Are you ready to navigate the thrilling world of managing multiple teams? Are you prepared to transition from a hands-on coder to a strategic manager? Interested in how structured practices can enhance a startup's success? Curious about the unique challenges and responsibilities faced by senior engineering managers in technology companies? Dive into this comprehensive guide on effective management, mentorship and leadership, packed with real-life experiences and valuable insights.

The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change

Managing well is keeping those who dislike you away from those who are undecided, as Casey Stengel quipped. So, what does a good manager look like? Reflect on your own experiences. Have you had a good manager, or know what one should be like?

A good manager isn't just absent or neglectful. While being left alone might seem good compared to micromanagement or neglect, there's more to it. Great managers care about your growth, teach you skills, provide feedback, and help you navigate tough situations. They want you to succeed and will guide you on what's important.

One-on-one meetings (1-1s) are crucial for a good working relationship. These meetings aren't just for status updates but should foster human connection and provide a private space to discuss concerns. Great managers notice changes in your energy levels and care enough to ask about your life outside work.

Feedback is another essential aspect. It's not just about performance reviews. Good managers provide timely feedback, both positive and negative, to help you grow. Praise should be public to reinforce good behavior, while criticism should be private. Don't hesitate to ask for feedback on presentations or design documents.

Career growth and training are also part of a manager's role. They should help you find training opportunities and guide you through the promotion process. If you aspire to a higher role like CTO, look for mentors, build a network, and focus on honing technical and soft skills.

Being managed well also requires you to know what you want. You need to advocate for yourself, bring agendas to 1-1s, seek feedback, and ask for promotions or raises. While your manager is there to help, they can't read your mind. Take responsibility for your happiness and career direction.

Remember, your manager is human too. They'll make mistakes, get stressed, and won't always make you happy. If you consistently resent your managers, reassess your expectations or consider a different job.

Finally, choose your managers wisely. A strong manager can significantly impact your career. They should know how to navigate company politics, get you promoted, and have a strong network. Reflect on your experiences to identify what you value in a manager and look for those qualities in future opportunities.

What Can Casey Stengel Teach Us About Great Management?

Mentoring is often the first step into people management for engineers, and it usually starts informally. Engineers might find themselves guiding a new hire or intern, offering support as they navigate their initial days in a company. 

Mentoring is crucial for junior team members, helping them acclimate to the workplace culture and learn the ropes of their role. It's a mutual growth opportunity—mentors practice leadership skills while mentees gain focused support.

For interns, mentorship is pivotal in shaping their perception of the company and can impact future hiring prospects. The key is to provide them with meaningful projects that aren't urgent but are relevant. Ensuring they feel supported and valued can lead to them sharing positive experiences, thereby enhancing the company's reputation among potential hires.

New hires benefit immensely from mentorship as well. It helps them adapt more smoothly and quickly, building their network within the company. This relationship is often longer than with an intern, offering continuous support and insights into the company's culture and processes.

Effective mentoring requires listening, clear communication, and adjusting to the mentee’s needs. It’s about developing empathy and patience, essential skills for any manager. Mentoring is also a chance to break free from the 'alpha geek' mentality—a trait where one might inadvertently intimidate rather than inspire, focusing on being the smartest rather than the most supportive.

Managers should understand that mentoring is a significant responsibility and support mentors by recognizing their efforts and providing necessary resources. A well-structured mentoring program can yield better onboarding experiences and stronger professional networks.

Ultimately, mentoring is a chance to build connections and foster growth—for both the mentor and the mentee. It’s a crucial aspect of career development that enriches the workplace environment and paves the way for future leadership opportunities.

Mentoring Magic: Transforming Engineers into Masterful Managers

Camille Fournier, the author, became a tech lead unexpectedly, despite not being the most experienced person on her team. Her strengths were clear communication, prioritizing tasks, and a pragmatic approach to progress, which ultimately set Camille apart. A tech lead isn't just about technical prowess but involves leading a team, communicating with management, and ensuring project goals align with the overall strategy. 

In one memorable instance, an excellent coder struggled as a tech lead because he avoided communication and got lost in technical details. This led to poor project outcomes as he couldn't steer the team effectively. It’s a common misconception that the best coder should be the tech lead; the role demands people skills and project management.

At Rent the Runway, Camille defined the tech lead role as a set of responsibilities rather than a fixed level. This approach allows various engineers to step into the role as needed, focusing on leadership and project management. A tech lead should spend about 30% of their time coding, using their technical expertise to guide the team and coordinate with other departments.

Taking on the tech lead role requires balancing coding with managing and prioritizing tasks. For instance, Camille once halted all feature development to address technical debt, a decision that initially faced resistance. By addressing individual team members' concerns and emphasizing long-term benefits to her manager, they succeeded. This shift reduced critical alerts by 50% and doubled their deployment rate.

Being a tech lead also means learning to manage projects effectively. Camille's first complex project involved scaling a system across multiple machines and required meticulous planning, which was initially frustrating but ultimately led to success. This experience taught her the importance of breaking down tasks, managing unknowns, and communicating progress clearly.

The transition from coding to management can be daunting, but it’s crucial for career growth. If you're not ready for a tech lead role, it's okay to focus on technical skills until you are. However, at some point, embracing leadership responsibilities is necessary for senior roles.

Whether you choose to stay on the technical track or move into management, both paths require excellent communication and the ability to balance various demands. The key to being a great tech lead is understanding the system architecture, being a team player, leading technical decisions, and excelling in communication. The role is about influencing without authority, ensuring your team's productivity, and continuously learning new skills.

Are Communication Skills More Crucial Than Coding for Tech Leaders?

Congratulations! You’ve reached a level where you’re trusted to manage people. It’s a big step, but remember: being a new manager is an entry-level job in itself. Let’s dive into what that means.

First, focus on managing individuals. Your team is only as healthy as its members, and you’ll have a huge impact on each person. Start by building trust and rapport. Ask questions to understand their preferences and goals. How do they like to receive feedback—publicly or privately? What’s their preferred communication style? What excites them about their job?

Create a 30/60/90-day plan with clear goals to help new reports get up to speed. Encourage them to update onboarding documentation, which helps both you and the new hire keep track of changes and learnings.

Communicate your style and expectations clearly. Set regular 1-1 meetings to stay connected. Weekly 1-1s are a good starting point, but adjust as needed based on your interactions and the individual’s needs. Use these meetings to listen, provide feedback, and discuss career growth.

Avoid micromanagement. Trust your team to handle their responsibilities, but be there to support them. Delegation is key—guide them without taking over. Sharell’s approach with Beth is a great example: she supported Beth without overshadowing her, helping her grow confident and capable.

Cultivate a culture of continuous feedback. Regularly share both positive and corrective feedback. It helps you stay connected and makes performance reviews smoother. When it’s time for formal reviews, be thorough and fair. Use concrete examples and give balanced feedback.

Promotions are part of career growth. Understand how your company handles them and prepare your team for advancement. Identify promotion-worthy projects and support your team in taking them on.

Sometimes, you’ll need to fire underperformers. Handle it with care, giving clear feedback and documentation. If someone is stuck and can’t progress, coach them out of the team with respect, helping them find a better fit elsewhere.

Being a manager means constantly learning and adapting. Stay engaged with your team, provide consistent feedback, and support their growth. It’s a challenging but rewarding journey. Keep up the good work!

Mastering Management: Lessons from Sharell's Supportive Leadership

Managing a team involves more than just overseeing individuals; it’s about navigating a whole new set of challenges and responsibilities. As you progress in your career, you’ll need to shift from coding to identifying bottlenecks, focusing your team on high-value projects, and ensuring technical deliverables are met. 

Camille started as an informal team lead in a company without traditional managers. When she officially became a people manager, she faced the challenge of managing senior engineers who had more technical knowledge than she did. It was awkward, but with open communication and support, they navigated the transition. This experience taught her that successful management is less about technical prowess and more about supporting your team.

Engineering management is a technical discipline. Even as you move away from coding, maintaining technical credibility is crucial. Balancing management tasks with technical involvement helps you stay relevant and understand the challenges your team faces. Writing code, even if it’s just small features or bug fixes, keeps you in touch with the technical aspects of the job.

Dysfunctional teams can often be identified by missed deliverables, unhappy members, or collaboration problems. Addressing these issues involves pushing for better processes, dealing with toxic behaviors, and ensuring your team isn’t overworked. Creating a positive team environment where members feel safe to take risks and make mistakes is key.

Handling conflict effectively is crucial. Avoid relying solely on consensus for decisions, address issues promptly, and ensure your team understands the broader context of their work. Being kind and honest, rather than just nice, helps build trust and respect.

As a manager, you’ll also need to navigate advanced project management. This includes setting realistic schedules, budgeting time for sustaining engineering work, and saying no when necessary. Use the doubling rule for estimates and involve your team in the planning process without overwhelming them with constant requests for estimates.

When joining a new team, take time to understand the codebase and processes. Pair with team members on features and get involved in code reviews and releases. This builds technical credibility and helps you manage the team effectively.

Ultimately, successful management involves balancing technical involvement with leadership responsibilities, fostering a positive team environment, and handling conflicts and project planning with care and confidence.

Can You Master Engineering Management Like a Pro?

Welcome to the complex and thrilling world of managing multiple teams! In this chapter, we dive into the responsibilities and challenges faced by engineering directors, who often juggle the work of several large teams. 

As an engineering director, you're tasked with overseeing vast areas of technology, ensuring technical competence, guiding architecture and design, and maintaining smooth execution of deliverables. While you may not be writing code daily, staying hands-on through code reviews, debugging, and system support is essential to keep your technical skills sharp and show your team you're still in the trenches with them.

Transitioning from being a hands-on coder to a manager can be daunting. Many new managers miss the quick wins of coding and struggle with the slower, often intangible rewards of management. It's natural to feel nostalgic for simpler times, but focusing on your new managerial responsibilities is crucial for your team's success. Embrace time management techniques and understand the balance between urgent and important tasks to prevent feeling overwhelmed by meetings and constant demands.

Delegation is a key skill for managing multiple teams. Assess tasks based on their complexity and frequency to determine whether to delegate or handle them yourself. Teaching your team to operate independently is vital for both their growth and your ability to focus on higher-level strategies.

Managing multiple teams also means being attuned to warning signs. Sudden changes in behavior, lack of engagement, and inconsistent project progress are red flags that require your attention. Cultivating a culture of clear goals, collaboration, and efficient meetings can help prevent these issues.

As you navigate your new role, remember that patience and laziness, when applied to processes and decisions, can be virtues. Focus on what truly matters and encourage your team to work efficiently, not just harder. Set boundaries for yourself to prevent burnout and model a healthy work-life balance for your team.

Ultimately, your goal as a manager is to build resilient, purpose-driven teams aligned with the company's mission. Foster collaboration and openness to new ideas, and ensure your team's identity is rooted in the broader goals of the organization. By doing so, you'll create a high-functioning, motivated team ready to tackle any challenge.

Mastering Team Management: Engineering Directors' Guide

Managing managers is like managing multiple teams but on a larger scale. You're responsible for numerous teams and their health, setting goals, and handling more projects and people than you could alone. This role brings new challenges, especially if you're managing functions outside your expertise, like a software engineering manager overseeing operations.

The complexity can be overwhelming. Camille once emailed her leadership coach, asking, "How do I manage managers without it consuming all my time? What processes ensure proper communication and scaling?" The answer isn't straightforward. There's an additional layer of abstraction, making it easy to miss details since you're not regularly engaging with every individual developer. It's a critical growth point, requiring you to hone instincts and follow through on things that feel off, even if they seem minor.

Managing teams outside your skill set can be tricky. While you might be tempted to let them run independently, as a first-timer, you might not detect problems early enough. Regularly dive deep, even when things seem okay, to build the necessary discipline and instincts.

For instance, open-door policies are ideal but rarely effective. It takes a brave engineer to approach their boss with problems. Instead, proactively seek out issues. Skip-level meetings, where you meet with people reporting to your direct reports, are essential. They offer a different perspective on team health and dynamics, helping you detect issues early. These can be one-on-one or group meetings, like skip-level lunches, to build familiarity and trust.

Holding managers accountable is crucial. Sometimes, managers hide problems until it's too late. Accountability can be muddled in complex teams, but managers must take responsibility for their team's health and productivity. This includes addressing unstable product roadmaps, errant tech leads, or teams in constant firefighting mode. Support your managers by helping them identify problems and find solutions.

Consider the "Good Manager, Bad Manager" scenario. Marcus, the people pleaser, is loved but ineffective, failing to address underlying issues. Maria, less popular but efficient, delivers results and improves team focus. People pleasers struggle to say no, often overcommitting and underdelivering. Recognize and address these tendencies by helping them feel safer saying no and externalizing decisions.

New managers need coaching. They might have people skills but lack management experience. Spend quality time with them, guiding them through the basics, from running effective 1-1s to managing team performance. Use skip-level meetings to detect areas where they need support. First-time managers often overwork, failing to delegate old responsibilities. Help them hand off tasks and avoid becoming control freaks.

Experienced managers bring different challenges. Ensure they fit your team's culture and collaborate on differences. Inspire them to have a larger impact on strategy and direction. Encourage them to expand their network and seek additional training.

Hiring managers is tricky. Evaluate their skills and cultural fit. Role-play 1-1s and challenging situations, and check references thoroughly. Ensure they can command a room, mediate technical debates, and understand your team's technical needs.

Managing areas outside your skill set requires curiosity. Treat team members as mentors, learning about their work. Spend significant time in unfamiliar areas to avoid missing problems. Debug organizational dysfunction like you would a system issue: have a hypothesis, check data, observe, ask questions, and understand team dynamics.

In short, managing managers is a complex but rewarding challenge. It requires proactive problem-solving, holding managers accountable, and continuous learning. Whether dealing with new or experienced managers, hiring new ones, or managing outside your skill set, the key is to stay engaged, curious, and supportive.

How Do You Master the Art of Managing Managers Like a Pro?

In "The Big Leagues," senior engineering managers in technology companies face unique challenges and responsibilities. Unlike general senior managers, tech leaders must embrace change, question current practices, and evolve their organizations to keep up with rapid technological advancements. The role involves setting a clear direction, making difficult decisions with incomplete information, and creating an environment where the team can execute changes effectively.

Andy Grove's "High Output Management" outlines four key tasks for managers: information gathering, nudging, decision making, and role modeling. These tasks shape the daily activities of senior tech leaders, from CTOs to VPs of Engineering. A CTO's role varies widely depending on the company's needs and may involve strategic technical leadership, business alignment, and, sometimes, public representation of the company's technology.

One key insight is understanding that the CTO is not merely the top engineer but a strategic executive who aligns technology with business goals. The VP of Engineering, on the other hand, often focuses on execution and management, ensuring that projects are prioritized and delivered efficiently.

Effective senior leaders must also navigate changing priorities, communicate clearly, and maintain alignment with the company's evolving goals. For example, Camille Fournier shares her own experience at Rent the Runway, where she had to develop and present a comprehensive technology strategy to the board, ultimately shaping the company's future direction.

Good communication is crucial, especially when delivering bad news. Leaders should avoid impersonal messages and instead engage with their teams directly to foster trust and understanding. Additionally, working with non-technical bosses requires clear, jargon-free communication and a focus on solutions rather than problems.

Senior tech leaders must also build strong relationships with cross-functional peers, practicing first-team focus and establishing mutual trust and respect. This involves supporting one another's areas of expertise and working collaboratively to achieve the company's objectives.

Ultimately, senior tech leaders set the "True North" for their organizations, guiding principles that ensure the team adheres to high standards in production readiness, scalability, and system design. By honing their instincts and staying technically engaged, these leaders can make swift, informed decisions that drive the company forward.

In short, senior tech leadership is about balancing strategic vision with effective execution, fostering a culture of trust, and continuously evolving to meet both technological and business challenges.

Leading the Tech Frontier: Lessons from Andy Grove and Camille Fournier

As a senior engineering leader, part of your role is to shape the culture of your team. Neglecting this aspect can complicate your job significantly. At Rent the Runway, Camille had the chance to introduce structured practices to the engineering team, moving away from the unstructured startup model. Initially, many in the startup world resist structure, fearing it stifles innovation. However, reframing structure as a means of learning and transparency can help skeptics see its value.

Consider your company’s core values and how you can scale them effectively. In uncertain environments, decisiveness is key. Leaders need to pick a strategy and adapt as needed. Deciding not to decide or keeping things flexible can sometimes be advantageous in the early stages of a startup. Jo Freeman's "The Tyranny of Structurelessness" highlights that even unstructured groups need some form of organization to function effectively.

In startups, decisions range from technology frameworks to office policies. Early decisions might be revisited and changed as the company evolves. As your team grows, introducing structures becomes necessary to prevent confusion and inefficiency. On Freud’s analogy of startup leadership likens the journey from a race car to a spaceship, emphasizing the need for careful movements as you grow.

Assess your role based on the size of your team, company age, existing infrastructure, and risk tolerance. Structure should grow with the company. John Gall’s law states that complex systems evolve from simple systems that work. When failures occur, use them as opportunities to evolve your structure. While success can be misleading, analyzing failures helps identify necessary changes.

Understanding and guiding company culture is crucial. Culture is the shared, often unspoken, rules of a community. It helps teams make decisions under uncertainty. If you’re forming a new company, the early employees will shape the culture. Embrace core values to create a real community. For example, at Rent the Runway, we valued diversity and layered a learning culture on top of our core values.

In performance reviews and interviews, evaluate alignment with core values. Address values conflicts through coaching. During interviews, focus on cultural fit by discussing values explicitly, rather than relying on friendship markers, to avoid discrimination.

Creating cultural policy documents can be challenging. When Camille created a career ladder at Rent the Runway, it initially failed because it lacked detail. Involve your team in creating such documents to ensure they reflect the team's needs. Consider the relationship between career ladders and salary structures, with more levels and narrow salary bands for early-career stages.

Cross-functional teams can enhance collaboration and product development. At Rent the Runway, forming such teams led to successful projects and improved communication. However, this structure might not produce the most effective technology. Decide where to prioritize product development over system design efficiency.

Finally, developing engineering processes is essential. Think of process as risk management. Code review and outage postmortems are crucial processes. Code review should be straightforward and not overly burdensome. Outage postmortems should focus on learning rather than blaming individuals.

In conclusion, managing yourself is key to managing others. Understand your reactions and motivations. Use meditation or other practices to enhance self-awareness. Cultivate curiosity to see different perspectives and navigate challenges effectively.

Stay curious and good luck on your path!

Can Structured Practices Like Those at Rent the Runway Boost Your Startup's Innovation?

Being a good manager involves much more than just avoiding micromanagement or neglect. It's about actively caring for your team's growth, providing timely feedback, and fostering a human connection through regular one-on-one meetings. Career growth and training should also be prioritized, with managers guiding their team members through promotion processes and helping them find training opportunities. 

Mentorship plays a crucial role in personal growth and team development. Effective mentoring requires preparation, clear communication, and technical guidance, extending beyond just onboarding new hires. Avoiding the "alpha geek" mentality and recognizing mentorship as a valuable responsibility are key to successful mentoring.

Transitioning to a tech lead role involves balancing technical work with managing and prioritizing tasks. It's not just about coding but also about leading a team, communicating with management, and ensuring project goals align with the overall strategy. Embracing leadership responsibilities is crucial for career growth, and excellent communication is essential for both technical and management paths.

Managing a team means building trust and rapport, communicating expectations clearly, and avoiding micromanagement. Regular feedback, both positive and negative, helps maintain a healthy team dynamic and makes performance reviews smoother. Promotions and handling underperformers are part of career growth and should be managed with care and respect.

As you progress to managing multiple teams, delegation becomes a vital skill. Staying technically involved helps maintain credibility and understand team challenges. Recognizing warning signs and fostering a positive team environment are crucial for preventing dysfunction. Effective conflict management and advanced project planning are essential for successful management.

For senior engineering managers, balancing strategic vision with effective execution is key. Clear communication, building strong cross-functional relationships, and maintaining alignment with company goals are crucial. Setting a clear direction and making informed decisions drive the company forward.

Shaping team culture is a significant part of a senior leader's role. Introducing structured practices, understanding core values, and scaling them effectively help guide the company through growth. Cross-functional teams and well-defined processes enhance collaboration and product development, while performance reviews and cultural fit assessments ensure alignment with company values.

Overall, successful management involves continuous learning, adapting to new challenges, and fostering a culture of trust and collaboration. Balancing technical involvement with leadership responsibilities, understanding team dynamics, and effectively communicating are essential for driving both personal and team growth.

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