book

The Manager's Path

by Camille Fournier

March 2017

Beginner

244 pages

7h 12m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Related skills

IT Management

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What to Expect from a ManagerOne-on-One MeetingsFeedback and Workplace GuidanceTraining and Career GrowthHow to Be ManagedSpend Time Thinking About What You WantYou Are Responsible for YourselfGive Your Manager a BreakChoose Your Managers WiselyAssessing Your Own Experience
The Importance of Mentoring to Junior Team MembersBeing a MentorMentoring an InternMentoring a New HireTechnical or Career MentoringGood Manager, Bad Manager: The Alpha GeekTips for the Manager of a MentorKey Takeaways for the MentorBe Curious and Open-MindedListen and Speak Their LanguageMake ConnectionsAssessing Your Own Experience
All Great Tech Leads Know This One Weird TrickBeing a Tech Lead 101The Main Roles of a Tech LeadManaging ProjectsManaging a ProjectDecision Point: Stay on the Technical Track or Become a ManagerImagined Life of a Senior Individual ContributorReal Life of a Senior Individual ContributorImagined Life of a ManagerReal Life of a ManagerGood Manager, Bad Manager: The Process CzarHow to Be a Great Tech LeadUnderstand the ArchitectureBe a Team PlayerLead Technical DecisionsCommunicateAssessing Your Own Experience
Starting a New Reporting Relationship Off RightBuild Trust and RapportCreate a 30/60/90-Day PlanEncourage Participation by Updating the New Hire DocumentationCommunicate Your Style and ExpectationsGet Feedback from Your New HireCommunicating with Your TeamHave Regular 1-1sScheduling 1-1sAdjusting 1-1sDifferent 1-1 StylesThe To-Do List MeetingThe Catch-upThe Feedback MeetingThe Progress ReportGetting to Know YouMix It UpGood Manager, Bad Manager: Micromanager, DelegatorPractical Advice for Delegating EffectivelyUse the Team’s Goals to Understand Which Details You Should Dig IntoGather Information from the Systems Before Going to the PeopleAdjust Your Focus Depending on the Stage of ProjectsEstablish Standards for Code and SystemsTreat the Open Sharing of Information, Good or Bad, in a Neutral to Positive WayCreating a Culture of Continuous FeedbackPerformance ReviewsWriting and Delivering a Performance ReviewCultivating CareersChallenging Situations: Firing UnderperformersAssessing Your Own Experience
Staying TechnicalDebugging Dysfunctional Teams: The BasicsNot ShippingPeople DramaUnhappiness Due to OverworkCollaboration ProblemsThe ShieldHow to Drive Good DecisionsCreate a Data-Driven Team CultureFlex Your Own Product MusclesLook into the FutureReview the Outcome of Your Decisions and ProjectsRun Retrospectives for the Processes and Day-to-DayGood Manager, Bad Manager: Conflict Avoider, Conflict TamerThe Dos and Don’ts of Managing ConflictChallenging Situations: Team Cohesion DestroyersThe Brilliant JerkThe NoncommunicatorThe Employee Who Lacks RespectAdvanced Project ManagementProject Management Rules of ThumbAssessing Your Own Experience
Managing Your Time: What’s Important, Anyway?Decisions and DelegationDelegate Simple and Frequent TasksHandle Simple and Infrequent Tasks YourselfUse Complex and Infrequent Tasks as Training Opportunities for Rising LeadersDelegate Complex and Frequent Tasks to Develop Your TeamChallenging Situations: Strategies for Saying No“Yes, and”Create Policies“Help Me Say Yes”Appeal to BudgetWork as a TeamDon’t PrevaricateTechnical Elements Beyond CodeMeasuring the Health of Your Development TeamFrequency of ReleasesFrequency of Code Check-insFrequency of IncidentsGood Manager, Bad Manager: Us Versus Them, Team PlayerThe Virtues of Laziness and ImpatienceAssessing Your Own Experience
Skip-Level MeetingsManager AccountabilityGood Manager, Bad Manager: The People PleaserManaging New ManagersManaging Experienced ManagersHiring ManagersDebugging Dysfunctional OrganizationsHave a HypothesisCheck the DataObserve the TeamAsk QuestionsCheck the Team DynamicsJump In to HelpBe CuriousSetting Expectations and Delivering on ScheduleChallenging Situations: Roadmap UncertaintyStrategies for Handling Roadmap UncertaintyStaying Technically RelevantOversee Technical InvestmentAsk Informed QuestionsAnalyze and Explain Engineering and Business TradeoffsMake Specific RequestsUse Your Experience as a Gut CheckAssessing Your Own Experience
Models for Thinking About Tech Senior LeadershipWhat’s a VP of Engineering?What’s a CTO?Changing PrioritiesSetting the StrategyDo a Lot of ResearchCombine Your Research and Your IdeasDraft a StrategyConsider Your Board’s Communication StyleChallenging Situations: Delivering Bad NewsSenior Peers in Other FunctionsThe EchoRuling with Fear, Guiding with TrustCorrecting a Culture of FearTrue NorthRecommended ReadingAssessing Your Own Experience

Assessing Your RoleCreating Your CultureApplying Core ValuesCreating Cultural PolicyWriting a Career LadderCross-Functional TeamsStructuring Cross-Functional TeamsDeveloping Engineering ProcessesPractical Advice: Depersonalize Decision MakingCode ReviewThe Outage PostmortemArchitecture ReviewAssessing Your Own Experience

Overview

Managing people is difficult wherever you work. But in the tech industry, where management is also a technical discipline, the learning curve can be brutal—especially when there are few tools, texts, and frameworks to help you. In this practical guide, author Camille Fournier (tech lead turned CTO) takes you through each stage in the journey from engineer to technical manager.