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Engineering Manager Practices
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 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘