How to start managing managers?
Learn about managing managers, some not-obviously bad practices in engineering organizations, and their alternatives, and many more...
I was out for a week with the flu 🤒 and missed two digests last week 😞 It was quite terrible. When my wife went to the drugstore, the witty pharmacist told her, “That sounds like a serious case of a man-flu!” 😆
Anyhow I am back!
A lot of articles to go through, so read on! 🤓
The Path to Managing Managers (7 min)
I find similar struggles between senior engineers trying to find a path to get promoted to Staff Engineers and Engineering Managers struggling to get promoted to Senior Managers. There were quite a few articles in the past weeks about the first topic, but here is the first one about the second one. As the theme is quite close to my heart I am giving it three stars 🌟 The article will tell you at least how to orient yourself and what to look for when going for this promotion.
Audience: Engineering Managers
Value: Learn the best paths to managing managers
ToT Rating: ⭐⭐🌟
Leveling Up Hacks - Take A Step Back (7 min)
Many aspects of software delivery depend on communication. And communication can get derailed in so many ways. Discussions get heated, people go off-topic, they discuss too high-level concepts, not getting into details enough, or they go into too much detail without seeing the bigger picture… When you think about it it is a wonder we get anything done at all. This article will help you be the guy that keeps the team moving forward during these slowdowns.
Audience: Software Engineers
Value: Learn how to keep your team’s focus
ToT Rating: ⭐⭐
Unpopular Defaults for High-Performing Tech Organizations (4 min)
This article goes through 6 engineering organization practices that are generally popular but suboptimal as per the author. You probably observed at least a couple of these, so before going on to do another hackathon, read this one to learn a better alternative for it.
Audience: Engineering Managers
Value: Learn about good engineering organization practices
ToT Rating: ⭐⭐
Bad idea: Platforms automatically improve productivity. (2 min)
Beware of the word “platform”. It is one of those terms heavily abused in tech.
explains nicely what the platform’s purpose is - “improving productivity by reducing the cost of effort”. If the thing someone calls a “platform” is not doing that look at them suspiciously 🤔Audience: Software Engineers
Value: Learn how to scrutinize “platforms”
ToT Rating: ⭐⭐
Incremental Platforms: Monolithic Modular Architecture (5 min)
In recent years (and even through the influence of the ZIRP era end), microservice architecture has been scrutinized more and more. Some say the bottom line is don’t pull out a service into a microservice unless you need to do it. Now, to be able to postpone this decision as much as possible, you need to have a good monolith. In recent years, modular monolith (or “modulith”) has been gaining more traction, and this article shares some high-level tips on how to work with it.
Audience: Software Engineers
Value: Learn about modular monoliths
ToT Rating: ⭐⭐
7 proven mental models for engineering managers (7 min)
I like articles that give advice that will help you to change the way how you think about certain things. This is one of those and in this one
shares seven mental models you can start adopting immediately to change how your brain thinks about work.Audience: Engineering Managers
Value: Learn how to think better as an engineering manager
ToT Rating: ⭐
From Star Employee to Struggling Leader — A Simple Explanation of Your Manager's Incompetence (6 min)
This is a paid article, but the free version shares five people management skills that are very important for being a successful engineering manager. This includes knowing how to delegate, giving feedback, resolving conflicts, growing people, and creating a well-balanced team.
Audience: Engineering Managers
Value: Learn important people management skills
ToT Rating: ⭐
3 Common Reasons Your Manager Will Fail You During Promotions And How To Have A Back Up Plan (6 min)
This might sound familiar. You are doing great work, executing extremely well, communicating with all the stakeholders like a boss, but when it is time for promotions, you don’t get it. You are surprised, your manager tells you something you don’t quite understand, and you end up disappointed or even frustrated.
walks us through a few scenarios of a “missed” promotion in this one.Audience: All tech professionals
Value: Learn how your promotion can go wrong
ToT Rating: ⭐
Story of a dev who moved from Ireland to Poland QUADRUPLING their saving rate (2 min)
In this one,
presents a real-life case of an engineer who benefited financially from moving to a lower-tax country (Poland). This further supports his argument that freelance work combined with low taxes can often result in higher savings than even the most prestigious big-tech jobs.Audience: All tech professionals
Value: Learn how engineers increase their savings rates
ToT Rating: ⭐
Behaviors to Adopt as a Junior Engineer (5 min)
This is a good list of behaviors for junior engineers. If you are a junior engineer, read this one, and if you are a manager or a mentor of a junior engineer, pass them this article where
gives a great overview of important behaviors junior engineers should focus on.Audience: Junior Software Engineers
Value: Learn how to grow as a junior engineer
ToT Rating: ⭐
Marketing concepts - The Dream 100 (2 min)
In this one,
describes a marketing concept called “The Dream 100”. It is a list of 100 people or businesses that could make the most significant positive impact on your business. If you are starting a business it is probably worth it to take a few moments and make this list for your business.Audience: Enterpreneurs
Value: Learn how to identify your key business partners/customers
ToT Rating: ⭐
How TOP engineers structure their day to maximize their productivity without burnout (4 min)
There are many tips on managing your time. However, managing your energy is equally important. This article shares strategies for determining when your energy levels are high and when they dip, and how to take advantage of knowing that.
Audience: Software Engineers
Value: Learn how to manage your energy
ToT Rating: ⭐
How to develop EQ as an engineer or a manager (8 min)
In this guest article,
shares the importance of emotional intelligence for engineers and some advice on how to improve your emotional intelligence.Audience: All tech professionals
Value: Learn how to improve your emotional intelligence
ToT Rating: ⭐
That’s all for this flu! 😷
Hope you like it!
Thanks for including our "7 proven mental models for engineering managers " article.
I appreciate it, Jovan!
Thanks for the mention!