Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager
- Downloads：7417
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-12-09 06:55:48
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：James Stanier
- ISBN：1680507249
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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。
Reviews
Ricardo Castelhano
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Finally， a book that feels like a field guide to the job。 If you are in your first gig as an EM， this has some really interesting tools and tips to improve your chance of success。
Mayur Sinha
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Good refresher with some solid examples。
Mariyan Tashev
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[9/10] Solid for a starter or a refresher。 It's geared towards new managers。 Practical。 [9/10] Solid for a starter or a refresher。 It's geared towards new managers。 Practical。 。。。more
F
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Great book！ A must have for new and existing managers。
Bertjan
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Depending on where you stand chunks of this book may feel a bit like stating the obvious。 However， when being a first time manager this is an extremely helpful resource to kick off and shape your work。 Very pragmatic and practical advice giving concrete ideas on how your work week could look like。 Other than that， it's written in a fun and accessible manner。 Depending on where you stand chunks of this book may feel a bit like stating the obvious。 However， when being a first time manager this is an extremely helpful resource to kick off and shape your work。 Very pragmatic and practical advice giving concrete ideas on how your work week could look like。 Other than that， it's written in a fun and accessible manner。 。。。more
Greg Rduch
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A very good handbook for those interested in / pursuing their professional growth in this area。
Varun
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One of the best books with regards to management I have read。 I believe this requires prior managerial experience to get a good grasp of the content。 Otherwise this might be like a checklist。 It is a must read for all aspiring managers / managers who are stuck in first level of management。 This gives you chance to reflect which specific skills of management you are lacking on to progress to next level in the career。For experienced managers， this is a book which tells you to be more human and the One of the best books with regards to management I have read。 I believe this requires prior managerial experience to get a good grasp of the content。 Otherwise this might be like a checklist。 It is a must read for all aspiring managers / managers who are stuck in first level of management。 This gives you chance to reflect which specific skills of management you are lacking on to progress to next level in the career。For experienced managers， this is a book which tells you to be more human and there is no need to be so serious in life。 。。。more
Michael
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It's definitely the best book of Engineering Manager that you can read。 James will walk through all steps that a person needs to know to become an Engineering Manager， even if you never executed leadership before。 It's definitely the best book of Engineering Manager that you can read。 James will walk through all steps that a person needs to know to become an Engineering Manager， even if you never executed leadership before。 。。。more
Shreyas
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A good read。 I jumped into it with zero expectations and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was at the end。The #1 thing I got out of this book was the idea of contracting。 I tried this with my team and it has been pretty successful so far。 We now refer to this on a recurring basis in our 1:1s。 You can also use this same technique to manage upwards。The #2 thing I got out of this is to always keep the 'thought bubble' over your report's head in a 1:1。 This resonated strongly with me and I r A good read。 I jumped into it with zero expectations and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was at the end。The #1 thing I got out of this book was the idea of contracting。 I tried this with my team and it has been pretty successful so far。 We now refer to this on a recurring basis in our 1:1s。 You can also use this same technique to manage upwards。The #2 thing I got out of this is to always keep the 'thought bubble' over your report's head in a 1:1。 This resonated strongly with me and I remind myself constantly when I am in a 1:1 and I am talking too much。 。。。more
Ismail Mayat
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Whether you are just starting out or already an experienced software manager this book has so many useful hints and tips。 I have already taken on board advice from chapter on more effective 1 to 1s。 The last chapter crystal ball I am going to recommend to my teenage sons to read and use the exercise to plan their futures。
Ehsan Gazar
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My manager handed me this book， and I enjoyed reading it， as simple and basic as the teaching of this book is， arranging them all together in an uncomplicated way， constructs this book so worthwhile。For one-to-ones， communication， salary， performance reviews， diversity， mentoring， remote working， and how to handle pressure， this book contains remarkable instruction。
Leonardo
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Good intro for 1st time managers。 It covers a lot of ground but doesn't dive deep。 Ideally paired with other materials to dive deeper on the topics on interest 。 Good intro for 1st time managers。 It covers a lot of ground but doesn't dive deep。 Ideally paired with other materials to dive deeper on the topics on interest 。 。。。more
سامح دعبس
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The best book I read in management that serves well the software industry。
Eugene Tararaka
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I had a chance to read all the mainstream engineering management books published in the last four years or so。 This book is the best one。 Very practical and down-to-earth。 The writing is comprehensive and easy to understand。 It's full of gems and valuable references。 I had a chance to read all the mainstream engineering management books published in the last four years or so。 This book is the best one。 Very practical and down-to-earth。 The writing is comprehensive and easy to understand。 It's full of gems and valuable references。 。。。more
Henry Wang
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Should be mandatory reading for new engineering managers in 2021。
Christie
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This book was great！ As I read it， I kept thinking， "Yeah， that's what an engineering manager should do！" over and over。 Maybe my career would have gone differently had I had more hands-on managers。 This book was great！ As I read it， I kept thinking， "Yeah， that's what an engineering manager should do！" over and over。 Maybe my career would have gone differently had I had more hands-on managers。 。。。more
Phil
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This book is essential reading for new software engineering managers or anyone considering going down the management path。 I found it incredibly useful as it's so full of actionable advice。 This book is essential reading for new software engineering managers or anyone considering going down the management path。 I found it incredibly useful as it's so full of actionable advice。 。。。more
Iva Pirincheva
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Very useful for a new dev manager。 I highly recommend。 Very good tips on how to structure one’s daily life and I don’t believe I would have lasted a day without having gone through these pieces of advice。 The only thing that bothers me is that some of the topics left me with the feeling that the author is bringing an interesting problem to the table but with somehow insufficient solutions or with very shallow solution。
Benji
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I would recommend this book to anyone interested in software engineering management， it definitely holds its own against the existing body of literature and although it repeats a lot of what has already been said it also has its own things to add to the conversation。 Personally I'll take a few of these ideas into my work （e。g。 setting aside some time for weekly reflection）。My main criticism is probably around the length of the book。 I tend to favor concise writing and am not a fan of the frequen I would recommend this book to anyone interested in software engineering management， it definitely holds its own against the existing body of literature and although it repeats a lot of what has already been said it also has its own things to add to the conversation。 Personally I'll take a few of these ideas into my work （e。g。 setting aside some time for weekly reflection）。My main criticism is probably around the length of the book。 I tend to favor concise writing and am not a fan of the frequent repetion and summaries the author uses （perhaps this works for some people though）。 I also found myself confused about who the target audience of the book was， the book states its about making the transition into line management and starts out that way， but often middle and senior management topics are covered （e。g。 there's a whole chapter on defining career frameworks）。 On the whole though， there's plenty of interesting material to engage with。（Disclosure: the author was once my VP of Engineering） 。。。more
Ollie Glass
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There are many uncredited ideas from others in this book。 It’s unpleasant to see this and incongruent with the ideas presented about developing and working well with others。 James has certainly raised his own profile and gained benefits for himself by presenting the work of others as if they were own。 But beyond his personal gain， I cannot see what this book has added to the literature or given back to others。 For the most part my impression was that the parts that were good were not original， a There are many uncredited ideas from others in this book。 It’s unpleasant to see this and incongruent with the ideas presented about developing and working well with others。 James has certainly raised his own profile and gained benefits for himself by presenting the work of others as if they were own。 But beyond his personal gain， I cannot see what this book has added to the literature or given back to others。 For the most part my impression was that the parts that were good were not original， and the parts that were original were not good。 。。。more
Matt Fehskens
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This book is great。 Absolutely hits all the topics I needed as a new manager。 I think if I had to pick a downside， it’s that the last two chapters just weren’t from me。 But they in no way take away from the excellent writing a topic coverage of the rest of the book！
Jose Reales
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https://chemaclass。es/readings/become。。。 https://chemaclass。es/readings/become。。。 。。。more
Nikolai Maksimov
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This book puts everything together， helping to think like a manager， and also having a lot of practical recipes。 I might even get a hardcopy since I keep returning to some chapters when facing the situations in real life。
Andy Polhill
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Great book， with some fresh ideas and thinking。 Easy to read with lots of nice references to the world outside of technology。
Horia
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As a person that's looking to switch towards the management track I found this book full with invaluable perspectives of what makes an effective manager， but also with down to earth advice that can lead to this effectiveness As a person that's looking to switch towards the management track I found this book full with invaluable perspectives of what makes an effective manager， but also with down to earth advice that can lead to this effectiveness 。。。more
Clemens Adolphs
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Ah what a great book， coming just at the right time in my career！This is a "management advice book" from the point of view of a software engineer who became a manager; these folks often have no formal training in management and have to figure it all out on the job。 The author covers a wide range of topics and really goes into the details rather than just giving us platitudes。 Now with a lot of the topics， you can （and should） dig a lot deeper than the author manages to do。 Just as an example， th Ah what a great book， coming just at the right time in my career！This is a "management advice book" from the point of view of a software engineer who became a manager; these folks often have no formal training in management and have to figure it all out on the job。 The author covers a wide range of topics and really goes into the details rather than just giving us platitudes。 Now with a lot of the topics， you can （and should） dig a lot deeper than the author manages to do。 Just as an example， the concept of intrinsic motivation gets brought up， and that's of course something entire books can be written about （e。g。 Drive by Daniel H。 Pink）。 Same with how to organize your tasks or how to have difficult conversations。Nevertheless， the strength of the book is its breadth and as a kicking-off point for further deep dives， once it gave you an awareness that there's something for you to learn。I also really enjoyed the human and humane view the author has。 A lot is said about the mutual respect you want to foster with your team， how life-work balance is important， and how you should strive for a diverse and inclusive work place。I'll keep recommending this book to all my colleague managers and to all my reports who consider picking the management career path。 。。。more
Alain
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Very interesting book， plenty of good how-to's to follow。If only the same would exist for consulting。 Very interesting book， plenty of good how-to's to follow。If only the same would exist for consulting。 。。。more
Dimos Raptis
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When I picked this book up， I was expecting a detailed list of things one can do to become a software engineering manager。 After reading this book， I realised it was so much more than that; the author tries to lead the reader into introspection about various things instead of just giving a plain checklist。 Depending on what you're looking for and your experience， this can be a positive or a negative thing。 I would say that book focuses more on breadth than depth。 The author covers a lot of diffe When I picked this book up， I was expecting a detailed list of things one can do to become a software engineering manager。 After reading this book， I realised it was so much more than that; the author tries to lead the reader into introspection about various things instead of just giving a plain checklist。 Depending on what you're looking for and your experience， this can be a positive or a negative thing。 I would say that book focuses more on breadth than depth。 The author covers a lot of different areas and gives a lot of references for those that want to dig deeper。 There were a lot of things I felt I knew， but this book helped me identify them as concrete concepts， put a name on them and understand them better。 Some examples are the concept of proximal development and the motivation drivers （autonomy， mastery & purpose）。 For more， you'll have to read the book！ The author seems really passionate about helping people grow and develop quality software in a sustainable way and this is transmitted to the reader throughout the book。 。。。more
Łukasz Słonina
，
Great book for IT engineers new to manager role， to those who would like to become ones and to those that are in management for some time and would like to improve in their role。 You would find many practical advices around managing IT engineers （hiring， one on ones， handling leavers， building development path）。 If you're experienced manager then probably you would not find anything new for you。 Great book for IT engineers new to manager role， to those who would like to become ones and to those that are in management for some time and would like to improve in their role。 You would find many practical advices around managing IT engineers （hiring， one on ones， handling leavers， building development path）。 If you're experienced manager then probably you would not find anything new for you。 。。。more
Daniela D
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