Reading List for Managers

Reading material for the modern engineering manager. Writing stuff down as I coach new EMs and TLs. WIP.

Year 1 #

Read with skepticism, and an eye towards adaptation.

The Manager’s Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change by Camille Fournier
- Chapter 1: what to expect from a manager
- Chapters 3, 4, 5
The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo
- Contains useful rituals that you can use to start.
Life Labs: Hybrid & Remote Work Playbook (Part II)
- Contains very concrete practical tips on managing a hybrid/remote team.
- This worked well for me: “Rotate meeting facilitators for optimal visibility and conversational turn-taking.”
Multipliers by Liz Wiseman
- Chapters 3 ~ 7
- Cheat Sheet: https://twitter.com/lizwiseman/status/1237491120193409025
Managers Playbook on GitHub by Kamil Sindi
- Sometimes, you just need actionable advice.

What’s the role of a manager? In what ways are you adding value, and how does that differ from the ways you were adding value as an IC?
How are you getting your sense/feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment? What are some new sources you should acquire, and what are some sources that you should let go of?
- These former sources of dopamine are holding you back.
How are you receiving feedback? Are you getting enough of it?
In what ways are you adding value to the team, and how has that changed over the past year?
What new (personal) systems/habits do you need to create? What old systems/habits do you need to sunset?

Read and critique.

There is also classic SCARF, but idk I found that too “fluffy”. This is more concrete.

In your current management style, where are you on the spectrum between autonomy and alignment? What level of detail do you need?
What information flows are you missing? What information flows are obsolete?
How do you know you are good? How do you know your team is good?

(Probably more content on stakeholder mgmt, and shift focus away from team mgmt.)

Read, reflect, and adapt.

Team Topologies
- Chapter 4, 5 - describes shape and expectations for different types of teams (esp. platform/infrastructure)
Good Strategy/Bad Strategy
- TBD specific chapters
That OKR book - what was it called again?
The Leadership Pipeline
- Chapter 2: From Managing Self to Managing Others