Kelly Vaughn

@kvlly.com

45520 Followers 567 Following

Engineering leader. modernleader.is

Your smartwatch is gaslighting you
Emma and Kelly outside in Italy
Mirror selfie of Kelly on a Pilates reformer in a blue tinged room
Photo of Kelly’s old student ID in front of an open book
Screenshot of 25-year-old Neopets account
Kelly with a coffee
Hand before surgery
Photo of Kelly at home recovering
Mirror selfie of Kelly with bandages up to her knees
Photo of post-surgery legs in compression and wraps
Mirror selfie of Kelly wearing compression garments, a white knit top, and a denim jacket with rolled up sleeves
Photo of elevated bandaged legs on a couch
What happens when AI replaces the parts of work people love? We're using AI to move faster. I'm not yet convinced we're using it to work better.
Mirror selfie of Kelly with ACE wraps on her lower legs
16 books read of 100 goal
Before/after lipedema liposuction
iPad resting on wrapped legs
Photo of Kelly in a mirror with her legs bandaged
Selfie of Kelly with a medal
Signal over noise playbook to be sent on January 1
No new invitations
1,269 LinkedIn invitations
News article title: How a bigger-looking butt could be a sneaky sign of autism and ADHD
Screenshot of event generation
Top 1% of messages sent, first 0.1% of users, 923 total chats, 15.65k messages sent, 47 images generated, 16.46k em-dashes exchanged, oct 7 chattiest day in 2025
charcuterie
Very blurry photo of a cat
Pausing to ask whether this is still a place where you can do your best work isn't disloyalty. It's self-awareness.
Burnout forced me to give up the fantasy that I could control everything if I just tried hard enough. What I gained instead was a healthier sense of agency. I can prepare, choose, and follow through, while accepting that not every outcome is mine to own.
Should engineering managers be writing code at work? The debate is exhausting for a reason.
Your team doesn't need a hero. They need a guide.
The Reset Ritual digital download preview
The question great managers ask instead of giving answers A simple shift that turns you from problem-solver to leader
Kelly with her nephew
Women for Ruining the Workplace
That’s the invisible gun of leadership — the unspoken power that comes with seniority. You don’t mean harm, but your words land heavier now.
Kelly wearing surgery slippers making a thumbs up with text reading “vein procedure # 3 of 6”
$1,145.27 of $1,000 raised for Atlanta Community Food Bank
$941 raised of $1,000 goal
Slack and Slack EMM apps
$689/1000 raised for Atlanta community food bank
$506 raised of $1,000 for Atlanta Community Food Bank
Photo of Kelly Jolson tip a probate document from Georgia
Screenshot of chatbot to practice tough conversations
YouTube screenshot of Ladybug Podcast Season 7 Episode 1: A Brief Introduction to Engineering Management
Photo of a little kid’s car parked between a truck and a sedan. A man and a young child are looking at the vehicles
Photo of Kelly with her nephew
Why AI and "helpful" tech are making us helpless
Slack emoji called :rip-Kelly:
Screenshot of affirmations app showing a 107-day streak
Kelly smiling
Screenshot of notification from "I am" app saying "Last chance! If you skip today, your streak will be gone. Don't let that happen!"
Screenshot of 3 most recent Substack posts showing an almost 10x increase in views for the most recent one
AI promised to make us more efficient. Instead, it’s making us work harder.
Sunset over the lake