The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-03-06 03:17:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Camille Fournier
- ISBN：1491973897
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Managing people is difficult wherever you work， but the tech industry as a whole is pretty bad at it。 Tech companies in general lack the experience， tools， texts， and frameworks to do it well。 And the handful of books that share tips and tricks of engineering management don t explain how to supervise employees in the face of growth and change。
In this book， author Camille Fournier takes you through the stages of technical management， from mentoring interns to working with the senior staff。 You ll get actionable advice for approaching various obstacles in your path， whether you re a new manager， a mentor， or a more experienced leader looking for fresh advice。 Pick up this book and learn how to become a better manager and leader in your organization。
* Discover how to manage small teams and large/multi-level teams
* Understand how to build and bootstrap a unifying culture in teams
* Deal with people problems and learn how to mentor other managers and new leaders
* Learn how to manage yourself: avoid common pitfalls that challenge many leaders
* Obtain several practices that you can incorporate and practice along the way
In this book， author Camille Fournier takes you through the stages of technical management， from mentoring interns to working with the senior staff。 You ll get actionable advice for approaching various obstacles in your path， whether you re a new manager， a mentor， or a more experienced leader looking for fresh advice。 Pick up this book and learn how to become a better manager and leader in your organization。
* Discover how to manage small teams and large/multi-level teams
* Understand how to build and bootstrap a unifying culture in teams
* Deal with people problems and learn how to mentor other managers and new leaders
* Learn how to manage yourself: avoid common pitfalls that challenge many leaders
* Obtain several practices that you can incorporate and practice along the way
Reviews
Daniela D
，
The Manager's Path is broadly similar to 'Become an effective software engineering manager' in that both books take the reader through the two paths （people manager and technical seniority） and the different levels of what it takes to get there。 Fournier discusses a bit more the entry level roles， like internships， and the importance to have these roles for the company。 She also emphasises how critical it is to be a good manager for and spend time with interns。 I thought the approach to informat The Manager's Path is broadly similar to 'Become an effective software engineering manager' in that both books take the reader through the two paths （people manager and technical seniority） and the different levels of what it takes to get there。 Fournier discusses a bit more the entry level roles， like internships， and the importance to have these roles for the company。 She also emphasises how critical it is to be a good manager for and spend time with interns。 I thought the approach to information sharing was more clear and practical in Stanier's book， but Fournier covered a bigger range of companies。 For example， she discusses extensively the difference between CTO and VP Engineering roles， and other similar level roles， how they could be perceived depending on the size and age of the company。 She also dedicates almost a whole chapter to discussing job families and salary transparency， how to set up the bands and communicate them to your team/company， a strategy that would be quite different for an established as opposed to a younger and growing company。 Overall， the book is detailed and practical; it's useful both for founders and c-level roles， as well as for engineers who are just starting their careers。 。。。more
Daryll XD
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Not much tactical， got filler stuff
Simmoril
，
When I read books， especially non-fiction books I'm reading to pick up a particular skill， I tend to take notes as I go along。 And I probably took more notes reading Camille Fournier's book than I have just about any other book。 Although it weighs in at just over 200 pages， the information density is absolutely off the charts。The Manager's Path calls itself a 'guide'， but a more accurate term may be a 'blueprint' for becoming a great manager in the tech industry。 Camille walks the reader through When I read books， especially non-fiction books I'm reading to pick up a particular skill， I tend to take notes as I go along。 And I probably took more notes reading Camille Fournier's book than I have just about any other book。 Although it weighs in at just over 200 pages， the information density is absolutely off the charts。The Manager's Path calls itself a 'guide'， but a more accurate term may be a 'blueprint' for becoming a great manager in the tech industry。 Camille walks the reader through the various phases of an employee's career: from direct report， to manager， all the way up to CTO and VP of engineering。 Always speaking from a place of first-hand experience， she gives the reader the benefit of lessons learned from her own career development。 The detail with which dives into the relationship between a manager and their direct reports shows how deeply she has thought about this problem。While other great books on management have been written， The Manager's Path is the first book I've seen that really focuses on management at a tech company and address many of the issues that are unique to the technical industry。 Camille finds a good balance in her writing， providing the user with useful guidelines， while also being mindful of the fact that there are no silver bullets， and that every company will have its own unique requirements。 I especially enjoyed the numerous points at which she calls out common dysfunctions and pitfalls， which many readers will undoubtedly identify with。 Like many other books， she doesn't claim that any of this is easy， but rather shows how rewarding putting in the effort can be。 If you are a manager at a tech company and you aren't heeding the advice in this book， you are absolutely doing yourself a disservice。 。。。more
Ines
，
I enjoyed this book immensely， this was precisely the type of book I was searching for in technical management。 Not only it provided good technical insight as I could feel some of those words as my own and it made me realise why I think/feel some things the way I do。 I shall keep this book for future reference。。。 Along with the hundreds of highlights I made！
Yagiz Erkan
，
Definitely one of the top books that I'd recommend for new managers as well as seasoned managers who want to do a refresher。 Definitely one of the top books that I'd recommend for new managers as well as seasoned managers who want to do a refresher。 。。。more
Paul
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Be sure to read ahead about the roles beyond your current one。 This helped me gain different perspectives and better understand expectations and responsibilties。
Pablo Margreff
，
Must read for anyone seeking leadership positions in the tech field or any senior dev who usually struggle with why not always the "best solution" is the chosen one。 The book goes from how to be managed， basic management concepts to how to manage managers。----Below some of my highlights （spoiler alert）:- Great managers notice when your normal energy level changes， and will hopefully care enough to ask you about it。- The bedrock of strong teams in human connection， which leads to trust。- 。。。 sec Must read for anyone seeking leadership positions in the tech field or any senior dev who usually struggle with why not always the "best solution" is the chosen one。 The book goes from how to be managed， basic management concepts to how to manage managers。----Below some of my highlights （spoiler alert）:- Great managers notice when your normal energy level changes， and will hopefully care enough to ask you about it。- The bedrock of strong teams in human connection， which leads to trust。- 。。。 second thing to expect from your manager is feedback。- The feedback you get from your manager will be somewhat public if it's praise， and private if it's criticism。- Good managers know that delivering feedback quickly is more valuable than waiting for a convenient time to say something。- The most mundane work can turn into a source of pride when you understand how it contributes to the overall success of the company。- When that feedback comes to you， take it graciously， even when you don't agree with it。- Especially as you become more senior， remember that your manager expects you to bring solutions， not problems。- Strong managers know how to play the game at their company。- A strong engineer may make a great mentor-manager to someone early in his career， but a terrible advocate-manager for someone who is more senior。- People are not good at saying precisely what they mean。- tech lead job description 。。。 "to continue to write code， but with the added responsibilities of representing the group to management， vetting our plans for feature delivery， and dealing with a lot of the details of the project management process。- The tech lead is learning how to be a strong technical project manager， and as such， they are scaling themselves by delegating work effectively without micromanaging。- Being a tech lead is an exercise in influencing without authority。- explaining （without PowerPoint！）。 I never hesitate nowadays to take the opportunity to explain basics and motivation to senior or junior members。 It educates them without making them feel small。- Engineers who believe in the "right tool for the job" sometimes turn into process czars when they become tech leads， seeking out the right tool to solve all issues。- be careful of relying on processes to solve problems that are a result of communication or leadership gaps on your team。- How to be a great tech leader: - **Understand the architecture** - **Be a team player** - **Lead Technical Decisions**- If one universal talent separates successful leaders from the pack， it's communication skills。- Practice repeating things back to people to ensure you understand them。- It's hard to accept that "new manager" is an entry-level job with no seniority on any front， but that's the best mindset with which to start leading。- 1:1 - Weekly means that you talk frequently enough to keep the meetings short and focused。 When you meet less frequently， any missed 1-1s must be rescheduled。- But if you spend most of your time trying to get people to correct weaknesses。- Performance reviews go wrong because people aren't given time to prioritize working on them。- This will be easier if you keep notes on what has happened。- Copy of the review as they're leaving on the evening before the review。- One of the basic rules of management is the rule of no surprises。- engineering lead: the person who fills this role is expected to have a large impact on the success。 In particular， leaders in this role are capable identifying the most high-value projects and keeping their team focused。- Being a good manager isn't about having the most technical knowledge。 The work of supporting people was far more important to management success。- Humans， by and large feel good when they set small goals， and meet them regularly。- Try to stay positive and supportive of their efforts in public。- Is this an ongoing problem？ Is it something you've personally noticed？ Is this something many people on the team are struggling with？ Is there a power dynamic or potential bias at play？- The real goal here is psychological safety - that is， a team whose members are willing to take risks and make mistakes in front of one another。- We refer to these employees as "toxic" because they tend to make everyone who comes into contact with less effective。- The best thing you can do for your team， in the context of having a brilliant jerk， is to simply and openly refuse to tolerate bad behavior。 You'll want to have tight control of your own reaction because delivering this is public is walking a fine line。- You have 10 productive engineering weeks per engineer per quarter。- Be selective about what you bring to the team to estimate。- On predict teams productivity and satisfaction: - Do I know what is expected of me at work？ - Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right？ - Do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day？- On measuring health: - frequency of code releases - frequency of code check-ins - infrequency of incidents- Is your team working to its full capacity？ Are your engineers challenged and growing？ Is your product team excited by the progress you're making？- As you grow more into leadership positions， people will look to you for behavioral guidance。- people reporting to you: they should make your life easier- you don't know what you don't know- set the expectation up front that you'll hold her accountable for the team- every model of motivation， people need to feel an understanding and connection with the purpose of their work。- my job wasn't to be the smartest person in the room。 It wasn't to be "right"。 Rather， my role was to help the team make the best possible decisions and help the implement them in a sustainable and efficient way。- We don't set up systems because structure and process have inherent value。 We do it because we want to learn from our successes and our mistakes， and to share those successes and encode the lessons we learn from failures。- the number of interactions necessary to involve everybody increases geometrically with the number of participants。 This inevitably limits group participants to about five， or excludes some from the decisions。- Not everyone has to be able to do everything， but everything must be able to be done by more than one person。- On describes， the earliest startup is like driving a race car。 You're close to the ground， and you feel every move you make。 You have control， you can turn quickly， you feel like things are moving fast。 Of course， you're also at risk of crashing at any moment， but you only take yourself down as you do。 As you grow， you graduate to a commercial flight。 You're farther from the ground， and more people's lives depend on you， so you need to consider your movements more carefully， but you still fell in control and can turn the plane relatively quickly。- If you want to learn from success， make sure you can identify the actual improvement you're seeking when applying those lessons more broadly， and that you understand the context required to repeat that success。- Culture is the generally unspoken shared rules of a community。- multiple levels， from entry-level engineer to executive， broken into four categories: technical skills， getting stuff done， impact， and communication and leadership。- Great managers are masters of working through conflict。- That decisiveness is a good quality， but it can hinder you when you fail to see your interpretation of a situation is just that: an interpretation。 。。。more
Yury Kashnitsky
，
Having to choose between the expert and the management career paths ahead of me， I found listening to this book somewhat useful。 Although， it’s a bit wordy， for me， if at least a couple of ideas stick to you after reading， then it was worth it。 I found the 4 descriptions of imaginable vs。 real individual expert vs。 managerial roles very timely and thought-provoking， helping me in my important career choice。 Also， it’s good to better understand the roles of managers who are higher in hierarchy， e Having to choose between the expert and the management career paths ahead of me， I found listening to this book somewhat useful。 Although， it’s a bit wordy， for me， if at least a couple of ideas stick to you after reading， then it was worth it。 I found the 4 descriptions of imaginable vs。 real individual expert vs。 managerial roles very timely and thought-provoking， helping me in my important career choice。 Also， it’s good to better understand the roles of managers who are higher in hierarchy， e。g。 VP of engineering or CTO。 。。。more
Enrico M。 Cestari
，
Not so many words but: this is a MUST for any manager in a Tech environment。 Point。
Prem Nair
，
More than preparing you for the next level， it gives you insights on the incentives and healthy habits of people throughout the tech org。 Quite easy to digest。
Toby
，
Excellent overview of the different roles in engineering， from mentor to manager to senior leader， and how the responsibilities change。 Nothing in great depth but all is well-written and clear， providing a common language for others to understand how different types of roles interact and complement （eg deep tech expertise vs people management vs strategy）。
Diego Pacheco
，
It's not a bad book。 But for me， I honestly did not learn anything new。 However， I'm sure the book will be useful and good for beginners。 The tone is good， practical advice and good energy。 For Srs or professionals with more time in the industry， I dont think adds much。 But！ The author is good， is not bad byanymeans。 Is good。 I could easily be the wrong audience。 It's not a bad book。 But for me， I honestly did not learn anything new。 However， I'm sure the book will be useful and good for beginners。 The tone is good， practical advice and good energy。 For Srs or professionals with more time in the industry， I dont think adds much。 But！ The author is good， is not bad byanymeans。 Is good。 I could easily be the wrong audience。 。。。more
Joe Baltimore
，
This was a great resource for me to make a decision about the next chapter in my 32-year career in tech。 I have been an individual contributor for 3 decades。 The information in this excellent book helped me make my decision。I thoroughly enjoyed the level-by-level progression in the book's contents。 You start out as a mentor and you wind up as CTO at the end。 Just as it should be。If you are serious about your next steps in your tech career， and you are considering the management treadmill， then t This was a great resource for me to make a decision about the next chapter in my 32-year career in tech。 I have been an individual contributor for 3 decades。 The information in this excellent book helped me make my decision。I thoroughly enjoyed the level-by-level progression in the book's contents。 You start out as a mentor and you wind up as CTO at the end。 Just as it should be。If you are serious about your next steps in your tech career， and you are considering the management treadmill， then this book is a great resource for you。 。。。more
Charlie Harrington
，
Fantastic overview of the hero’s journey from IC to manager （and perhaps there and back again）， along with all the pitfalls and wise old sages you’ll meet along the way。 Perfectly approachable and digestible content that packs layers of understanding in a very re-readable manner。 This book’s like reading a Unix manual command for being a good manager - I just wish I could easily reference its tips in my terminal。
Tiago Butzke
，
Great for new/wannabe managers。 You will not get a lot of new information if you have some experience already。 But for sure a great reading for those who are starting or wishing to move paths。
Anthony
，
The bible for management in tech （in my opinion）。Camille did an amazing job both in accomplishing all she did in her own management career in tech as well as in carefully fleshing out her thoughts and ideas on the subject matter in this book。I highly respect her as a tech leader and an author。 Amazing read！
Evan
，
is the first management book I have ever read， although I always feel curiosity on what management is and what should a manager do。This book is well-organised to cover increasing levels of management complexity。 If you are on your career ladder of software engineering， this book provides lots of practical advice from the Individual Engineer to the Senior Executive perspective。 But even if you are not looking for a management career， the management insight from this book can help you access if y is the first management book I have ever read， although I always feel curiosity on what management is and what should a manager do。This book is well-organised to cover increasing levels of management complexity。 If you are on your career ladder of software engineering， this book provides lots of practical advice from the Individual Engineer to the Senior Executive perspective。 But even if you are not looking for a management career， the management insight from this book can help you access if you are currently working with a good manager or a terrible manager。 。。。more
Natalie Gil
，
Wonderful way to describe the way to being a manager， with great examples and profiles--so everybody can find the way easily。
Mikhail
，
Great intro to manager-team relationship and how a software engineer may navigate the career of a mentor， team lead， team manager， and senior leader。 Even for non-managers， there's enough food for thought that helps navigate the software dev world。 Great intro to manager-team relationship and how a software engineer may navigate the career of a mentor， team lead， team manager， and senior leader。 Even for non-managers， there's enough food for thought that helps navigate the software dev world。 。。。more
Viktor Lototskyi
，
I wish someone sent me this book a few years ago， so I could avoid learning some things a hard way:）。 Mandatory reading for anyone in IT who's curious。 I wish someone sent me this book a few years ago， so I could avoid learning some things a hard way:）。 Mandatory reading for anyone in IT who's curious。 。。。more
Matas
，
The book allowed me as junior engineering lead to understand paths of grows and what challanges are ahead。 Also it has valuable advices on how to react and act during difficult situations。
Kevin Yuan
，
One of the better guide to go through the tech manager career path。 Will revisit this often。
Mohit Vijay
，
Very good book。 Giving idea as Engineering Manager what you are expected to do and how you can execute this。 It gives a right justification to a technical person moving into Engineering Manager and after that Director， CTO。
Daniel Gomez Rico
，
I found this book like a code style for tech leaders， whats cool to do and what should be avoided to give value to your team。 She talks about it at multiple layers so it does not go deeper into the topics but it's really easy to read and still may give you great ideas to develop yourself as a leader。 I found this book like a code style for tech leaders， whats cool to do and what should be avoided to give value to your team。 She talks about it at multiple layers so it does not go deeper into the topics but it's really easy to read and still may give you great ideas to develop yourself as a leader。 。。。more
Maryann Bell
，
I read this book as part of a book club with my coworkers and it led to some really engaging discussions。 I appreciate how it gives a view of management from individual contributor all the way up to the “big leagues”， giving insight into every level/role。 This book is dense with helpful and interesting info and I’d recommend it to anyone looking to learn about management。Camille is also a good follow on Twitter！
Arun
，
Lot of good ideas in the book for people aspiring to grow from engineering managers to CTOs。 Had enough guidelines drawn from real world scenarios to prevent it from becoming an example of another mound generated from corpspeak。
Max Gustofson
，
Good read for new managersI’m not technical but this book was good for anyone taking on or in a leadership role。 I appreciated the breakdown of responsibilities and humility。
Romina
，
There's very few books out there that cover so much ground。 From your first senior engineering role to CTO positions， Camille provides information and insights into the different challenges and expectations while telling stories of her own career。 A must have in every manager's book shelves。 There's very few books out there that cover so much ground。 From your first senior engineering role to CTO positions， Camille provides information and insights into the different challenges and expectations while telling stories of her own career。 A must have in every manager's book shelves。 。。。more
Jason Kim
，
I like that it is concise， but it does need more explanation with more direct and actionable practical advice。 For example， the book tells the reader to find a politically astute manager， but not how。
Kaitlin
，