💬 Feedback I’ve received from colleagues

In 2021 I started keeping track of feedback that I received from my peers at work. Unfortunately I wasn’t very diligent about keeping track of them years ago, so many are lost, but I was able to track down some from years past. This page is a compilation of that feedback.

What my colleagues have to say about me

2024-10-21

Comments from my lead Jason Collinge:

Dan is always flexible and able to take on any task thrown his way.

Dan is a strong collaborator and makes those around him better.

Dan is always positive, helpful, and a pleasure to work with.

Dan is extremely effective. Any tasks you give him you can be sure will get done and get done well.

So much of Dan’s impact is behind the scenes. I can’t help but think we’re not doing enough to help him make a bigger and more visible impact.

Dan is always amazing in his role.

Dan takes feedback very well. He always has a sunny and positive attitude.

Dan keeps the gears turning even when no one else notices.

Dan always does high quality work and documents it. You can be sure anything he touches is better than before he was involved.

Dan managed whole aspects of the Denver migration on his own while still stepping up routinely to help others. He also stepped in to manage a lot of what Andy was doing while we had him borrowed from the dev side and made sure that time was used effectively.

Dan tends to disappear into the background, just getting stuff done. While this is extremely helpful, I know Dan could have a bigger impact if he spent a bit more time thinking strategically. I’d like to see him propose some projects or ideas that have a longer term impact, especially around reducing manual workloads.

Dan is great at what he does.

Dan is one of those people who is super easy to work with. He always has a positive attitude, he manages his time well, and he is extremely smart and capable. I do think that if Dan is interested, there are ways he could step up his game and increase his impact in the organization. They might require him to be a little less hands on though, which maybe he’s not as interested in. It’s certainly something to discuss.

2024-06-06

From Maryam Bagherzadeh in Slack:

Thanks Dan! I’m grateful for our 1-1s, your insights and perspectives! You are a great mentor Dan, I’d recommend you to keep that going, share your knowledge, perspectives and greatness with other devs/mentees too

2024-01-15

Anonymous feedback from 4 individuals on a lunch and learn presentation I gave on Dev Containers and GitHub Codespaces:

Individual 1:

I really enjoyed how Dan made it so people could follow along in Visual Studio Code and try setting up their own Dev Containers, it really helped to reinforce the concepts that were being presented. Dan’s presentation skills are always top notch!

Individual 2:

I really enjoyed the hands on/demo format. I’m sure Dan could’ve presented some slides and called it a day but being able to actually try something is extremely helpful for my knowledge retention.

Individual 3:

Dan is great at explaining things! I thought he chose a really nice level of detail, where I felt like I saw and understood the actual code being used to run and use dev containers, but also wasn’t bogged down with unnecessary details.

Individual 4:

Great balance in supporting explanations with slides and practical demonstrations.

2023-05-03

PDLG (Product Development Leadership Group) and Development Leads in Slack:

Dan is an amazing gift to us

2022-11-08

Steven Swab in Slack:

I wanted to give @deadlydog-DanSchroeder a shout out for exemplifying a number of our core values. He’s a High-horsepower guy who Delivers Results and demonstrates excellent Servant Leadership. My team was decommissioning an old service, and asked for some help with access to machines I can’t access. Dan didn’t just offer help, but went through and taught me how to remove the service and associated jobs, tasks, etc. Despite circumstances not being ideal for its decommissioning, Dan put in extra effort to ensure that the customer wouldn’t be impacted and that if they were we could reverse the changes quickly. Thank you Dan - The High-horsepower, Servant Leader, who Delivers Results. You make all of us at iQ better.

Reply from Maryam Bagherzadeh:

@deadlydog-DanSchroeder is great! Knowledgeable, helpful plus humble!

2021 Employee of the Year

In preparing this description of our Employee of the Year winner I asked a few folks for input. In each response the central theme was “helping”. Helping is certainly what I’ve seen our winner doing very often. Never too busy to help others. Always looking for ways to give back and to elevate the people around them. Elevating the people around them is such central factor in everything they do. They don’t just provide an answer or perform a task, but provide an explanation, or make a video that many people can watch and learn how to solve a similar problem. They plan their personal work around how they can use it to enable others to learn and grow too.

Helping people pervades our winners life. They maintain a personal blog full of helpful information for anyone on the internet to use. The first help I ever received from them was via their public blog, before I even knew we both worked for the same company. I’ve even heard a story from a colleague of how helpful our winner was back in University before either of them even started to work at IQ.

Our winner has been described as selfless, which is plainly true. And as a swiss army knife, because they have a solution for all your problems. My personal favorite is that they are like Emmett the “Everything is Awesome guy” from the lego movie, happy and always, always a team player. As soon as I heard it, it immediately felt right.

Our winner this year has been with IQ for many years. For those who were involved in the selection process a very common question was “Why has it taken so long for them to win?”. The truth is they deserved to win many times. But our winner is always helping in the background and never grabbing the spotlight for themselves. Clearly this award is loooong overdue!

I want to offer an enormous congratulations and, a bright bright spotlight, to our 2021 Employee of the Year…. Dan Schroeder.

2021 Q4 SLICCE Nomination from Shahram Koukia

I firmly believe that Dan is iQmetrix MVP, for many reasons. I have had the privilege of working with Dan for almost two years now, and anyone who works with him knows he’s the best, personally and professionally. He’s very dependable, he’s Culturally fit, he has all the leadership qualities, the most hardworking person with the most amazing can-do attitude you meet in your life. His positivity is contagious, he is all about learning and teaching, he makes people around him comfortable, especially when they’re vulnerable and most of all, he gets shit done the best way possible. He’s the kind of employee that every employer dreams of and he has decided to stay with iQmetrix. Don’t get me started on his technical expertise and abilities, he is simply amazing! If it wasn’t for Dan, we could not have done the Toronto and Philly migration, he pushed through, put his sweat and blood into the work, he was also the one pulling everyone along. He’s not human, he can’t be.

2021 Q4 SLICCE Nomination from Cathy McKay

Dan continuously takes on new tasks to help his peers and clients. He has been instrumental in helping many teams with their move out of the Philly data center and making sure the application tier of the project was moved on time. Dan is always professional when dealing with others, you can see the respect he has earned within the company in the way the conversations he’s involved in evolve. When he is giving an opinion others want to hear it but they feel they can ask questions and work through challenges with Dan’s help.

2021 Q2 SLICCE Nomination from Farshad Hadei

Because he has all in one and is able to do everything that normally takes a few teams to do!

2021 Q2 SLICCE Nomination from Vincent Langevin

Dan is showing true community by helping out the Windows Desktop Tech Stack Team right now! During the Philadelphia Migration Windows Desktop Tech Stack had a TON of services to update and deploy to the new datacenter, and to help ensure that we meet the deadlines that we were given, Dan has graciously given some of his time to help the team out and get a few of our services updated and deployed! Without Dan’s tireless effort we definitely couldn’t have done it!”

2021 Q1 SLICCE Nomination from Adam Weibe

His experience, knowledge, and willingness to help make Dan an invaluable resource to many different teams at iQmetrix. Thanks for all that you do Dan!”

2020 Q4 SLICCE Nomination from Shahram Koukia

Dan checks all the boxes in “SLICCE” for me; He’s the most positive person I know. He always focuses on positives. He leads by example and holds his team and himself to the same standard; he champions innovation and always ready to contribute in any way he can; he’s the first one that logs in and the last one that logs off after making sure his team is all taken care of. I believe he represents the best of iQmetrix and a real asset. I am surprised he’s already not the employee of the year.

2020 Q4 SLICCE Nomination from Cathy McKay

Dan is so many of these attributes. He is amazing to work with as he is always ready and willing to help with speed and agility. He shares his character, knowledge and teaching in all things he’s involved with. He supports all parts of the organization by being involved and present in the work that he does. He’s a strong leader for his team and supporter of the individuals working with him. I would like to recognize Dan for all the work and effort he puts in on a daily basis. Keep up the great work!”

From Dexter (circa 2019)

Dan is always helpful and always provides a ton of insight into what he sees, and where he sees it, so that not only am I getting the help I need, but also learning where to look and what to look for when situations arise. I wish everyone provided as much insight and context into the help they are giving, because that in turn allows us to learn and not just be told that it’s fixed, thus I can also share that knowledge.

I’ve had many times in the past where I’ve required assistance and Dan was the one to help me get to the bottom of the problem I/the client am/are seeing, and every time I come out of the experience feeling like I have gained knowledge which I can use in resolving other issues because I now have a better understanding of how things work, and what they affect.

Dan is a great resource and I appreciate the assistance I get from him in every interaction.

From Tyler Foraie (circa 2018)

Dan is the man. He’s always available to lend a hand, and always jumping in when there is an issue. I feel like he does a good job communicating with his team, keeping them up to date on projects that will be coming down the pipeline, or just listening to any comments or concerns they might have with any of the current work.

I would say his patience is one of his best qualities. Even if your not quite sure how to ask for what your trying to do, Dan will work with you to determine exactly what it is you need and help you get there even if it takes a full afternoon.

I believe Dan is an asset to this company in both his knowledge of how things work and how he treats his coworkers with respect.

From Kelly Jardine (circa 2018)

WHEN WAS THIS PERSON AT THEIR BEST?

I believe Dan is at his best all of the time. For example, the things he accomplishes when he has time to put his head down and solve insane database messes is insane to me. But then, you ask him to get on a phone with a Client to explain this insanely complicated task he is taking on and he kills it! Dan is a rockstar internally and externally. His patience for me and my demanding questions is greatly appreciated.

WHAT DO YOU WISH THIS PERSON KNEW THAT MIGHT CHANGE THE WAY THEY WORK?

Honestly.. I can’t think of anything. The way he takes his time to figure out what is best for the company and clients should not be changed. He is thoughtful in everything he does and says.

From Vincent Langevin (circa 2017)

Dan is a great leader and pillar of iQmetrix. He works tireless behind the scenes to ensure that the infrastructure that RQ, the Hub, and the many intricate interdependencies are running smoothly and effectively. Often times he works well after work hours so that his work won’t impact others. He is a laid-back, considerate person, that doesn’t balk under the constant pressure and demands that are constantly demanded of Dev Ops. I am always amazed at his cool temperance and ability to come up with the solution that is needed. It has been an honour and pleasure to be in his circle while he was manning the helm.

From Donny Lu (circa 2017)

Thanks for all your help and the things you taught me while I was there. You are an inspiration for me to always make life easier for people around me wherever my career goes. Stay awesome!”

From Tobias Bohm (circa 2017)

I really enjoyed working with you. You’re always eager to help and extremely professional and reliable.

From Barry Tran (circa 2015)

The RQ team goes to him for questions on everything. He’s proven to be a great mentor for me in my new role, and is always willing to look over my work. He’s also helps out frequently after hours, and is an all-around great guy.

He’s also great on the trampoline.

From Kelly Jardine (circa 2014)

I nominate Dan because he deserves to be recognized for his character, speed and agility. He is always available to assist others. He has a wealth of knowledge in areas I lack and he never dismisses my silly questions when trying to understand. He always gives extra effort and is quick to reply (even though I call him out on ignoring me).

Thanks for all that you do Dan!

From Unknown (I didn’t record the person’s name ☹) (circa 2013)

Dan is always willing to help out with any problem or question someone brings forward. Also, Dan is always very thankful to everyone he works with and expresses that all the time. It doesn’t hurt when he brings donuts for the whole floor either.

From Julian Rendell (circa 2012)

Dan always shows great character, and sense of community- from being SLICCE nominator of the year in 2011, to his dedication to making sure the right things end up at the right time in the right place, working, ah, just right. He treats all teams and projects, even those in other offices with the same care and attention to detail.

He combines speed and agility to ensure deliveries to customers happen on time (even outside of normal working hours), noticing patterns and pitfalls to lead to innovations that save time and frustration. His willingness to listen to both sides of an argument and synthesis even better solutions is remarkable. A case in point: he made the “production RQ4 installer” available to the Sprint Enterprise team in Vancouver, making it much easier for our developers to work with RQ4. This action has saved the enterprise team a very large number of hours, frustration and headaches.

Dan also takes great care to respect his environment, both colleagues and use of company equipment.

Finally, given all the traits and characteristics exhibited at work, I’m sure Dan very carefully balances his lifestyle to ensure his roles as parent and partner are never neglected.

From Kathy Chenglath (circa 2012)

I feel like Dan is someone that is a quiet unsung hero. Being the Nominator of the Year last year showed that he always takes the time to recognize his peers when he himself deserves recognition as well.

Dan stepped up to the plate this year to create a Dev Ops group. The purpose of the group is to create new ways to make things easier for other developers. Not only does this show innovation but it shows great character to want to help his peers so much in their day to day.

Speaking of character, Dan exudes this every time someone asks him for help. I can think of countless times where anyone on the team has asked a question that I don’t know the answer to and the first person I can think of to pose the question to is Dan. And for the most part he always knows the answer! He also always shows speed and agility every time as he usually has a response so quickly within the day. If he doesn’t know the answer, he usually knows who to point you to in order to find that answer.

All in all Dan has proven that he’s an important asset to the team that we can all count on and demonstrates the company values effortlessly :)

From Ken Konkel (circa 2011)

Dan has so many qualities that make him one of the most valuable resources on the development team. He is always thinking of others first, and always makes sure that someone else’s work gets done before his own. He’s always putting in extra time to make sure that his own tasks get done, and he’s always taking on extra tasks that the team needs! With all the work that we have been putting in for our enterprise clients, Dan has consistently stayed late to get work done on time, and make sure that all teams can continue working without interruption – this affects all RQ teams, including QA and our release team. A lot of people have sacrificed because of the deadlines we have, but Dan has been one who has continually stepped up to deliver. His work ethic and attitude are great examples for all around. Not only is he one of the hardest working fellas you’ll ever meet, but he’s also one of the nicest! He regularly brings in donuts and cookies to share with everyone, even trying out some of his own recipes on us. Dan has a passion for producing the best possible work he can, and for improving every process he touches. He is always looking for new and innovative ways to make what we do better in order to help the team. Dan is someone who we all look up to for both his character and abilities.

Fun fact

For a long while circa 2011 I was responsible for merging our various code branches during a code freeze to create new versions of our flagship product. That’s when the team made this gem 😊