Engineering managers are essential not just to keep a company’s projects and products on task, they’re vital for creating an environment that people want to work in. Especially as LinkedIn found that engineering is one of the most sought-after job functions that also has one of the highest turnover rates — 11.5% vs. the overall average of 10.6%.
Good management requires leadership, but not every great engineer makes a great leader. To lead a team of engineers, you’ll need to understand leadership best practices, which includes monitoring a project’s details, having a vision of the larger goals and objectives and providing guidance and support for the people you manage.
According to statistics gathered by Zippia, only 10% of the population have the talent to be natural leaders. However, another 20% do have the traits to become great leaders if they have the right training and guidance. If you’re interested in how to lead an engineering team, read on for the skills and practices that every effective engineering manager should understand.
Why Is Engineering Management Important?
Good leadership is essential for a company’s growth and performance. Analysis from Zippia has found that 79% of employees will quit due to lack of appreciation. At the same time, the companies that report high levels of employee engagement have been found to increase their profitability by 22%.
The main benefit of having effective leadership is the ability for engineering teams to finish projects and develop products on-time and within budget. However, aside from the work itself, there are other elements of engineering management that contribute to the long-term success and growth of an organization.
Effective engineering management:
- Helps to support the continual growth of engineers’ skills and increases their confidence in their work, which helps to boost their engagement
- Provides a sense of purpose and direction for the team while working on a project, keeping them aligned with larger goals and company vision
- Ensures that working conditions follow standard safety and operation rules, which is important for maintaining the physical and mental well-being of employees
- Creates a space for engineers to ask questions and express their thoughts about projects, allowing them to feel heard and provide important feedback for managers
Challenges Facing Today’s Engineering Managers
So what makes leadership so challenging? Like any other talent, some of us are naturally inclined toward the skills and behaviors that we value in good leaders. The rest of us need to educate ourselves and not only train positive habits, but work to overcome internal challenges such as lack of confidence, fear of failure, resistance to new ideas or imposter syndrome.
Today’s engineering managers also face a host of unique challenges that rise from shifts within industries, the workforce and developing technologies:
- We’re facing an unprecedented level of digital disruption across all industries, but especially in information technology, engineering and construction. Engineering leaders need to be able to stay on top of changes and disruptions and keep their credentials up to date — or risk falling behind competitors.
- Remote and hybrid work are now an accepted part of post-pandemic work culture, which means engineering managers need to understand how to lead distributed teams across a variety of environments.
- The disparate nature of teams means they are also more global, with team members coming from a variety of countries and cultures. As a result, leaders not only need to account for language barriers, but cultural differences as well — such as how to provide feedback and critique in a positive manner.
- We’re also experiencing a greater multi-generational pool of employees, with baby boomers still comprising up to 25% of the workforce, Gen X comprising 33%, millennials at 35% and Gen Z just starting at 5%. Managers need to understand how to communicate across different generations, and foster collaboration between different age groups that have different approaches to tools, technology and even workplace etiquette.
- Effective leaders need to know how to promote and support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. For example, while women have surpassed men in college completion rates, the percentage of women in engineering still lags behind other industries, to the extent that fewer than 15% of the engineering workforce in the U.S. are women. DEI initiatives are essential to ensure that engineering works for all people and effective leadership is needed to ensure that these initiatives are part of the workplace.
What Skills Are Needed to Be a Successful Engineering Team Manager?
The skills needed to overcome today’s challenges and to effectively lead an engineering team are similar to what you’d expect in most management positions — with some specifics unique to the engineering field.
- Project management. The engineering manager’s main responsibilities all tie into overseeing projects. They need to be able to plan milestones, set timelines and deadlines, allocate resources and shift priorities as needed to ensure successful completion.
- Technical acumen. While managers don’t have to be the best technical expert on a team, they do need to keep their technical skills updated. Having a background in engineering is important for understanding which programs and tools to use as well as to provide guidance and troubleshooting advice when needed.
- Time management. Good time management goes beyond planning projects and extends to all areas of the workplace. Regular meetings and check-ins are important, but shouldn’t monopolize a team’s time — making regular adjustments to find the right balance is essential.
- Communication. Just as engineering team members need to know what is expected of them, upper management and non-technical stakeholders need to understand what the team is doing and why. Whether it’s through oral instruction, written reports or digital presentations, managers must be able to clearly and concisely deliver information.
- Emotional intelligence. Good communication requires the ability to read employees to see when they’re stressed, unmotivated or disengaged. Developing emotional intelligence is essential for being able toconnect with employees, to manage difficult situations and resolve conflicts.
- Active listening. Making connections with employees requires asking open-ended questions that allow them to respond and elaborate. Providing verbal affirmations and paraphrasing responses not only show that you’re paying attention, they’re effective techniques for building trust and assisting with memorization.
- Delegation. No manager can do everything, and trying to micromanage will actually reduce a team’s efficiency.Delegating responsibilities ensures that every important task can be completed and can also help to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different team members.
- Attention to detail. Engineering managers not only need to know each team member’s area of expertise, but also how they can contribute to the overall picture. Being able to spot the small things helps to ensure quality control and makes it easier to catch small issues before they become big problems.
- Decision Making. Being the one responsible for making decisions means beingflexible and confident. It’s not possible to always have the information available to make important decisions, so engineering managers must be able to deal with ambiguity when they have access to limited data.
- Networking and peer-based learning. Best practices and industry standards are constantly evolving.The ability to make connections with others, not only within a company, but within a field and across the industry is helpful for staying informed about the latest innovations, tools and processes.
- Continuous learning. Having achieved a management position doesn’t mean you’re finished learning or growing.Effective managers know that learning is an on-going process, and give themselves and team members opportunities to build new skills and improve their knowledge through in-house training, access to online courses and attending workshops or conferences.
Even if you’re not naturally skilled in all of these areas, don’t worry. You can (and should) work on developing these different skills over the course of your career. There are also some useful tips and strategies you can employ to make your job easier.
How Can Someone Effectively Manage a Team of Engineers?
Even the most gifted leader needs to have a process to manage an engineering team. Here are 12 strategies you can employ to help manage your team.
- Be aware of company-wide goals: As a leader, you need tothink beyond the immediate picture and the technical needs of a project and consider the larger objectives of the company. Just as you need to consider how every task affects the overall project, you need to see how every project contributes to the company’s overall goals.
This is where cross-department communication is essential. Talk with the managers of other departments to determine immediate and long-term company goals. Once you have those set, return to your team and set clear expectations for each assignment. Keep your team members in the loop and explain how those assignments will benefit the company.
- Build a diverse team. As important as it is to have everyone on the same page for goals, it’s equally important to hear from a diverse set of voices. The worst trap you can set for yourself is to surround yourself with “yes-sayers” who’ll blindly agree with every decision you make. You need to listen to diverse opinions, not just to champion other viewpoints, but to challenge your own biases.
This is part of why honoring DEI initiatives is so important. Not only are they essential in giving space to marginalized voices, but also necessary to bring diverse perspectives to your teams. Advocate for diversity during the hiring process and ensure that you’re allowing all voices on your team to be heard.
- Understand your team: The more you understand your team members, the better you’ll understand what they need and what they can contribute. Learning about their professional goals is just as important as knowing about their background and experience.
Providing your team members with projects and assignments that will allow them to work toward their own goals is a great way to motivate them. Knowing which team members work best with each other, and which possess the skills to complement each other, will aid you in directing the right people to the right work in order to best advance a project.
- Use a systems-thinking approach: Don’t think of yourself as a manager of people — you’re leading people and managing an environment. Look at everything that makes up your team environment — from the processes and operations to the tools and even the values and norms. What’s working well? What’s causing disruptions or bottlenecks? Where are there silos that are preventing team members from collaborating?
Taking the time to review the team environment should highlight areas that aren’t working as well as they should. Be sure to ask your team members for their own insights as well, they’re likely to have suggestions on how to find better efficiencies or make improvements to the team’s flow.
- Set clear expectations: Don’t let ambiguity and uncertainty trip up your team. You’ll want to ensure that everyone knows what they’re supposed to do, when they’re supposed to do it and how they’re going to complete their tasks. When someone new is placed on a project, you’ll want a clear and detailed training system to guide them. When problems arise, you’ll want to have a clear decision-making structure in place to solve them quickly.
Don’t lock away institutional knowledge or assume that everyone knows what they need to be doing. Create documentation for everything, from processes to project goals to how to operate tools, so that people know where to look to answer their questions.
- Schedule regular meetings: Regular team meetings are necessary to keep your team on task and in sync. Meetings should be open spaces not to lecture your team, but for everyone to discuss operations. Use them as an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the team culture and dynamics.
Meetings can be seen as a necessary evil and a distraction from the “real” work to be done. Don’t risk having your team meetings become a pain point. The more you allow your team members to interact with each other and take initiative during meetings, the more they’ll engage with the process.
- Don’t micromanage: Not only is it not possible to do everything on a team, you shouldn’t want to do everything. Your job is to ensure that the projects are proceeding on time and with minimal disruptions, not to jump into the code base and start making fixes. Trying to provide direct oversight over everything is not only inefficient, it’s a distraction from your real responsibilities.
Delegation is a powerful tool to help you move away from having to manage everything and instead move into managing the processes and workflows. Look for team members who are ready to step up and lead different initiatives or projects on their own and have them report to you during meetings.
- Be flexible: Even with the most careful planning, you cannot prepare for the unexpected. Team members will leave or get sick, executive management will decide to change course, outside factors could disrupt your entire industry. No matter how carefully you plan and schedule the way you will run a project, you must be ready to adjust your course.
Be aware that timelines and project details often change, so leave your team some leeway to make necessary adjustments. Get the estimates on how long it will take to complete a project or build a product and advocate for extra time for when the unexpected happens.
- Make use of modern tools: New tools and technology are constantly in development. The more processes you can automate, the more you can focus on other tasks.According to a Gartner report, by 2025 more than half of all software engineering leadership roles will require oversight of generative AI. Using AI applications to perform job analysis or generate performance reviews can free up time for engineering leaders to focus on their more people-centric responsibilities.
Look at the tools you have available to your team and do your research on what else is out there. Be sure to ask your team members if they have any preferences or recommendations for different platforms or tools. The more of their time you can free up, the more they’ll be able to focus on what they need to do.
- Be accountable: You always need tobe straightforward with your team. If you want everyone to be accountable for a project’s success then you need to model that same behavior. Don’t be afraid to own up to any shortcomings, oversights or delays.
Look for ways to model that behavior by talking about mistakes you’ve made as a manager — and how you worked through it. Admitting mistakes doesn’t undermine you as a manager, it shows that failure is just another step on the way to success.
- Act on feedback: Just as you need to measure your team’s performance over time, feedback is how you can measure your own. Take all feedback to heart, both from your managers, your peers and your team members. Consider sending out a survey after or ahead of meetings and take the time for one-on-one meetings with team members.
The most important aspect of feedback is what you do with it. Take the time for careful introspection of what you’re doing well and where you need to improve. Then, plan the steps you’ll take to implement changes.
- Create a space that’s comfortable: That doesn’t mean installing lounge chairs and soft lighting (though having human-centered workplace design is also an important consideration). Instead, it’s creating an environment where employees feel safe to be vulnerable. If employees aren’t intimidated to ask questions and can talk openly about things that are bothering them, you can make them feel more valued and appreciated.
The more you model accountability, empower your team members in meetings and act on their feedback, the more you’ll show that you trust and respect them. Don’t be afraid to inject some personality into your meetings — look for ways to have team members share their interests and hobbies, even silly icebreaker questions can make a meeting feel more personal and help employees bond.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re weighing the option of leading a team of engineers vs. staying on a purely technical track, then read more about these different career paths in our free eBook From Engineer to Leader: How to Transition from the Technical Track to Management Path.