Engineering Manager Practices | People + Tech
Engineering managers spend 70-80% on people, 20-30% on technical work. GitScrum provides visibility for leading teams without micromanaging.
10 min read
Engineering management is people plus technology. GitScrum provides visibility that helps managers support their teams without micromanaging.
Manager Role
What You Do
ENGINEERING MANAGER RESPONSIBILITIES:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ CORE AREAS: │
│ ─────────── │
│ │
│ 1. PEOPLE (40-50%) │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Hiring and onboarding ││
│ │ • One-on-ones and feedback ││
│ │ • Career development ││
│ │ • Performance management ││
│ │ • Team health and culture ││
│ │ • Coaching and mentoring ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ 2. DELIVERY (30-40%) │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Removing blockers ││
│ │ • Sprint health ││
│ │ • Process improvement ││
│ │ • Cross-team coordination ││
│ │ • Stakeholder communication ││
│ │ • Capacity planning ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ 3. TECHNICAL (10-20%) │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Architecture guidance ││
│ │ • Technical decisions ││
│ │ • Code review (occasional) ││
│ │ • Tech debt prioritization ││
│ │ • Staying current ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ SUCCESS = │
│ Team delivers + Team grows + Team is healthy │
│ │
│ NOT: │
│ You writing code + You making all decisions │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
One-on-Ones
Effective 1:1s
ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ PURPOSE: │
│ ──────── │
│ Their time, not yours │
│ Focus on THEM: concerns, growth, blockers │
│ Not: Status updates (that's for standup) │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ STRUCTURE: │
│ ────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ FREQUENCY: Weekly or biweekly, 30-60 min ││
│ │ LOCATION: Comfortable, private ││
│ │ ││
│ │ AGENDA (they drive): ││
│ │ "What would you like to discuss?" ││
│ │ ││
│ │ IF THEY DON'T HAVE TOPICS: ││
│ │ • How are you feeling about work? ││
│ │ • Any blockers I can help with? ││
│ │ • What's going well? Not well? ││
│ │ • Career: Where do you want to be in 1 year? ││
│ │ • Feedback for me? ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ GOOD 1:1: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ ✅ They talk 70%+ ││
│ │ ✅ You listen actively ││
│ │ ✅ Follow up on previous action items ││
│ │ ✅ Mix of immediate and long-term topics ││
│ │ ✅ Ends with clear next steps ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ BAD 1:1: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ ❌ You talk 70%+ ││
│ │ ❌ Status updates only ││
│ │ ❌ Frequently cancelled ││
│ │ ❌ No follow-through ││
│ │ ❌ Only when there's a problem ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Team Health
Monitoring Without Micromanaging
TRACKING TEAM HEALTH:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ SIGNALS TO WATCH: │
│ ───────────────── │
│ │
│ POSITIVE SIGNALS: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ ✅ Team helping each other without being asked ││
│ │ ✅ Healthy debate in meetings ││
│ │ ✅ People taking initiative ││
│ │ ✅ Honest in retros ││
│ │ ✅ Meeting commitments ││
│ │ ✅ Enjoying their work (at least sometimes) ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ WARNING SIGNALS: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ ⚠️ Increased sick days ││
│ │ ⚠️ Silence in retros ││
│ │ ⚠️ Working excessive hours ││
│ │ ⚠️ Avoiding collaboration ││
│ │ ⚠️ Complaining to you, not each other ││
│ │ ⚠️ Quality dropping ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ HOW TO MONITOR (Without micromanaging): │
│ ──────────────────────────────────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ ✅ DO: ││
│ │ • Regular 1:1s ││
│ │ • Attend (some) standups and retros ││
│ │ • Ask "How can I help?" ││
│ │ • Watch team interactions ││
│ │ • Trust them to come to you ││
│ │ ││
│ │ ❌ DON'T: ││
│ │ • Track hours worked ││
│ │ • Require constant updates ││
│ │ • Attend every meeting ││
│ │ • Second-guess every decision ││
│ │ • Solve problems they can solve ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Growing Engineers
Career Development
DEVELOPING YOUR TEAM:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ CAREER CONVERSATIONS: │
│ ───────────────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ QUARTERLY CHECK-IN: ││
│ │ ││
│ │ • Where do you want to be in 1-2 years? ││
│ │ • What skills do you want to develop? ││
│ │ • What experiences are you looking for? ││
│ │ • How can I help? ││
│ │ ││
│ │ Then: Match opportunities to goals ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ FOR TECHNICAL GROWTH: ││
│ │ • Challenging technical projects ││
│ │ • Pair with senior engineers ││
│ │ • Conference/training budget ││
│ │ • Tech talks and brown bags ││
│ │ ││
│ │ FOR LEADERSHIP GROWTH: ││
│ │ • Lead a project or initiative ││
│ │ • Mentor junior engineers ││
│ │ • Present to stakeholders ││
│ │ • Run retros or planning sessions ││
│ │ ││
│ │ FOR BREADTH: ││
│ │ • Cross-team collaboration ││
│ │ • Rotation to different areas ││
│ │ • Customer interaction ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ STRETCH ASSIGNMENTS: │
│ ──────────────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Find work that's: ││
│ │ • Slightly beyond current ability ││
│ │ • Important (not make-work) ││
│ │ • Supported (help available) ││
│ │ • Safe to struggle (failure okay) ││
│ │ ││
│ │ "I think you're ready for this. I'll support you." ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Giving Feedback
Effective Feedback
FEEDBACK PRACTICES:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ TIMING: │
│ ─────── │
│ Praise: Public is fine │
│ Constructive: Private, soon after event │
│ Don't save feedback for annual review │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ STRUCTURE: │
│ ────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ SBI MODEL: ││
│ │ ││
│ │ SITUATION: "In yesterday's design review..." ││
│ │ BEHAVIOR: "You interrupted Jordan twice..." ││
│ │ IMPACT: "It made it hard to hear their ideas..." ││
│ │ ││
│ │ Then: "What do you think?" (let them respond) ││
│ │ ││
│ │ Specific, not general ││
│ │ Behavior, not personality ││
│ │ Impact, not judgment ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ POSITIVE FEEDBACK: │
│ ────────────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ ❌ "Good job!" ││
│ │ (Too vague - what specifically?) ││
│ │ ││
│ │ ✅ "The way you broke down that complex problem in ││
│ │ the design doc made it much easier for everyone ││
│ │ to understand. That's exactly the clarity we ││
│ │ need for these decisions." ││
│ │ ││
│ │ Specific praise reinforces good behavior ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS: │
│ ──────────────────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Don't delay (makes it worse) ││
│ │ • Be direct but kind ││
│ │ • Focus on specific behaviors ││
│ │ • Listen to their perspective ││
│ │ • Agree on next steps ││
│ │ • Follow up ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Removing Blockers
Unblocking Your Team
BLOCKER REMOVAL:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ TYPES OF BLOCKERS: │
│ ────────────────── │
│ │
│ ORGANIZATIONAL: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Cross-team dependencies ││
│ │ • Unclear requirements ││
│ │ • Access/permissions ││
│ │ • Slow approvals ││
│ │ ││
│ │ YOUR JOB: Navigate org, escalate, negotiate ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ TECHNICAL: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Stuck on hard problem ││
│ │ • Need expertise they don't have ││
│ │ • Infrastructure issues ││
│ │ ││
│ │ YOUR JOB: Connect to experts, authorize resources ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ PEOPLE: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Conflict between team members ││
│ │ • Communication breakdown ││
│ │ • Personal issues affecting work ││
│ │ ││
│ │ YOUR JOB: Mediate, coach, accommodate ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ HOW TO HELP: │
│ ──────────── │
│ 1. Ask "What's in your way?" │
│ 2. Understand the blocker fully │
│ 3. Determine if YOU need to act or THEY can │
│ 4. If you: Take action immediately │
│ 5. If they: Coach them through it │
│ 6. Follow up until resolved │
│ │
│ Don't solve problems they can solve │
│ DO solve problems they can't │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Managing Up
Stakeholder Management
MANAGING UP AND ACROSS:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ YOUR BOSS: │
│ ────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ KEEP THEM INFORMED: ││
│ │ • Team status (high level) ││
│ │ • Risks and blockers ││
│ │ • Wins and recognition ││
│ │ • Your needs ││
│ │ ││
│ │ DON'T: ││
│ │ • Surprise them with bad news ││
│ │ • Wait until it's a crisis ││
│ │ • Hide problems ││
│ │ ││
│ │ "No surprises" builds trust ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ PEER MANAGERS: │
│ ────────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ BUILD RELATIONSHIPS: ││
│ │ • Regular check-ins ││
│ │ • Share learnings ││
│ │ • Coordinate on shared work ││
│ │ • Help each other succeed ││
│ │ ││
│ │ Good peer relationships = easier cross-team work ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ STAKEHOLDERS: │
│ ───────────── │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ MANAGE EXPECTATIONS: ││
│ │ • Clear on what team can/can't do ││
│ │ • Transparent on timelines ││
│ │ • Proactive communication ││
│ │ ││
│ │ Under-promise, over-deliver ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ YOUR VALUE: Shield team from chaos, not hide it │
│ Give context, protect focus time, represent them │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘