What Engineering Managers Should Do (and Why We Don’t)

GOTO Berlin 2019

Technical leadership. Hands-on coding. Process management. Project management. Delivery. People management. Architecture decisions. Product oversight. Hiring.—With so many things on an engineering manager’s plate, is it any wonder that many great engineers flounder as engineering managers?

Yet, in order to retain engineers in a competitive job market, you have to invest in building and supporting your engineering managers. Individuals don’t leave jobs or companies -- they leave managers who aren’t equipped to support them.

In this talk, I will explain how our organisations currently set engineering managers up to fail, and what we need to change to help them, and their teams, succeed. I'll share personal anecdotes and examples of how I got my teams on the right track through:

• Redesigning team and organisational structure
• Clarifying roles and responsibilities
• Outlining clear paths for growth for engineers and managers (and growth paths that don’t include management)
• Rethinking how to hire engineering managers, and what to look for when you are looking for leaders of technical teams

What will the audience learn from this talk?
You will leave with a clearer understanding of what progressive, people-centric engineering management should look like, how to establish it in your organisation, and how rethinking your approach to engineering management will help your engineering teams thrive.

Does it feature code examples and/or live coding?
No

Prerequisite attendee experience level:
Level 100- 200