The Engineering Manager's How-To Guide: A practical guide for engineering managers at tech companies

by Isabel Nyo

The Engineering Manager’s How-To Guide is written by an engineering manager (yours truly) for engineering managers. When I first became an engineering manager, I wasn’t as effective as I could have been. I’ve always been an avid reader, I’ve read many leadership books, I could recite paragraphs from Simon Sinek’s famous book, Start With Why and I could retell all the stories from Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. Don’t get me wrong, those books were totally amazing, and they helped me in being a great people manager but I wasn’t a very effective engineering manager. Looking back, I realised it was because I was missing pieces of the puzzle in engineering leadership; processes and products. I’ve got the people’s part down pat but when it came to processes and products, there was room for improvement. Therefore, I decided to write this book. The book is very targeted for engineering managers, and in this book, you won’t find generic advice like having regular 1:1’s, giving feedback, etc. Yes, those things are absolutely important, but they are not specific to an engineering manager’s role. It’s my goal to make sure this book provides a concise and actionable guide for engineering managers, the specific and niche content for engineering managers that you won’t find in other leadership and management books. This book > 200+ pages > 15+ chapters > Actionable How-to content in epub and pdf formats > Key takeaways at the end of each chapter for easy consumption Here is the table of contents. Table of Contents --- Level 1 Engineering Manager’s How-to Guide How To Transition From A Software Engineer To An Engineering Manager How To Recognise That You’re Not Ready To Be An Engineering Manager Yet How To Survive And Then Thrive  as A New Engineering Manager How To Identify Five Common Mistakes That Engineering Managers Make How To Gain Ten Essential Skills That Engineering Managers Need ** Level 2 Engineering Manager’s How-to Guide How To Understand Different Types Of Engineers How To Create Growth Opportunities For Engineers How To Measure Performance Of Your Engineering Teams How To Watch Out For The Telltale Signs Of Disengaged Engineers How To Still Be A Maker When You’re An Engineering Manager ** Level 3 Engineering Manager's How-to Guide How To Scale Your Engineering Organisation For Growth How To Build A Diverse And Inclusive Engineering Organisation How To Foster A Culture Of Innovation How To Think And Act Like A CEO ** Learn From My Experiences Four Things I Wish I Knew As The New CTO Of A Startup A Day In The Life Of A Senior Engineering Manager

130 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 10, 2021

Reviews

[Ignas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite a good intro and summary of what an Engineering Manager is. OKish book for those who either thinking about switching to a role or just want to understand what EMs are doing at their org.

Although for me it was not very useful. Some ideas to remember, some tips to try and some refreshments.