Growing engineering managers: Breaking down the monolith
summary
Proposes a concrete framework that breaks management into four competency pillars — people, delivery, technical, communication — and maps them to an operating system metaphor so expectations become testable not fuzzy. Offers a rubric for promotion, recommends phased onboarding, regular 360 feedback, and watching for Dunning‑Kruger or imposter patterns. Recommends starting promoted ICs with a 3–4 person team, gives measurable signals for when to promote or remediate, and emphasizes influence beyond direct reports as a success metric.
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chapters (14)
- 0:00Introduction
- 1:46Why investing matters
- 5:17Defining competencies
- 7:04People management
- 8:49Technical delivery duties
- 10:36Communication role
- 11:41Hiring vs promoting
- 13:47Performance rubric
- 15:11Maturing influence
- 16:15Pitfalls for new managers
- 17:45Supporting and developing engineering managers
- 18:49Addressing underperformance in managers
- 19:34Practical steps to get started with growth
- 20:18Conclusion
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