Insane.
He's been stripped of his titles, reduced to the status of a pariah.
Nobody is defending him.
He's a TOTAL disgrace.
In America, Jeffrey Epstein's close mate, Donald Trump, remains the president.
Insane.
Very proud to announce the release of my project I've been working on for a few months.
I’ve spent years trying to turn the chaos of engineering management into something repeatable. This is the result.
If it helps just one person be a better manager, I'll be happy.
I’ve spent years trying to turn the chaos of engineering management into something repeatable. This is the result.
If it helps just one person be a better manager, I'll be happy.
The Engineering Manager OS is the guide I wish I’d had when I started.
It’s the antidote to management by accident.
This system was built in Notion, refined in the field, and shaped by years of real mistakes.
It’s live now, available here:
reluctantleadership.gumroad.com/l/engineerin...
It’s the antidote to management by accident.
This system was built in Notion, refined in the field, and shaped by years of real mistakes.
It’s live now, available here:
reluctantleadership.gumroad.com/l/engineerin...
Reluctant Leadership - Engineering Manager OS
This Engineering Manager OS is a complete Notion workspace built to help you lead with calm and clarity.If you’ve ever thought “I was good at engineering, but now I just do meetings and therapy sessio...
reluctantleadership.gumroad.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Very proud to announce the release of my project I've been working on for a few months.
I’ve spent years trying to turn the chaos of engineering management into something repeatable. This is the result.
If it helps just one person be a better manager, I'll be happy.
I’ve spent years trying to turn the chaos of engineering management into something repeatable. This is the result.
If it helps just one person be a better manager, I'll be happy.
Reposted by Simon Pickles
😎😎😎😎 GOOD THINGS CAN STILL HAPPEN 😎😎😎😎
November 5, 2025 at 5:22 AM
😎😎😎😎 GOOD THINGS CAN STILL HAPPEN 😎😎😎😎
I listened to @restispolitics.bsky.social for the first time in a while. What a mistake.
It was alarming to hear how much they have shifted right. Alistair softer on taxing the super rich, Rory suggesting watering down net zero targets.
Sad.
It was alarming to hear how much they have shifted right. Alistair softer on taxing the super rich, Rory suggesting watering down net zero targets.
Sad.
October 31, 2025 at 9:03 AM
I listened to @restispolitics.bsky.social for the first time in a while. What a mistake.
It was alarming to hear how much they have shifted right. Alistair softer on taxing the super rich, Rory suggesting watering down net zero targets.
Sad.
It was alarming to hear how much they have shifted right. Alistair softer on taxing the super rich, Rory suggesting watering down net zero targets.
Sad.
Took a month off writing. I now have the same sense of direction as most early-stage startups: vague intentions, unclear roadmap, too many ideas.
So naturally, this post is about surviving startups as an Engineering Manager.
I hope it helps someone who's in the middle of it... or about to be.
So naturally, this post is about surviving startups as an Engineering Manager.
I hope it helps someone who's in the middle of it... or about to be.
Being an EM at a startup means projecting calm while quietly questioning your life choices. You’re not in control. You’re a therapist, a firefighter, and somehow, an island of stability in a sea of chaos. Most days.
Read the new blog: open.substack.com/pub/reluctan...
Read the new blog: open.substack.com/pub/reluctan...
October 28, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Took a month off writing. I now have the same sense of direction as most early-stage startups: vague intentions, unclear roadmap, too many ideas.
So naturally, this post is about surviving startups as an Engineering Manager.
I hope it helps someone who's in the middle of it... or about to be.
So naturally, this post is about surviving startups as an Engineering Manager.
I hope it helps someone who's in the middle of it... or about to be.
Reposted by Simon Pickles
The Green surge is breaking limits! 😲
Together, we can make hope normal again! 💚
Together, we can make hope normal again! 💚
October 14, 2025 at 3:01 PM
The Green surge is breaking limits! 😲
Together, we can make hope normal again! 💚
Together, we can make hope normal again! 💚
Reposted by Simon Pickles
Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
October 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
Reposted by Simon Pickles
We flounced out of the EU on the say-so of politicians who lied to us. And what a total shitshow that’s turned out to be. The polar opposite of what they promised. Now the call to flounce out of the ECHR. By the same people. Telling the same lies. Has the country been kicked in the head by a horse?
October 5, 2025 at 7:04 AM
We flounced out of the EU on the say-so of politicians who lied to us. And what a total shitshow that’s turned out to be. The polar opposite of what they promised. Now the call to flounce out of the ECHR. By the same people. Telling the same lies. Has the country been kicked in the head by a horse?
Reposted by Simon Pickles
quick while the government is shut down let’s all switch to metric
October 1, 2025 at 4:11 AM
quick while the government is shut down let’s all switch to metric
Reposted by Simon Pickles
Reform’s Russia connections are a danger to our national security.
It’s time for a public inquiry.
It’s time for a public inquiry.
Nathan Gill’s treachery puts him in same league as the “Cambridge Five”
Reform’s Russia connections may endanger our security – time for a public inquiry
bylines.scot
October 1, 2025 at 5:20 AM
Reform’s Russia connections are a danger to our national security.
It’s time for a public inquiry.
It’s time for a public inquiry.
Reposted by Simon Pickles
What has Yvette Cooper’s proscription of Palestine Action done to this country?
Beyond absurd. It’s extreme authoritarianism. These police should be arresting rapists & crooks, not neglecting those duties to spend time arresting citizens standing against genocide.
It undermines police and the law.
Beyond absurd. It’s extreme authoritarianism. These police should be arresting rapists & crooks, not neglecting those duties to spend time arresting citizens standing against genocide.
It undermines police and the law.
September 29, 2025 at 6:22 AM
What has Yvette Cooper’s proscription of Palestine Action done to this country?
Beyond absurd. It’s extreme authoritarianism. These police should be arresting rapists & crooks, not neglecting those duties to spend time arresting citizens standing against genocide.
It undermines police and the law.
Beyond absurd. It’s extreme authoritarianism. These police should be arresting rapists & crooks, not neglecting those duties to spend time arresting citizens standing against genocide.
It undermines police and the law.
Reposted by Simon Pickles
BREAKING:
Huge win for President Maia Sandu and her pro-EU PAS Party in today’s Moldovan parliamentary election.
With 90% of the votes counted, her party has 45.61% of the votes and is on track to win a majority of the seats in Parliament.
Huge win for President Maia Sandu and her pro-EU PAS Party in today’s Moldovan parliamentary election.
With 90% of the votes counted, her party has 45.61% of the votes and is on track to win a majority of the seats in Parliament.
September 28, 2025 at 9:25 PM
BREAKING:
Huge win for President Maia Sandu and her pro-EU PAS Party in today’s Moldovan parliamentary election.
With 90% of the votes counted, her party has 45.61% of the votes and is on track to win a majority of the seats in Parliament.
Huge win for President Maia Sandu and her pro-EU PAS Party in today’s Moldovan parliamentary election.
With 90% of the votes counted, her party has 45.61% of the votes and is on track to win a majority of the seats in Parliament.
Reposted by Simon Pickles
Reposted by Simon Pickles
Vertical rows are the agrivoltaic winner!
“The vertical panels produce slightly less electricity—but with higher value, as generation peaks coincide with morning and late afternoon demand…The crops don't seem to mind the presence of solar panels and they like the wind protection they provide.”
“The vertical panels produce slightly less electricity—but with higher value, as generation peaks coincide with morning and late afternoon demand…The crops don't seem to mind the presence of solar panels and they like the wind protection they provide.”
Double harvest: Vertical solar panels and crops thrive side by side
Imagine a field where solar panels and crops coexist—with no trade-off. It sounds like science fiction, but that's precisely what researchers from Aarhus University have now documented in a full-scale...
techxplore.com
September 22, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Vertical rows are the agrivoltaic winner!
“The vertical panels produce slightly less electricity—but with higher value, as generation peaks coincide with morning and late afternoon demand…The crops don't seem to mind the presence of solar panels and they like the wind protection they provide.”
“The vertical panels produce slightly less electricity—but with higher value, as generation peaks coincide with morning and late afternoon demand…The crops don't seem to mind the presence of solar panels and they like the wind protection they provide.”
Reposted by Simon Pickles
For 56 minutes Sky News and BBC News interrupted everything else and carried a Reform UK feed live, uninterrupted, unchallenged. The stream spluttered, froze, pixelated - dozens of times - still they stuck with it. FOR ONE HOUR.
This is an editorial choice. No other party gets this coverage. ~AA
This is an editorial choice. No other party gets this coverage. ~AA
September 22, 2025 at 11:01 AM
For 56 minutes Sky News and BBC News interrupted everything else and carried a Reform UK feed live, uninterrupted, unchallenged. The stream spluttered, froze, pixelated - dozens of times - still they stuck with it. FOR ONE HOUR.
This is an editorial choice. No other party gets this coverage. ~AA
This is an editorial choice. No other party gets this coverage. ~AA
This is an absolute scandal
‘Privatisation premium’: billions from UK energy bills paid to shareholders www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
‘Privatisation premium’: billions from UK energy bills paid to shareholders www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
‘Privatisation premium’: billions from UK energy bills paid to shareholders
Analysis reveals £416 of average bill of £1,719 taken as pre-tax profits by the major energy industries last year, rather than being reinvested
www.theguardian.com
September 17, 2025 at 2:57 PM
This is an absolute scandal
‘Privatisation premium’: billions from UK energy bills paid to shareholders www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
‘Privatisation premium’: billions from UK energy bills paid to shareholders www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Simon Pickles
Warhammer is harm reduction
if you’re an isolated, angsty, strange young man, please know that you can become a Kierkegaard scholar instead of joining fringe online communities
September 13, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Warhammer is harm reduction
Just cancelled Zwift after about 6 years. Why pay £180 a year when MyWhoosh does the same for free?
September 12, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Just cancelled Zwift after about 6 years. Why pay £180 a year when MyWhoosh does the same for free?
Reposted by Simon Pickles
Is impartiality still a thing at the BBC?
Asking for a friend.
Asking for a friend.
September 6, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Is impartiality still a thing at the BBC?
Asking for a friend.
Asking for a friend.
Reposted by Simon Pickles
"Reform has touted its plan as a “legal reset”. But it is better understood as a total rejection of the UK’s postwar international commitments to protect the human rights of everyone within its jurisdiction."
Treaties like the ECHR protect everyone in the UK, not just migrants
These commitments have cemented the UK at the heart of the rules-based international order.
theconversation.com
September 6, 2025 at 8:33 PM
"Reform has touted its plan as a “legal reset”. But it is better understood as a total rejection of the UK’s postwar international commitments to protect the human rights of everyone within its jurisdiction."
Reposted by Simon Pickles
“President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Friday changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War…”
Trump Moves to Rename Defense Department as Department of War
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Friday changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, reverting to a moniker not used since the 1940s in line with his ...
www.bloomberg.com
September 4, 2025 at 10:44 PM
“President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Friday changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War…”