What Engineering Managers Should Do (and Why We Don’t) • Lena Reinhard • GOTO 2019

This presentation was recorded at GOTO Berlin 2019. #GOTOcon #GOTOber http://gotober.com Lena Reinhard - Director of Engineering at CircleCI ABSTRACT Technical leadership. Hands-on coding. Process management. Project management. Delivery. People management. Architecture decisions. Product oversight. Hiring.—With so many things on an engineering manager’s plate, is it any wonder that many great engineers flounder as engineering managers? Yet, in order to retain engineers in a competitive job market, you have to invest in building and supporting your engineering managers. Individuals don’t leave jobs or companies -- they leave managers who aren’t equipped to support them. In this talk, I will explain how our organisations currently set engineering managers up to fail, and what we need to change to help them, and their teams, succeed. I'll share personal anecdotes and examples of how I got my teams on the right track through: • Redesigning team and organisational structure • Clarifying roles and responsibilities • Outlining clear paths for growth for engineers and managers (and growth paths that don’t include management) • Rethinking how to hire engineering managers, and what to look for when [...] TIMECODES 0:00 Introduction 2:58 Challenges in engineering management 7:47 What does a human-centric approach look like? 14:23 Balancing core needs 15:52 Supporting engineers 25:30 High performing teams & human core needs 27:12 Building & improving structures 30:26 Nurturing alignment and involvement 33:09 Driving organisational change 35:48 Building frameworks: Circlecl Engineering Competency Matrix 36:34 Staying aligned and connected Read the full abstract here: https://gotober.com/2019/sessions/1047 https://twitter.com/GOTOcon https://www.linkedin.com/company/goto- https://www.instagram.com/goto_con https://www.facebook.com/GOTOConferences #HumanFactor #Leadership #TechLeadership #LenaReinhard CHANNEL MEMBERSHIP BONUS Join this channel to get early access to videos & other perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs_tLP3AiwYKwdUHpltJPuA/join Looking for a unique learning experience? Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket at https://gotopia.tech Sign up for updates and specials at https://gotopia.tech/newsletter SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL - new videos posted almost daily. https://www.youtube.com/user/GotoConferences/?sub_confirmation=1