From Linux Admin to People Engineer: My Professional Journey

From accidentally infuriating my brother by installing Linux on his computer to leading distributed teams across continents, my journey in technology has been anything but conventional. What began as curiosity about simple network pings evolved into a lifelong passion for connection—both digital and human. Through data centers in the UK, acquisitions by tech giants, and the global shift to remote work, I’ve transformed from a command-line Linux administrator to what I now call a “people engineer.” Join me as I share the pivotal moments, hard-earned lessons, and unexpected detours that shaped my path from technical enthusiast to leadership, including that one time when one of my colleagues dramatically dove across a Nando’s table to save me from volcano-level spicy chicken.

This is the recording of Cisco “Share IT Solutions Huddle” from 2020, where I had a privilege to talk about techniques to help those working from home and the importance of creating habits.

My Technical Evolution

Linux Beginnings

Right, so, hello everyone! Let me tell you a bit about my journey, as it’s all here in this chat we had. It all started, believe it or not, with me being a total novice with Linux. I remember installing it on my brother’s computer, and he absolutely hated me for it! But just seeing those simple pings going on, it was amazing, you know? That’s how I got started with Linux, being a sysadmin. Then, I became a Linux admin for this cable TV company. And for those who know Linux, it’s a very network-y system.

You see, even on the loopback interface, you can have a pretty decent networking setup. So, I became obsessed with networking, and I went and got my CCNA and CCNP certifications. Back in those days, the CCNA gave you a really good background, almost like the physics of how everything flows through the cable. It was good stuff.

Career Progression

Then, in 2005, I decided to move abroad to the UK, just to learn more and broaden my horizons. I got a job in a data centre, just a regular data centre guy installing things, loads of Linux gear. And that’s when I started to get even more interested in all this networking stuff. It was a busy time, and I was thinking about going back to Poland. But then, the company I was working for, ScanSafe, was going to be acquired by another company. And that company was Cisco. So, I had a rethink, and because we were about to be acquired, we were all showing off our data centres and everything.

ScanSafe, as you might know, became a cloud web security thing when Cisco bought it. But anyway, I became a network administrator, then a network engineer. After that, I stepped up to be a tech lead, then a team lead, and then a manager. And last year, which was 2019, I became a manager of managers, taking responsibility for a network group within what we call cloud infrastructure engineering.

I’ve been in the industry for a good while now, and I’m still an engineer at heart, although maybe a bit rusty these days. I like to think of myself as a “people engineer”, you know, helping people connect. Connectivity is still a big thing for me, just creating awesome stuff together and helping talented individuals become great, highly efficient teams, especially now with everyone working remotely.

How Linux Shaped My Path

Someone asked how knowing Linux helped me in my networking career. Well, nowadays, if you want to be a Linux admin, you just buy a magazine, install Linux with a GUI, and click around, and you’re effectively an administrator. But back in my day — and I sound like a dinosaur, I know — it was all command line. And I didn’t even have internet at home, so I had to download things from university onto floppy disks, things like how-tos. I just had to work at it until it worked, or commute back to uni to download something else.

So, I became, well, maybe not a hacker, but anyone who used Linux back then knows you were really dependent on yourself to get things working. And testing things out, like setting up your own email server or web server on your network — you could do that. That’s how I got really interested in how networks worked, seeing Linux as just the tip of the iceberg, with all this networking underneath that I figured would be a big thing one day, and it certainly is.

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Transitioning to Leadership

The Mindset Shift

Moving on from being a hands-on engineer to being a manager, that was a total mind shift, right? Going from pressing keys all the time to leading a team. It was around 2010 when I first started doing what we now call career development or self-development. Before that, I was just going with the flow, happy doing the Linux and engineering stuff. But then I remember reading this book, “Heroic Leadership”, and it was a real defining moment for me. It’s about leadership in the Jesuit order, back in the 16th century, but the main thing I took from it was that to be a leader, you first have to be a leader for yourself.

That’s when I really dived into self-development and self-awareness. I started thinking about being a leader for myself, and for my family, and then a few years later, for my team. It was about helping other people develop their talents and find the best in themselves, and I found I really enjoyed that. It wasn’t easy for an engineer, and it still isn’t, but it’s very rewarding when you see people growing and even outsmarting you.

It’s a bit tough to let go of those individual contributor roles, you know? You become a manager, and people think it’s a promotion — and sometimes it is in terms of salary — but you’re really a newbie again. You go from being a senior engineer to a leader, and you’re back to square one. I really struggled with delegating and letting people make their own decisions. My words started carrying more weight, and yeah, it was difficult.

Team Building Moments

Speaking of teams, there was this one time at Nando’s, our regular team lunch spot in the UK. We were all having a good time, and they brought out the food with those little cocktail sticks that have flags on them to show how spicy it is. There was one that said “very hot” — and we’re talking volcano-level hot, the kind of heat that could land you in the emergency room. Just as this one colleague, Stuart, was about to pick it up, I noticed the flag. So, in this slow-motion moment, I practically dived across the table! You see, where I come from in Poland, the cuisine is very mild — pancakes, dumplings, that sort of thing. My spice tolerance was still developing, let’s say. So, yeah, it could have been a life-saving moment with that spicy food!. It definitely highlighted the importance of team bonding, even over spicy chicken.

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Managing Remote Teams

The Power of Habits

Then, with remote working becoming more common, especially in 2020, routines and habits have become so important. I actually started being more specific with how I spent my time at the beginning of that year. With young kids, blogging, and a full-time job, I promised myself I’d read one book a month — or rather, listen to one, as that’s easier to fit in. The first book I listened to was “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, and it totally changed the game for me. The book talks about how we all have habits, whether we’re aware of them or not, and how we can consciously create good ones and get rid of bad ones. A good routine needs to be obvious, easy, attractive, and satisfying.

And when you want to create a routine, it’s crucial to start with the “why”. Why do you want to do these things? Who do you want to become? I was guilty of it myself — wanting to lose weight and drop bad habits, but just trying to force it didn’t work for long. It’s when you’re specific about your reasons that it becomes easier. For example, with fitness, I realised my real motivation was wanting to be able to keep up with my kids physically when they’re older. So, that “why” makes sticking to the routine worthwhile.

Trust and Boundaries

Speaking of challenges with distributed teams, one question I always get, especially from people new to remote work, is: “How do you know your people are actually working?”. Coming from a more hierarchical background where control was emphasized, I think we need a different perspective. You have to trust your people to do their work. In fact, I’ve found the opposite problem — I don’t have slackers, I have people who work around the clock. It’s difficult because we’re all passionate about what we do, but it’s not sustainable to work 12-hour days for 200 days a year. So, the biggest challenge for distributed teams is the boundary between work and personal life. There’s no easy answer, other than talking to people, having team agreements, and really prioritizing mental health.

The Human Connection

Another challenge, especially with the global pandemic, is that many new team members have never met face-to-face. Two-thirds of our staff were new in the last year, and you just can’t replace being in the same room as someone, having those informal chats and team dinners. We did an exercise where staff gave presentations about themselves, because just getting to know your coworkers is so important. As much as I can be an introvert and happily work away on my own, I really miss those quarterly off-sites where we meet up, work together, have great food, even spicy food, and just connect.

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Looking Forward

Looking back at the past year, it’s been special in many ways. It’s shown us that things we thought were impossible, like fully remote work and remote conferences, are actually possible. It’ll never replace face-to-face time, but it works. But it can also be dangerous. We need to be more tuned into ourselves and more self-aware. If you’re not used to it, now’s the time to start.

It’s easy to get over-enthusiastic about working from home and overachieving, but we need to be mindful of the impact on our bodies from sitting in front of a computer too much. Everything in moderation, right? And we talk a lot about work-life balance, but maybe we should think more about what’s outside of work. At the end of our lives, we probably won’t regret not working more in 2020, but we might regret not spending enough time with family. So, that’s something to think about, not just this year, but going forward too.

So there you have it, a little glimpse into my journey and some of the things I’ve learned along the way, especially with the shift to remote work and leading distributed teams. It’s all about adapting, staying connected, and finding that balance. Thanks for listening!