How Should You Decide If An Engineering Manager Role Is Right For You?
Insight
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An Individual Contributor is a person who does not manage others; if you’re a Software Engineer, you’re probably an Individual Contributor.
As you progress through your career, there will be a time where you will consider a role which requires you to manage other people, and this is how this article can help you.
A few days ago, the team from Endowus, Open Government Products, GovTech Singapore, and Carousell organized a deep dive to give you more insights about the transition from an Individual contributor to Engineering Manager.
An Engineering Manager is like an orchestrator who pulls the strings and makes sure the team performs well together
As an Engineering Manager, sense of accomplishment only comes over time, not at the end of the day
Fundamentally, if you wanna be an Engineering Manager, you have to do it to grow others
Good mentors sets you to the right path, and lets you think about the best way to do it
The job is about positioning people right and making sure that they have they need to grow and succeed
Source: Giphy
Why should you become an Engineering Manager?
When the panelists were asked why they decided to take up a management role, this is what they said.
John from Endowus
Endowus was looking to fill a management position, and John stepped up to fill the position.
Venkata from Carousell
Wanted a challenge as he believes that the hardest challenges lead to the biggest growth. He also believed that it was an exciting opportunity to learn more.
Matt from Facebook
Wanted to grow himself by learning more from senior management on how to be a better manager.
What does an Engineering Manager do?
John from Endowus
An Engineering Manager is like an orchestrator who pulls the strings and makes sure the team performs well together
Spends most of his time during every sprint on technical discussions with team members to discuss system design and documentation
Sets aside time for weekly 1-on-1 sessions with his team
1-on-1’s are important in management to find out if team members are happy with their work
This time can also be used for conflict resolution between team members
As an Engineering Manager, you cannot have a fear of someone being smarter than you
An Engineering Manager relies more on leadership skills than technical skills
Be a better human being to lead people that are better than you technically
Matt from Facebook
An Engineering Manager is like being a coach and a gardener; uplifting people and ‘watering them to grow’
An Engineering Manager uplifts the organization rather than himself
This role entails a lot of responsibility
Must have humility, the best engineers are audacious but you must put yourself back and let other people grow
The job is about positioning people right and making sure that they have they need to grow and succeed
Engineers are smart people, if they don't feel like they can grow, they WILL leave
Large chunk of time dedicated to meetings for alignment
Should you continue to be an Individual Contributor or should you become an Engineering Manager?
Venkata from Carousell
Ask yourself if you’re good at working with people
Engineering Manager is a leadership position and has more emphasis on soft skills
As an Individual Contributor, sense of accomplishment is immediate such as at the end of the day or after a sprint
As an Engineering Manager, sense of accomplishment only comes over time, not at the end of the day
Typical day includes meetings to align the team towards the goal
An Engineering Manager will always be ‘disturbed’ and dragged into meetings - it’s just a part of life. You must be okay with that.
You must have resilience to overcome situations, handle tough conversations, and deliver bad news (yikes!)
Matt from Facebook
Fundamentally, if you wanna be an Engineering Manager, you have to do it to grow others, and not be in it for yourself
Tell yourself that instead of working with code, an Engineering Manager works more with people
Build skills that you need to become an Engineering Manager even before you get the job
John from Endowus
When you develop the skills even before you become an Engineering Manager, that's how you get scouted for the job itself
Can Soft Skills be trained for engineers?
Venkata from Carousell
Soft skills can be nurtured over time by having more interactions with team members
What is the most non-obvious thing about becoming an Engineering Manager?
John from Endowus
Hiring is hard as unicorns are throwing money to talents
You have to be laser-focused on what you want to do now, instead of worrying too much about the future
Delay of gratification. The small small things add up to the big picture
Small contributions add up to a big sense of achievement
Venkata from Carousell
Solutions to problems that Individual Contributors face can usually be googled
Problems that Engineering Managers face has probably been faced by senior leaders when they were once in your shoes
Tap on their experience with mentorships, which is the most important thing
The wheel has already been invented, there’s no need to reinvent it. Ask senior managers for guidance.
How are Engineering Managers different from Product Managers?
Matt from Facebook
Engineering Managers are people managers essentially, while Product Managers are still kind of like an Individual Contributor
Individual Contributor is a functional role, Engineering Manager is more of a people role
Should Engineering Managers enforce culture, or let it develop on it’s own over time?
Do something simple and let others come on board to add their feedback
You should just give a recipe for the team to figure out it’s best approach
What makes a good engineering mentor?
Venkata from Carousell
Engineering Managers have to leave 50% of their daily time for people to ask questions
Good mentors sets you to the right path, and lets you think about the best way to do it
Synergy with your mentor is important as well, as it encourages clear communication
Empower your engineers
With that, we’ve come to the end of this sharing. Are you looking to take on a role as an Engineering Manager? Check out the latest job postings with NodeFlair Jobs!
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