In an informal survey, David Loftesness, Twitter’s former Director of Engineering, found that only one out of every 15 engineering managers received formal management training before becoming a manager. When asked which methods had been most helpful for learning to manage effectively, nearly 75% reported “trial and error,” half cited feedback from direct reports, and 40% said observing peer managers.
To help leaders ramp up new managers in their time, I’m sharing the below program from Monica Giambitto, Engineering Manager at Freeletics.
1/ Set up weekly 1:1s workshop-like with the new manager on the following topics:
- Role and difference from being an IC
- Glue Work
- Managing Up/Across + First Team
- Main Responsibilities
- People Development
- Taking Decisions
- Enabling Team by Giving Clarity (strategy, values)
- People Management & Development Deep Dive
- Managing vs Coaching
- 1:1s & Staff Meetings
- Delegation
- Feedback, Performance, Career Plan
- Hiring & Staffing
- Performance of the team
- Metrics & Productivity
- Mood & Relationships
- Staffing & Development
- Management Philosophy & Style
- Decision-making Frameworks (for prioritisation & risk de-escalation)
- Taking Care of Your Growth & Well Being
2/ Have the new manager set up 1:1s with new reports so that they alternate with those with the manager
3/ Pair the new manager with another manager (a mentor), so they attend the same meetings & team ceremonies:
- Before the meetings: spend time with them to review documents & resources, provide insights in decision-making, answer questions they might not be comfortable asking in public.
- After the meetings or at the end of the day: review the new manager’s behaviour.
- Help them build the habit of having a journal/notes to reflect.
- Phase 1: the mentor manager is still in the driving seat
- Phase 2: the mentor manager stays silent in public; it’s the new manager that speaks. Communication might happen behind the scenes via private chat. The manager actively redirects questions to the new manager.
4/ Provide the new manager with templates and tools for reviews, handoffs, goal settings. Do dry runs with them.
5/ Help them find their pillars & values to give them a compass to make decisions.
6/ Ask questions instead of giving advice immediately (coaching).
7/ Network them in the organisation by putting them in contact with others (draw a map of their connections in the org chart, find gaps).
8/ Select three books, three podcasts, a few articles to start building their library.
9/ Build a map of mentors and people the person can ask help to.
I hope this curriculum will inspire you to do a similar one internally!