Engineering Management for the Rest of Us
2022
Ratings5
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings5
Average rating3.9
A lot of Engineering Managers and leaders studied for years and years to become the best Engineer they possibly could be... and then they were promoted. It can be very tough for those of us who didn't go into Engineering with the distinct concept that we would become managers, but still want to do our best to support our teams. I wrote this book because there's so much no one told me about management that I wished I would have known. There's a lot to be purposeful about that many of us learn on the job, and worse: learn on people. This book provides some organization for collaborating with networks of people, working together towards a common purpose. There seem to be millions of articles and "how to"s on programming and only a handful of resources on Engineering Management- why? It's very tough to talk about something that involves people processes. People are non-deterministic. Working relationships are nuanced, communication is linked with individual values, motivations, power dynamics, and skills. People also have a range of experiences and emotions that are not consistent day-to-day. Hopefully, in the happiest, most productive sense. It's imperative that we as managers learn as much as we can and work on ourselves, so that our teams may enjoy a healthy working life and strong relationships. It's not just important, it's crucial that we iterate on our own skills as managers so that we can properly support everyone around us: individuals, peers, leadership, and the business. I'm sharing what I've learned- not so that you follow my concepts exactly, but rather so that you can be thoughtful about your own leadership and needs. The book goes from the macro to the micro- with topics ranging everywhere from "feedback" to "scoping down PRs". Though the book is meant to address people in management, individual contributors are welcome to read the book as well- perhaps you need to manage up and need some tools to help guide the conversation, perhaps you just want a peek at other concerns within the business- everyone is invited to the conversation.
Reviews with the most likes.
"Engineering Management for the Rest of Us" neatly packs common themes that are part of manager's everyday reality, whether that manager is a freshly minted one, or one that has years of experience.
The most appealing aspect of the book is that it focuses on situations and real world examples, presented from Sarah's own experiences and learnings. The topics described feel relatable and palpable, as if they're directly taken from your own workplace.
Sarah has done a good job of expanding the narratives by providing relevant references to other books and authors in between topics and chapters. If you're hungry for more on the touched topics, you will find that the book provides plenty of opportunities to branch out, whether it's developing habit systems or building confidence in yourself and others.
However, there are a few topics that seem to be less connected to the enginineering manager's job and more to the individual contributors. For example, Sarah focuses on Pull Requests quite a bit, even to a point of mentioning possible branch naming patterns!
All in all, "Engineering Management for the Rest of Us" is a useful read and is grounded in relatable reality.
