First-Time Engineering Manager Checklist

Many things change when you transition from an engineer to manager. It can feel lonely. It can feel strange, having to open up more than you did previously. It can feel overwhelming. You are now responsible for a lot of things that you may have been aware of before, and did not pay attention to. The goal for this page is to help you navigate those changes and help you be more successful in your new role.

SkillS	Challenges	Benefits
Technical Leadership Communication Problem-solving Time management Teamwork Empathy Resilience	Managing a team of technical experts Balancing technical and business priorities Dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity Coping with stress and burnout Developing and maintaining a work-life balance	Make a positive impact on the world Work with talented engineers Learn and grow Have a positive impact on your career

Introduction

What is an Engineering Manager?

Definition: A technical leader responsible for managing a team of engineers and ensuring they deliver high-quality products on time and within budget (aka capacity).

What is an Agile Team?

Definition: Agile Teams (aka Dev Teams) are cross-functional, long-lived, and organized to deliver value as easily as possible. Agile Teams’ Lean-Agile Leaders provide the vision, guidance, and autonomy necessary to foster and promote high-performing Agile teams. As a result, assigning work to individual team members is no longer required. Teams become self-directed, self-reliant, and have more autonomy, further enabling decentralized decision-making all the way to the individual contributor.

What are the challenges?

• Navigating the Human Element – People are squishy and complex. Managing individuals involves understanding the nuanced nature of human interactions. This includes hiring and onboarding, setting career development paths, and providing continuous motivation and mentorship.
• Striking a Balance Between Technical and Interpersonal Proficiency – Cultivate a dual proficiency: comprehending the technical hurdles your team confronts while effectively communicating and inspiring them to deliver.
• Master Navigating Ambiguity – You may will not have all the information you want or even need to make a decision; nevertheless, you must make choices that impact the entire team. Developing an aptitude for dealing with uncertainty is a critical skill.
• Deadline Management – Successfully steering your team through unexpected delays or intricate technical challenges is imperative to meet project timelines.
• Coping with Pressure and Stress – The demands of this role, coupled with the necessity to make decisions under duress and manage challenging situations, can lead to increased stress levels. Recognizing and implementing effective stress management techniques is vital for your well-being and effectiveness as a manager.

Becoming a successful and effective engineering manager is a lot of hard work!

Responsibilities of a new Engineering Manager

• Talent Acquisition, Development, and Management – As a manager, you play a crucial role in building a high-performing team. This involves not only identifying the right talent but also ensuring they align with the company’s objectives. While terminations are part of the job, strive to create an environment where they are infrequent, emphasizing growth and improvement.
• Strategic Planning and Execution – Develop and execute comprehensive plans tailored to your team’s business objectives. Clearly define goals and create a roadmap to attain them, including both an understanding of where the business needs the team to go and an architectural roadmap for how the team should evolve the aspects of the tech stack they are responsible for.
• Manage your budget (aka capacity) – Effectively manage your team’s budgets and ensure they have the necessary people, processes, and tools to successfully execute their projects. Be clear about specific business impacts.
• Ensure projects are completed on time and within budget – Monitor project timelines and budgets closely. Proactively identify and mitigate risks to keep projects on track. Manage the risks associated with your work by resolving, owning, accepting, or mitigating them. Escalate appropriately when needed by speaking with your manager and your Release Train Engineer (RTE).
• Provide Technical Guidance and Support – Provide leadership in technical matters. Assist team members in tackling complex challenges and ensure they are leveraging the best technologies available within the company.
• Mentorship and Coach – Foster the growth of your team members by offering guidance, constructive feedback, and opportunities for skill development. Help them progress in their careers and reach their full potential.
• Advocacy and Representation – Act as a liaison between your team and other stakeholders. Clearly articulate the team’s objectives, ensuring their needs are met and their contributions are recognized.
• Create a resilient team – Foster collaboration, humane inclusivity, open communication, shared ownership, empathy, psychological safety, continuous learning, clear goals, mentorship, and empowerment to build a resilient, determined, and creative team that communicates openly, trusts one another, and bounces back from challenges.

Engineering managers need to be able to wear many hats and be able to juggle a variety of tasks. You need to be able to be technical leaders, mentors, coaches, and project managers. A good manager knows when to wear which hat when; a great manager knows how blend them.

Just like your journey, your company is on a journey as well. It is very important for you to recognize that while neither is perfect, we are all working to make things better. As long as things are better this week, sprint, month, quarter, year, etc. than last time, we are improving and need to be diligent about continuing to do so.

Expectations

The first 90 days of a new position, especially in leadership, are essential. There are a number of expectations that you should set in their first 90 days.

• Set clear goals and expectations for yourself and your team – What do you want to achieve in your first 90 days? What do you want your team to achieve? Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (S.M.A.R.T.).
• Learn as much as you can about your team, your company, and your industry – This is the time to ask questions, observe, and learn. The more you know, the better equipped you will be to make decisions and lead your team.
• Develop your leadership skills – This is a great opportunity to learn and develop your leadership skills. Take advantage of training opportunities, read books and articles on leadership, and seek out feedback from your manager and team members.
• Set a positive tone for your team – You want your team to feel excited and motivated to work with you. Set a positive tone by being approachable, supportive, and encouraging.

Start strong by setting expectations for you, your team, and your stakeholders. Remain strong by continuing to do that. Forever.

Build relationships

The most important relationships that you should build are with your team members, your manager, and other stakeholders.

• Team members – A new manager needs to build trust and respect with their team members in order to be effective. This can be done by taking the time to get to know each team member individually, listening to their concerns, and supporting them in their work and career goals.
• Manager – You should also build a strong relationship with your manager by being open and honest about your goals and challenges, and by seeking out your manager’s advice and support.
• Other stakeholders – In addition you should also build relationships with other stakeholders, such as your Product partner and managers of other teams you will be working with. Understanding and being responsive to their needs helps you build trust and credibility.

By building strong relationships with these key stakeholders, a new manager can set themselves up for success in their new role.

Here are some specific tips for building relationships:

• Get to know your team members – Take the time to learn about your team members’ individual strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Ask them about their goals and aspirations, and listen to their concerns. 
• Be open and honest with your manager – Share your goals and challenges with your manager, and ask for their advice and support. Be receptive to feedback, and be willing to learn and grow. Ask about their communication preferences and how frequently they would like to have 1-1s with you. 
• Build trust and credibility with other stakeholders – Consistently and proactively set expectations. Be responsive to their needs, and follow through on your commitments. Be honest and transparent, and build trust by keeping your word.
  • Also, be proactive and take charge of your strengthening your network. Do this by setting up 15 minute intro calls with relevant stakeholders to share your vision and goals and learn about theirs. 

Manage your time effectively

• Set priorities – The first step to effective time management is to identify your priorities. What are the most important tasks that you need to complete each day? Once you know your priorities, you can start to plan your time accordingly. SPOILER: Understanding your priorities will be an ongoing process + conversation.
• Create a schedule – Once you know your priorities, you can create a schedule that will help you stay on track. Your schedule should include both work tasks and personal tasks. Be realistic about how much you can actually accomplish in a day, and don’t be afraid to adjust your schedule as needed.
• Delegate tasks – As a manager, you can’t do everything yourself. Learn to delegate tasks to your team members so that you can focus on the most important tasks.
• Take breaks – It’s important to take breaks throughout the day to avoid burnout. Get up and move around, or step outside for some fresh air. Taking breaks will help you stay refreshed and focused.
• Say no – One of the hardest things for new managers to learn is how to say no. You can’t say yes to every request that comes your way. Learn to say no to tasks that aren’t a priority or that you don’t have the time for. Importantly, NEVER actually say “no”. Instead, lead someone to telling themselves no by asking questions, helping them to better understand the requirements, priorities that need to change, etc. 
• Take time off to recharge – lead by example by showing your team is it ok and normal to take time off from work. Be sure to add upcoming PTO dates to your calendar and team calendar for visibility. 

Communicate effectively

There are a number of things that you can do to improve your communication skills:

• Listen carefully to your team members – One of the most important things that a manager can do is listen to your team members. This means listening to their ideas, concerns, and feedback. It also means listening to their body language, tone of voice, and other non-verbal cues.
• Be clear and concise in your communication – When communicating with your team members, ensure that your messages are clear and concise. Use simple language that is easy to understand.
• Be open to feedback – You need to be open to feedback from your team members. This means being willing to listen to their criticism and suggestions. It also means being willing to change your mind if / when you are presented with new information. 
• Build trust – One of the most important things that a manager can do is build trust with their team members. This means being honest, reliable, and trustworthy. It also means being respectful of your team members’ opinions and ideas.
• Be a role model – As a manager, you are a role model for your team members. This means that you need to set a good example in terms of your behavior and communication skills.
• Use inclusive language –
  • Always use someone’s preferred name and pronouns. 
  • When possible, use gender neutral language, such as “business person” instead of “businesswoman” or “folks” instead of “guys”
  • When talking about disabilities, use person-first language such as “person with a disability” rather than “disabled person”. 

Get organized

You have not only your own stuff to keep track of, you have your team’s work, and all the people on your team. Your organization skills will definitely level up.

• Document key processes and systems – Note down how things like code releases, production incidents, 1:1s are handled on the team. Create your own cheat sheet. Create or update your Team Agreements. Create Definitions of Ready and Done. And do it all with your team’s input and support.
• Catalog existing artifacts – Build a reference list of important docs like design docs, run-books, on-call schedule, roadmap.
• Schedule regular 1:1s – Get these booked early with direct reports. Use a shared doc to track talking points.
• Create a 30-60-90 day plan – Outline your learning, relationship building and early priority goals.
• Setup tracking systems – Use a task manager, calendar, and notes system that works for you. Capture everything.
• Automate where possible – Reduce manual work by setting up templates, shortcuts, bots as appropriate.
• Talk to your manager – Get aligned on expectations, style preferences, pet peeves.
• Evaluate existing processes – Don’t make big changes early, but note where improvements could help.

The first 90 days

30-day plan

• Learn the ropes.
  • This includes learning about the company culture, the team’s goals, and the processes that are in place.
• Meet with your team members and get to know them.
  • This will help you build relationships with them and understand their strengths and weaknesses.
• Set goals for yourself and your team.
  • These goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
• Start building your management skills.
  • This includes learning how to delegate tasks, give feedback, and resolve conflicts.

60-day plan

• Continue to learn the ropes.
  • This includes learning about new projects that the team is working on and the challenges that they are facing.
• Continue to build relationships with your team members.
  • This includes providing support and guidance to them as they work on their projects.
• Continue to set goals for yourself and your team.
  • These goals should be challenging but achievable.
• Continue to build your management skills.
  • This includes learning how to motivate your team members and create a positive work environment.

90-day plan

• Become an effective manager.
  • This includes being able to manage your team, your manager, and your peers.
• Be able to deliver results.
  • This includes meeting your team’s goals and making a positive impact on the company.
• Be able to grow and develop as a manager.
  • This includes continuing to learn and improve your skills.

Managing your team

Hire and retain top talent

You need to understand the following things about how to hire and retain top talent:

• Importance of creating a positive work environment – Top talent is attracted to companies that offer a positive work environment where employees feel supported, respected, and empowered.
• Importance of providing opportunities for career growth – People want to work for a company that offers opportunities for career growth. They want to be able to learn and develop their skills, and they want to be able to move up in the company.
• Create a culture of trust and transparency – People want to work for a company where they can trust their managers and colleagues. They want to be able to share their ideas and opinions without fear of reprisal. Enabling psychological safety is important because it is hard and valuable.
• Importance of providing a work-life balance – Top talent wants to work for a company that understands that they have lives outside of work. They need to be able to have a healthy work-life balance in order to be successful. This means that you need to have flexibility in your expectations of when and where people work by focusing on the outcomes and being mindful of the ebbs and flows of work.

Motivate and inspire your team

To implement the motivation factor in your team, you have a number of elements to consider:

• Create a positive work environment – Employees are more motivated and productive when they feel supported and respected by their managers. A positive work environment can be created by providing employees with opportunities for growth, recognition, and feedback.
• Set clear goals and expectations – To be successful and motivated, people need to know what is expected of them. Provide regular feedback on progress.
• Recognize and reward success – Make a point of recognizing and rewarding employees for their successes. This includes celebrating learning opportunities when things don’t go exactly according to plan.
• Build trust and rapport – Be open, honest, and supportive.

Develop your team members

Most want to stand still and not stay just where they are. Some folks are happiest when they find a balance that works for them and want to stay still. Your responsibility is to support folks on whatever their journey is by:

• Providing opportunities for growth – Provide employees with opportunities for training, development, and new challenges.
• Create a supportive environment – People need psychological safety from their managers in order to feel comfortable taking risks and trying new things. You should create a supportive environment where employees feel safe to share their ideas and ask for help.
• Providing feedback – You should provide regular feedback on both positive and negative aspects of employee performance; good feedback is critical for helping the team grow in the direction you need them to.
• Building trust and rapport – You should build trust and rapport with their team members by being open, honest, and supportive.

Manage conflict

Conflicts are inevitable. How you learn to navigate them will have a substantial impact on your success as a manager.

• Emotional self-control – When in a conflict, people often feel attacked, and most of the time they aren’t even aware of this. When attacked, people turn on autopilot and react differently. While our brain is wired for this, we can improve emotional self-control with practice.
• Confidence – Confidence is important in a leadership position, and you can work on building it. It can be helpful to practice public speaking, giving presentations, or leading meetings.
• Set boundaries – You need to set boundaries for yourself and your team. This means being clear about what you are and are not willing to tolerate. A Team Agreements document is very helpful with this.
• Good communication skills – Conflict is often caused by a lack of communication. It is important to be able to communicate effectively with your team members, both individually and as a group.
• Resolve conflict quickly – Conflict that is not resolved quickly can fester and lead to more serious problems. It is important to be able to address conflict head-on and resolve it in a timely manner.

Leading your team

Set a vision for your team

• Develop a set of values that reflect the company’s vision and culture.
• Evaluate your own personal preferences to see how they match the company’s vision and values.
• Identify behaviors that correspond with these values.
• Encourage and incentivize these behaviors.

Create a culture of innovation

• Empower team members – This means giving them the autonomy to make decisions within the context of the team’s area, and the resources they need to be successful.
• Create a supportive and collaborative environment – Foster a sense of trust and respect among team members. Encourage them to share ideas and collaborate with each other.
• Encourage (responsible) risk-taking – Create a safe environment where team members feel comfortable taking risks, trying new things, and asking for help.
• Celebrate success – Recognize and reward team members for their successes, big and small. This includes celebrating learning opportunities when people make mistakes.

Drive alignment

• Set clear goals and expectations – Make sure that everyone on the team understands what they are working towards and what is expected of them.
• Communicate effectively – Ensure everyone on the team is kept up-to-date on the latest information and that there is no confusion about what needs to be done.
• Create a sense of urgency – Motivate team members to work together and achieve their goals in a timely manner. We want to move quickly without rushing.
• Be transparent – Transparency means sharing the context in which a decision was made. It does NOT mean sharing all the details.

Make decisions

You will be making more decisions of a very different kind than as an IC.

• Consider the impact of their decisions on their team and the organization.
• Seek input from their team members and stakeholders.
• Make decisions based on the best available information.
• Be willing to admit when you make a mistake and learn from it. Share your learnings to help other people avoid the same mistakes.

Manage up and across

You will have more to manage, managing is in the title!

• Understanding the expectations of their manager and peers.
• Establishing clear communication channels.
• Building trust and credibility.
• Being willing to delegate and collaborate.
• Empowering their team members.

Estimating work

You are no longer just thinking about the work and estimating it, you are accountable for the estimates your team provides.

• Understand how the estimates will be received – Often, estimates are shared with a hidden set of assumptions (e.g., for dev work only, not including time for testing, deployments, etc.) and heard with a different set of assumptions (e.g., in production and ready for use). 
• How to estimate work  
  • As a note for everyone here, any estimates provided by Engineering are internal / informational / team discussions only. Any estimate shared outside of this group must come from either John or our Solutions Delivery Partner (Justin, Raj, etc.).
  • This means that it is okay to work directly with Engineers and Managers to get an initial understanding of effort and scope, however, those estimates must be reviewed and approved by someone from the Solutions Delivery team (preferred) or John before they can be used for any external discussions (i.e., SIC / AOP funding estimates).
  • The rationale is that the Solutions Delivery team’s responsibility is to account for other factors / considerations that the teams may not be aware of. The goal is to ensure alignment across functions, appropriate expectation setting, and transparency. This is not intended to reflect negatively on any estimates provided by the Engineers or Managers, their input is a critical aspect of the process