Engineering Manager

Coaching Before Radical Candor

This article discusses the author's experience with managing a team of PMs, and how they failed to meet their deadline due to lack of feedback. The author then took action by providing feedback on the spot, publicly explaining the consequences of underperformance, and shifting their mindset to become more proactive. The article also highlights the importance of challenging the status quo, being responsible for the team as a whole, and investing in emotional intelligence.

Is Management the Right Path for You

This article discusses the importance of understanding where one's energy comes from when considering a management career. The author recommends reflecting on past accomplishments and experiences to determine what brings energy and what takes it away. They also suggest trying both the technical and people routes to see which is the best fit and to be aware of the expectations of the role. Finally, they emphasize the importance of developing skills regardless of the career path chosen.

Taking a Leap of Faith: My Career Path

This is the story of a woman who graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (CSE) degree in India and started her career at Accenture. After feeling unsatisfied with her consultant projects, she decided to take a leap of faith and search for opportunities. She ended up at HP Labs and was offered to present in international conferences if she did well in her day-to-day work. She worked on a product that would allow connectivity without the Internet in developing countries and presented it in multiple international conferences. She then went to the University of Pittsburgh to do her Master’s and worked on transfer rule learning and biomarkers discovery research. Despite facing challenges from her family and visa issues, she kept learning and eventually found success in the AI field. Her lessons learned include challenging yourself, finding the balance between going deeper into one field and going broader, and keeping your hunger for knowledge alive.

The Power of Introspection in Career Growth

This story is about an engineer who was disappointed to not be promoted to a technical lead manager (TLM) position. The company had announced the names of the people who received the TLM positions and celebrated their accomplishments. The engineer expressed his belief that he was a better candidate for the position due to his previous technical lead position and longer tenure with the company. The leader listened to the engineer's concerns and helped him become more self-aware and focus on what he had control over. They discussed the expectations of a TLM and the engineer's strengths and weaknesses. The leader also provided guidance on choosing the right career path and set aside time each month to discuss career paths and goals. The leader learned the importance of listening to employees, providing honest feedback, and celebrating each other's successes.

Hiring En Masse

When hiring a large number of people, it is beneficial to look for existing teams that are looking for a new opportunity, such as those from companies that are going out of business or pivoting to a different sector. Keeping an eye on these opportunities, acting fast, and having an informal meeting with the whole group can help to build relationships and create a unified team. Communication and honest feedback are key to success, and it is important to remember that hiring a group of technically gifted people does not automatically make a good team.

Managing vs. Contributing as an IC: The Train/Canoe Mindset

A former manager shared their thoughts on the differences between working as an individual contributor (IC) and a manager. They used the analogy of train work and canoe work to explain the differences. Train work requires a lot of work to get the train moving, but it can take people far. Canoe work is done alone and can get going quickly, but will never reach the same speed as the train. When considering a career in management, it is important to remember that the day-to-day will be different and to consider one's motivation. Canoe work is energizing and allows for craftsmanship, while train work requires a more deliberate way of thinking and takes longer to see the results.