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Think like a Engineering Manager

Off-boarding

Members can leave the company for various reasons, and as a manager, it is important to take action. Hoping for the best is not a strategy. In the case of a low-performing member, I can kindly issue an official warning, set clear objectives for improvement, and re-evaluate the results. If there is a conflict between members, I need to be mindful and go beyond the situation to list our expectations with corresponding actions. Finally, if a member has a big chance to grow at another company, I can have an honest discussion with that member about the trade-offs.

Balance at Work

As an engineering manager, it is important to balance involvement in meetings and getting your hands dirty on some topics. The goal is to become a companion to teams. Here are my two actions to deal with the situation:
  • Dedicate time for important-but-not-urgent tasks and prioritize them daily.
  • Categorize work into four lines including management, project support, OKRs, and self-study.

Management

  • Conduct interviews
  • Evaluate candidates after interviewing
  • Conduct sharing sessions
  • Onboard new members
  • Onboard teams to projects
  • Plan resources by assigning teams to projects
  • Develop strategies for teams
  • Off-board team members

Project support

  • Review code
  • Review documents
  • Get my hand dirty on several issues

OKRs

  • Write guidelines
  • Enhance DevOps toolchain
  • Provide training sessions

Self-study

  • Read Hacker News
  • Experiment with new technologies
  • Take courses to learn new skills
  • Read books to expand my knowledge
  • Conduct research on emerging technologies


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