Slides from my workshop at General Assembly.
Being a good engineer does not prepare you for being a good manager. In fact, it isn’t just a promotion – it is almost a completely new job. By the end of the session, each participant will have the tools needed to begin their engineering management career.
This workshop will cover at a high-level, most of the hard and soft aspects of managing an engineering team.
We will help you navigate the HR landmines and help you properly hire and (if needed) fire employees.
Learn how to motivate employees, delegate work, set proper goals and deliver successful software projects.
Participants will work collaboratively via role playing situations and solving real world challenges.
Takeaways
Learn how to:
Effectively communicate with other managers and teams in the company
Structure for proper and effective employee one-on-one meetings
Set goals and drive team direction
Navigate managing previous peers
Hire, fire, review and other HR requirements.
(These slides were converted from Keynote, please excuse some formatting issues)
5. ‣ Currently lead Engineering & Product Management at iMatchative
‣ Founded 2 startups: Hosting.com & ParkingCarma
‣ Led teams from 1 - 60 people
‣ Worked at 4 companies that were acquired
‣ Focus on Enterprise SaaS technology and products
CHRISTIAN MCCARRICK
CTO, IMATCHATIVE
5
6. ‣ What is an Engineering Manager?
‣ Skills
‣ Managing - The HR Basics
‣ Hiring
‣ Firing
‣ Being a Good People Manager
‣ Being a Good Project Manager
‣ Strategies for Working with your Boss
‣ Student Scenarios
AGENDA
6
7. ‣ Understanding of the engineering manager role
‣ Structure for proper and effective one-on-one meetings
‣ How to set goals and team direction
‣ Hiring, firing, reviews and other HR requirements
KEY TAKEAWAYS
7
11. A Gallup poll of more 1 million employed U.S.
workers concluded that the No. 1 reason people
quit their jobs is a bad boss or immediate
supervisor.
Managing an Engineering Team
13. WHAT MAKES A GOOD ENGINEERING
MANAGER
1. Amazing People Manager
2. Business-minded Strategist
3. Flawless Project Manager
4. Talented Technologist
List compiled by Kate Matsudaira (http://katemats.com)
13
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:
14. WHAT MAKES A GOOD ENGINEERING
MANAGER
14
BASICALLY BEING A
MODERN
RENAISSANCE
MAN/WOMAN
15. WHAT MAKES A GOOD ENGINEERING
MANAGER
1. Be a good coach.
2. Empower; don't micromanage.
3. Be interested in direct reports, success and well-being.
4. Don't be a sissy: Be productive and results-oriented.
5. Be a good communicator and listen to your team.
6. Help your employees with career development.
7. Have a clear vision and strategy for the team.
8. Have key technical skills so you can advise the team.
15
WHAT EMPLOYEE’S VALUED MOST
ACCORDING TO GOOGLE’S PROJECT
OXYGEN:
19. HR BASICS
1. You must enforce a zero tolerance policy on any disrespectful behavior. No Exceptions!
2. As a manager, the team will look to your example. Be a positive role model.
3. When in doubt about anything ask HR, Legal and/or your boss. Their job is to support you.
4. Treat anything your employees tell you as confidential. Do not lose their trust.
19
ABSOLUTE REQUIREMENTS
20. HR BASICS
1. Have difficult conversations as soon as possible. Waiting will only make a bad situation worse.
2. People will push and prod to discover your boundaries. Knowing when to stand back and when
to stand firm is half the battle.
3. Occasionally someone will push too far. When they do, you have to show a rough edge or you’ll
lose authority with your team.
4. It is ok to include your boss or HR in any difficult meetings.
5. Always document everything.
20
TIPS
26. HIRING - RECRUITING 26
1. Be an expert
a. Stack Overflow
b. Quora
2. Engineering Blog
3. Give Talks / Meetups
4. Hackathon
5. Open Source Tools, etc.
OUTBOUND
RECRUITING
INBOUND
RECRUITING1. Job Boards
a. LinkedIn
b. Careers 2.0
2. Recruiters
3. Cold Contacting
28. HIRING - RECRUITING
Required Skills:
• Proficient in Mac-based Photoshop, ImageReady/Fireworks, Illustrator and
Dreamweaver.
• Thorough understanding of the elements of good design, HTML production and
web process.
• Will be held accountable for the technical accuracy of their own work.
• Able to complete tasks independently and as part of a team.
• Possess effective communication of ideas/development of presentation skills.
• Ability to manage deadlines and production scheduling on numerous,
concurrent projects.
• Perform effectively in a demanding work environment and show resiliency to
stress.”
28
JOB POSTING - BAD
29. HIRING - RECRUITING
You
• Love seeing the world through someone else’s eyes and building an interface that fits their
mental model of the world.
• Are anxious to work on a variety of platforms and products (iPad, iPhone, Android, web
app, thick-client desktop, etc.)
• Can tell the story of a product or service with sharp copy and crisp imagery.
• Sketch out your ideas on paper before you dive into your prototyping tool of choice
(Photoshop, Illustrator, HTML & CSS)
• Know which details matter and how to push back and say “no.”
• Communicate your designs with developers and managers using the appropriate media
and fidelity.
• Think that copywriting is crucial to building a great UI.
• Can’t wait to see real people use your designs in usability studies — even if it makes you
grit your teeth.”
29
JOB POSTING - GOOD
30. HIRING - RECRUITING
1. First impressions count!
- Do not be late for a phone screen or interview
- Make sure to have someone properly greet people for an interview.
2. Use an application tracking system (like Greenhouse) or a Wiki to track candidates
3. Must respond extremely quickly - at every stage. < 24 hours.
4. Try informal meetings out of the office for initial meet and greets. Less pressure involved.
30
TIPS
35. HIRING - INTERVIEWING
- Make the candidate feel comfortable.
- Have an interview plan for each open position.
- Make sure different people do not ask the same questions.
- Do pair interviews.
- Have a dedicated laptop/computer hooked up to a monitor fully loaded with multiple developer
tools: Eclipse, PyCharm, Emacs, etc.
- Have the candidate work on real world problems.
35
TIPS
36. HIRING - INTERVIEWING
- Are you a US Citizen? - instead ask if they are legally allowed to work in the US
- What religion do you practice?
- How old are you?
- Do you have any children?
- Do you have any disabilities?
- Have you ever been arrested?
- Are you married?
- lots more.
36
THINGS YOU CAN NEVER ASK IN AN
INTERVIEW
38. HIRING - MAKING AN OFFER
1. Do the work upfront - Have a compensation range (stock, equity, bonus, etc.) for the job
established when you write the job description
2. Don’t blow your budget to get a deal done and don’t skew the existing comp table
3. Be creative with title, work-from-home, perks, etc.
4. Have an offer ready with 24 hours if you decide to proceed (or have an offer ready before they
leave your office if you want to be aggressive. Always Call First!
5. Yes - References are mandatory. Get peers as well as supervisor
6. Have a document with all benefits, perks and compensation fully explained. (include stock
percentages, strike price, etc.)
38
TIPS
39. HIRING - MAKING AN OFFER
- Male candidates almost always tend to negotiate for their offer
- Female candidates are much less likely to negotiate
39
NOTE ON MALE VS. FEMALE
CANDIDATES
44. HIRING - ON-BOARDING
- Include all needed confidentiality forms attached to the offer letter.
- Have all of their accounts ready to go before they start work (email, chat, wikki, git, etc.)
- Give them a reading list of things to prepare for before their first day
- Never have people start too early on their first day (10:00 works well)
- Make sure they can be productive from day one.
- Assign a “buddy” to the new employee for the first week.
- Pair-program for the first two weeks
44
ON-BOARDING STARTS THE SECOND
THEY SIGN THE OFFER
47. FIRING 47
ILLEGAL REASONS
. in harassment based on or discrimination against your “race, religious creed, color,
national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital
status, sex, age, or sexual orientation” [California Fair Employment & Housing Act; Title VII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964]
. in retaliation for your blowing the whistle on illegal or improper conduct [California Labor
Code 1102.5; California Health & Safety Code 1278.5; etc.]
. in retaliation for your taking family medical leave [California Family Rights Act; U.S. Family
Medical Leave Act]
. in retaliation for your applying for workers’ compensation for a work-related injury
[California Labor Code 132a]
. in retaliation for your union activity or participating in union investigations [National Labor
Relations Act]
. for participating in an investigation for discrimination or harassment [California Fair
Employment & Housing Act; Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964]
48. FIRING 48
LEGAL ISSUES
- Please talk to your HR and or legal department prior to letting any employee go.
- Good documentation goes a long way in mitigating an wrongful termination suit.
- So does not being a jerk!
49. FIRING 49
REASONS
- There are three main types of termination:
- For cause
- Not for cause
- Layoff
- Each type has its own specific legal nuances.
50. FIRING 50
REMEDIATION
- Performance plans
- Give feedback early and often
- The employee should not be surprised unless it is for cause.
- Working at a startup is slightly different as there are much fewer resources available
51. FIRING 51
HOW TO DO IT
The direct manager should always be the one to tell the employee!
- A second person should also always be in the room (HR, Legal, your boss, etc.)
- HR should have all the legal paperwork required by law ready to go
- The employee is entitled to their last paycheck and any/all vacation bonus payments
- Severance pay is optional (consult with your legal and HR team for your specific policy)
- In most cases the employee should leave immediately after being told
55. PEOPLE MANAGEMENT 55
GOALS
- Set both team and individual goals
- Make sure the goals are aligned with the company strategy / vision
- Make sure they are announced publicly (This makes people more accountable)
- Include professional development items as goals (attending workshops, meetups, etc.)
58. “Generally, people who think one-on-one
meetings are a bad idea have been victims of
poorly designed one-on-one meetings.” - Ben
Horowitz
Managing an Engineering Team
59. PEOPLE MANAGEMENT - ONE-ON-
ONES
59
SAME DAY AND TIME
ALWAYS DO IT
30 MINUTES AT LEAST
61. PEOPLE MANAGEMENT - ONE-ON-
ONES
1. They are NOT a status update or project meeting. Use stand-ups and weekly emails for that.
2. Get personal (ask about hobbies, family, etc.)
3. Use this time to coach
4. Work on professional development items
5. Do an ad-hoc mini performance review
6. Always try to read between the lines and watch for reactions and moods
61
WHAT TO DO
63. PEOPLE MANAGEMENT - ONE-ON-
ONES
63
⌚
FIRST PERSON: 10
MIN
SECOND PERSON:
10 MIN
1. Take turns being the employee and the
manager.
a. Person with the lower letter first
name goes first as manager
2. Perform a quick one-on-one with each
other. When you are the employee, use
real world examples from your company
STRUCTU
RE
TASK
PAIRS
67. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT LESSONS
‣ DO:
‣ Communicate the most important issues / tasks for your team
‣ Know what every engineer is working on
‣ Be the tiebreaker when teams can’t (or won’t) decide
‣ Remove yourself from being the bottleneck
‣ DON’T
‣ Don’t get bogged down in fixing bugs or coding new features
‣ Micromanage
67
68. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
BE A SH!T UMBRELLA FOR YOUR
TEAM
‣ Keep all distractions at bay
‣ Your job is to maximize the
time they stay in “the zone.”
68
75. HOW TO WORK WITH YOUR BOSS
- Over communicate. Your boss should never have to ask you status
- Require your team to give you brief weekly status updates
- use iDoneThis or 15five.com
- Give your boss weekly status updates
- Highlights from the current week and top todos for the next week
- Include any business KPIs that he/she is interested in. (every boss has their favorites)
- Be prepared to justify the ROI for all requested expenses (staff, software, etc.)
75
WHAT TO DO
81. MANAGING ENGINEERING TEAMS 81
- Engineering excellence.
- Bias towards action.
- Superior teaching skills.
- Passion and energy
- Commitment.
- Hiring prowess.
- Design and business vision
Editor's Notes
Have the class introduce themselves
Name
Company
Currently a manager (yes, No but soon)
Ask the class for ideas on why they think employees quit.
Ask the class for ideas on why they think employees quit.
Ask the class for ideas on why they think employees quit.
describe the project:
hundreds of surveys
big data approach to management by Google
And then getting out of the way!
Ask class what they think that means.
Ask the class what that means to them?
1. Especially true for male managers, which is the majority
1. Especially true for male managers, which is the majority
5 minutes
Don’t ever forget that. There is nobody else to blame but you if things go south.
Ask class who this person is? co-founder at Hubspot
tell class to look at their culture code slides - google search
your company must have an employee referral program
use social media campaigns
Tip: Have everyone in the company write down the name in order of anyone they would like to work with again. Use that list as a recruiting starting point
good examples of blogs: Etsy, AirBnB,
Ask the class for any ideas they have about recruiting
Tips, tricks, crazy things they have done
This is frightening
Tell a compelling story
let the person imagine they could be part of the company
pay money to have someone write good job descriptions
Really good example of job postings is Uber
they should not have to hunt you down for an on-site interview
explain why
How tech and companies change so rapidly ability to be flexible an learn is paramount
Ask people their current process
Should tech interview based on current needs
Setup a hadoop cluster, etc.
Talk about how for each of these questions there are other ways to find the answers.
this is not set in stone. Evaluate each person independently
I try to judge the person and offer slightly less then my target if I think they will neg. this way they feel good and I keep my budget. If I think they will not neg. I will offer the target.
Never ever take advantage of the situation. Be a part of the solution to the disparate income women face
Yes it is ok to put a time expiration on it. but do not pressure candidates with super short exploding offers < 48 hours.
5 minutes
Don’t let people get lost.
Remember when it was your first day?
Excited, nervous.
You want to make sure they have no doubts they made the right decision
Make them feel welcome
5 minutes
Just a sample of reasons where an employee cannot be fired or forced to resign
Cause - harassment, stealing, etc.
Not for cause - not meeting expectations, poor performance, etc.
layoff - you will not be replacing that persons job with someone else
Be ethical and honest
Also be direct
be fair but be firm.
The less you say the better. Most people feel uncomfortable so they talk and talk, which can get them in trouble.
remember you are not the one losing your job. Suck it up.
5 minutes
Specifically what are they?
Why are they important?
How do they match to the overall company strategy? Do you know what your company strategy is?
Be ethical and honest
Also be direct
phones away
sit up straight
listen carefully
Never miss it.
shows you do not take it seriously
I schedule mine every 2 weeks, but some people do it weekly. Monthly is toooo long.
This is how every single one-on-one should start
What’s the first thing they say? Do they deflect with humor? Is it the standard off-the-cuff answer? Or is it different? How is it different? What words did they choose and how quickly are they saying them? How long did they wait to answer? Did they even answer the question? Do you understand the answer isn’t the point, either? The content is merely a delivery vehicle for the mood and the mood sets your agenda.
5 minutes
5 minutes
Ask the class about any interesting project management stories
tell anecdote about outsource dev team that took everything very literally and when I circled an area they removed the rest of the entire page
Ask class about what they think motivates people
Ask class about what they think motivates people
Source MIT and The Federal Reserve
MS Encarta enclyopedia
vs.
Wikipedia
Must be Intrinsic and doing what matters
always show how what they are doing relates to the big picture
get their code into prod as soon and often as possible
5 minutes
Use this time to go over people’s examples they brought into the class
Use this time to go over people’s examples they brought into the class
I will leave you with some words from an Engineering Manager position at Uber.
It sums everything up nicely