50+ Experience-Backed Guides For Software Engineers, Managers, And Leaders
Find exactly what you're looking for
No matter where you are in your software engineering journey, there’s a solution to every problem.
To help you find the one (or ones) you’re looking for, I’ve organized the below guides by category and sub-category (such as “Engineering management” and “Transitioning into it.”)
If you’re looking for something here and can’t find it or aren’t sure if it’s here, comment at the bottom of this post, and I’ll take a look as soon as I can.
Otherwise, enjoy!
1 - Engineering management
What makes the role worth doing, why you’re ready, and how to succeed where others don’t.
Transitioning into it
Misconceptions: 6 damaging ones and the actual truths behind them
Misconception reasons: The 5 that cause these problems and what you can do about them
Mindset: The one you need to be successful in this role and why
Commitment: You can always go back
Why you’re ready: How your experience as an engineer helps prepare you for this role
Reasons to become an engineering manager: 5 of them to help you make the leap
Doubt: How to deal with it so it doesn’t hold you back from making this transition
Challenges: What they are and how to overcome them
Technical skills: The 6 you need to support your team and process
Differences between it and engineering: 5 to expect if you make the jump
Losing your technical edge: Why it’s normal to fear this and why it won’t happen
Maintaining your technical edge: What you can do to keep it sharp
Starting the job
Your supervisor’s expectations: How to talk to them about these and what to do after
Your team: 4 steps you can take to start off on the right foot with them
Set and track goals: 5 steps to know which ones to set and how
Expectations for your team: 4 things you can do to make them reasonable and communicate so they’re well-received
Strategizing: 4 steps to pick the right goals, set reasonable milestones and deadlines, and why your plans will evolve
Mentorship: Why it isn’t everything, but how to make it useful anyway
Staying organized: 8 steps to manage your workload, be productive, and stay healthy while doing so
Building trust: 8 ways to build it so your team listens to and respects you
What you’ll do in general: The areas and tasks you’ll be responsible for
Sub-roles: The 5 you’ll need to excel in
Doing the job
Bridging the business and technical sides: Why you have to be this bridge and how to do it well
Succeeding: Know the metrics that keep you in the job
Conflict: 6 strategies to make it work for you and your team
Workflow: Clogs you’ll solve to keep everything moving smoothly
Coaching: Make use of the better alternative to regular coaching
Team alignment: How to create and maintain it
Contributing to projects: 5 ways you will and the effects they have
Communication creep: What it is and how to stop it
Building your team: Why it’s so rewarding
Managing yourself
Productivity: 4 strategies to keep this up long term without putting your health at risk
Priorities: 5 steps to focus in on the only things that truly matter each day
Accountability: 5 steps to maintain the trust and respect of your team
Boundaries: Which ones to set and why so you can get work done and protect your health
Flexibility: What this actually means and 4 ways you can use it to deal with the uncertainty of your role
Tools for organization: 8 options to help you stay in control of and maximize efficiency with your many tasks and responsibilities
Self-control: What you’ll lose if you lash out and steps to not be the one who does
Managing your team
Handling others’ emotions: What to do when things explode, how to stop this from happening, and how to prevent it from getting worse
Listening: 5 ways you can listen to your team to improve dynamics, culture, and output
Soft skills: The 9 you’ll need to manage and work with people well
Communication skills: Which ones to master and what happens when you do
Methods: 6 to get the most out of your team and not go crazy in the process
Giving feedback to former teammates: Strategies to make this easier
Personalities: Why there’s no such thing as a bad one and what you can do to get the most out of different ones
Unfair team dynamics: What they are and how to solve them
The ugly side
Underperformance: Why it happens and how to fix it
Unfair bosses: How to survive them
2 - Introverted engineering managers
Succeed as an introverted engineering manager because you’re an introvert.
Your advantages as an introvert
Understanding your engineers: How you do and what you can do with that understanding
Listening: 5 ways you do (or can) and why that matters
Empathy: 4 ways to use it and why
Working with your team
One-on-ones: How to break the ice, prepare ahead of time, and know when they’re effective
Team meetings: What your advantages are, how to use them, and other strategies to help
Giving feedback: How to make both kinds work while avoiding potential negatives
Getting feedback: How to handle both kinds, why you want both, and how to ensure you get them
Managing extroverts: 3 things you can do to meet them where they are while staying who you are
Conflict and pushback: 5 steps you can take to manage and improve these difficult situations
Working with other managers
Being your team’s advocate: How to get what they need from the people who can give it to them
Cross-functional meetings: Achieve your goals and keep them on track
Collaborating with other managers: Move past the discomfort, build the necessary culture, and strengthen bonds
Changing organizational culture: Define, change, and improve the culture your way
3 - Technical debt
Avoid the major issues this can cause by taking the right steps now and always.
Prioritization: Know the consequences you and others will face for failing to prioritize it
The process: 6 steps to build an actionable and effective plan
Convincing upper management: Get them to finally care
Building a system: Build one that actually organizes your processes without clutter or chaos
Tracking and logging it: What to do, how, and why
Mindset: Reduce stress and misunderstanding and improve your approach with the right one
Balancing it against other priorities: How to prioritize it and how to manage that balance
Caring for it: How to care for old code and its issues, technical debt, in particular
4 - Work-life balance
Build, manage, and improve the kind of balance that works best for you.
Impacts it can have: 4 of them you’ll face as an engineering manager
Fixing it: 5 practical ways to do so
Productivity trap: How it almost killed me and how you can prevent it from doing the same to you
5 - Guides for non-technical people
Be better equipped to work with and manage the technical roles in your company.
Engineering management: Everything you need to know to understand the role
6 - Company need-to-knows
Know what you’re getting into no matter which one you’re working for.
Different roles: How To tell CTOs, project, and engineering managers apart
Small vs large ones: What to expect when you work for either
Content in this blog post by Alex Ponomarev is licensed under CC BY 4.0.