E-Book Overview
Software startups make global headlines every day. As technology companies succeed and grow, so do their engineering departments. In your career, you'll may suddenly get the opportunity to lead teams: to become a manager. But this is often uncharted territory. How can you decide whether this career move is right for you? And if you do, what do you need to learn to succeed? Where do you start? How do you know that you're doing it right? What does "it" even mean? And isn't management a dirty word? This book will share the secrets you need to know to manage engineers successfully. Going from engineer to manager doesn't have to be intimidating. Engineers can be managers, and fantastic ones at that. Cast aside the rhetoric and focus on practical, hands-on techniques and tools. You'll become an effective and supportive team leader that your staff will look up to. Start with your transition to being a manager and see how that compares to being an engineer. Learn how to better organize information, feel productive, and delegate, but not micromanage. Discover how to manage your own boss, hire and fire, do performance and salary reviews, and build a great team. You'll also learn the psychology: how to ship while keeping staff happy, coach and mentor, deal with deadline pressure, handle sensitive information, and navigate workplace politics. Consider your whole department. How can you work with other teams to ensure best practice? How do you help form guilds and committees and communicate effectively? How can you create career tracks for individual contributors and managers? How can you support flexible and remote working? How can you improve diversity in the industry through your own actions? This book will show you how. Great managers can make the world a better place. Join us.
E-Book Content
Early Praise for Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager James’s book will be at the top of my mind when I start a product company. The content is not just for software engineering managers—technical leaders, CTOs, and managers will all benefit from practical advice that helps them be successful with the people they manage and work with. ➤ Stephen Bussey Author of Real-Time Phoenix; Software Architect, SalesLoft I am really grateful that finally a book exists on how to be a good technical manager, with engineering-level clear instructions. This book is the only reason I have survived my first two months on the job. I followed its advice on hiring, running one-to-ones, and most importantly, managing my own time. We hired some amazing people, and the hires and my sanity are still here—so this book must be teaching me something right. ➤ Lev Konstantinovskiy Data Science Team Lead, Trading Firm This is a book I wish every engineering manager read before they stepped into the role. Bite-sized pieces of advice on engineering management that you would expect from a Pragmatic Publishers book. ➤ Patrick Kua Founder, Patkua.com There still are very few books written by hands-on engineering managers working at tech companies on how to succeed in this kind of environment. This book is exactly that. The stories are relatable, the takeaways well articulated, and the exercises will help readers become better managers. It’s the book I’ll be recommending to new managers transitioning into the role, managers starting at a new company, and experienced managers looking to make an organization-wide impact. ➤ Gergely Orosz Engineering Manager, Uber James comes across as a sincere author who writes from his experience in management, and it shows in his writing. ➤ Chris Dudley Engineer, Brandwatch Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager How to Be the Leader Your Development Team Needs James Stanier The Pragmatic Bookshelf Raleigh, North Carolina Many of the designations used by