Hello, Manager!

Hi, this is Peter with the first edition of the Professional Manager newsletter. I publish this newsletter to illustrate what decent, seasoned, professional engineering management could look like.

Do we need managers?

It is a fair question. I’ve wondered about the value a management chain adds to the success of an engineering organization. Ultimately, a manager’s job is to steer the invisible (i.e., predict and navigate possible challenges proactively, so they don’t become actual problems) and to make the team feel like the success was their own, something they realized for themselves.

Why are there so many lousy engineering managers?

We must develop many skills to become effective engineering managers (EM). Unfortunately, there is little guidance around this journey and even fewer effective coaches.

The typical journey of a budding EM is to excel at their job as an individual contributor. One day, someone comes along, taps you on the shoulder, and lets you know that now you’re an EM. Naturally, many questions come to mind after this critical tap of your shoulder.

Effective engineering management is HARD.

This newsletter is going to attempt to help you become a better manager. I will explore topics that support your journey as an EM and offer playbooks that worked for me and others in the industry.

Before we proceed, let’s acknowledge a few reasons why engineering management is not for everyone.

• The role requires a unique set of skills. Some of them have to do with engineering, and some do not.
• You need the ability to lead with trust, empathy, and authenticity.
• Becoming a manager makes you a coach, not an instant friend to your team members, not the best engineer in the room.
• Your job is to keep the company’s best interest in mind, despite your love and admiration for your team and your infinite curiosity to play around with cool tech.

About this newsletter

Ideas, thoughts, observations, playbooks, and coaching strategies described in this newsletter will all come from real-life examples from 17 years of engineering management experience in various fast-growing companies. Grounding my examples in real-life experiences helps illustrate some of the funny, heartwarming, ridiculous, tricky, and seemingly impossible situations I have had to solve as an engineering leader.

I sincerely thank you for reading my newsletter. I’m always open to your feedback. I would also love for you to share The Professional Manager with your friend!