The Thriving In Engineering Digest: 5-25

A curated week.

The signal’s out there – you just don’t have time to chase it.

In a sea of noisy feeds and overflowing inboxes, it’s tough to find content that actually makes you a better engineering leader. That’s why I curate The Thriving In Engineering Digest each week: to surface the most insightful, practical thinking on leadership, team health, communication, and strategy.

This week’s picks span Substack, Medium, and X, cutting through the clutter to give you high-signal reads worth your attention. Whether you’re managing complex roadmaps, navigating performance dynamics, or just trying to communicate without the technobabble – there’s something here to help you lead better.

Let’s get into it.

1 - Uncovering Motivation: Beyond the 'Lazy' Label

Senthil Kannan dives into understanding what truly drives professionals, especially in the early stages of their careers. This newsletter challenges the conventional perception of laziness, proposing the idea of unrecognized motivation. Concepts like consistency in presence and pride in work are highlighted.

Drawing from Edward Deci and Richard Ryan's respected Self-Determination Theory, the newsletter emphasizes fulfilling psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness to foster intrinsic motivation.

For leaders, understanding team members’ unique motivations through genuine conversations and aligning their strengths with tasks can enhance both morale and productivity, shifting from a task-master approach to being a motivation detective.

Main Takeaway:

Discovering what intrinsically motivates you early on is crucial for personal growth and essential for managers to nurture effectively.

Why It Matters:

Understanding motivation is crucial for engineering leaders seeking to encourage creativity, engagement, and long-term success within their teams.

Read This If You’re Interested In:

• Identifying what drives you internally to fuel career progress

• Shifting from extrinsic to intrinsic motivational techniques

• Applying Self-Determination Theory in team management

• Discovering individual motivations to better align team roles

• Leveraging strengths for enhanced employee engagement

2 - Navigating Roadmap Requests: What Executives Really Want

When executives request a “12-month roadmap with detailed features,” they often seek assurance that product teams understand strategic directions and can adapt to changes. This creates tension for junior PMs who are taught that roadmaps should be flexible and outcome-focused, not feature-specific for an entire year.

This post clarifies that roadmaps and release plans are distinct – the former outlines strategic priorities while the latter details specific deliveries. A more effective approach is structuring roadmaps with varying levels of certainty:

• Specific features in the short term

• Problem areas in the midterm

• And strategic themes long-term

This methodology addresses executive needs for visibility and reassures teams against impossible commitments. Communicating transparency and flexibility builds trust and maturity in product management, ultimately aligning short-term accuracies with long-term strategic objectives. Addressing skepticism with reasoned arguments can transform skeptics into advocates over time.

Main Takeaway:

Provide executives with transparent, adaptable roadmaps that communicate strategic priorities rather than impossible precision, thereby building trust and alignment.

Why It Matters:

For engineering leaders and product managers, managing stakeholder expectations is as crucial as managing development. A well-structured roadmap fosters confidence, keeps the team strategically aligned, and protects against unrealistic commitments.

Read This If You’re Interested In:

• Improving stakeholder communication and trust

• Enhancing roadmap accuracy and strategic alignment

• Balancing executive expectations with practical product management

• Navigating complex executive demands with finesse

• Building long-term leadership skills in product management