1 Exploring the engineering manager role

 

This chapter covers

  • The basics of management and the need for it
  • Key roles and responsibilities of an engineering manager
  • The nuances of leadership versus management
  • Traits that differentiate excellent engineering managers
  • Success metrics
  • Leadership styles
Productivity is most important by engineering management rules, but enjoyment is most important for engineers. One stems from the other.
—Rob Pike

You are the new engineering manager for a team of six engineers. Each engineer is capable of completing 2 tasks per day, for a team total of 12 tasks daily. You, however, think they can do better, and you identify specific opportunities for improvement. Through streamlined code reviews, agile development, and skill-enhancing training sessions, along with cross-training between backend and frontend, the team’s productivity increases. With the changes, each developer now accomplishes three tasks a day, resulting in a 50% boost to daily output. Welcome to the world of engineering managers (EMs), the unsung heroes of organizational success!

1.1 Demystifying the EM role

1.1.1 Roles and responsibilities: The core competencies

1.1.2 Leadership versus management

1.1.3 Traits of a good engineering manager

1.2 Success metrics as an engineering manager

1.2.1 Business metrics

1.2.2 Development velocity

1.2.3 Team morale

1.2.4 Operational excellence metrics

1.3 Leadership styles

1.3.1 Autocratic

1.3.2 Democratic

1.3.3 Delegative

1.3.4 Transactional

1.3.5 Transformational

1.3.6 Servant

1.3.7 Choosing your leadership style

1.4 Stop and think: Practice questions

Summary