Leadership

Release Weekend, Automation, and the Value of Real Leadership

Experience deployment excellence through automation and trust—discover how great leadership, digital war rooms, and cultural investment create confident releases without stress

This is Part 3 of 7 in the Life in Porto Alegre series.

Three months into my journey at Dell, I received an invitation that meant a lot: joining the first shift of Dell’s release weekend. That might not sound like much to someone from outside our world — but it’s usually a space reserved for seasoned teams. Being included was more than an honor. It was a learning experience like few others.

Shipping Fast, With Confidence

The deployment was precise. Fast. Automated. My manager, Eduardo Mathias, had spent the weeks before guiding us through every step of what “good” looked like — not just in code, but in the release strategy. He didn’t micromanage. He coached. He trusted. That makes all the difference.

With automation in place, the deployment process was a series of confident confirmations rather than anxious guesswork. We completed our shift before most other teams had even started wrapping up.

# Example of a simplified release task
./deploy.sh --env=prod --tag=v1.3.0 --verify

Automation isn’t about writing scripts. It’s about building systems that absorb the stress and free people to think, react, and execute with precision.

Digital War Rooms: Collaboration Under Pressure

After deployment, the next phase began — we joined the digital war rooms to support other teams. The energy shifted. Now it was about helping, unblocking, and making sure everyone else could cross the finish line too. Watching leadership in action during those hours — decisions made quickly, calmly, and collectively — was inspiring.

version: "2"
services:
  app:
    image: registry.dell.com/backend:v1.3.0
    deploy:
      replicas: 3
      restart_policy:
        condition: on-failure

Why Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose Work

This weekend made it obvious how much cultural investment pays off. When managers like Mathias invest in autonomy, mastery, and purpose, the payoff is undeniable. You get teams that ship faster, with less risk, and feel energized, not drained, after a critical moment like this.

We weren’t just releasing software. We were practicing a form of craft — supported by strong leadership, a culture of excellence, and tools that didn’t get in the way.

// Example of reliable, test-covered code
public Response deployVersion(String tag) {
    if (!repository.tagExists(tag)) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Tag not found");
    }
    return deployer.deploy(tag);
}

Final Thoughts

I left that weekend feeling deeply grateful. For the inclusion, for the guidance, and for the reminder that software delivery isn’t a sprint or a marathon — it’s a relay. You pass the baton, you support your team, and you win together.

Thanks to Mathias, Cadu, Henrique, Pablo and every engineer who made that weekend not just successful — but joyful.

Let’s keep automating, collaborating, and showing what great engineering culture looks like.

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