Engineering Manager vs Scrum Master
People often ask me, “What is the difference between an Engineering Manager and a Scrum Master?” and “Do you need both an Engineering Manager and …
Teams
How Engineering Managers Fail
Engineering Managers (EMs) don’t intentionally set out to fail. Instead, they are often set up for failure. But even if they are set up for …
How Many People Can Someone Lead?
The Short Answer A common question I hear in my technical leadership workshops is, “How many people can someone (e.g. a Tech Lead or Engineering …
The Holiday Test
First-time leaders often ask, “How do you know you’ve built a high-performing team?” My response? Use the holiday test. You pass the test if you …
Software Engineering Leadership Communities
I receive a number of requests through this blog, in my workshops and through Level Up, a curated newsletter for leaders in tech about connecting …
Book Recommendations By Engineering Leaders
I’m stunned to have met several people in my career who proudly say, “I have never read a [technical/leadership] book.” I certainly acknowledge information is …
Book Review and Notes of Team Topologies
Book Review In our book, “Building Evolutionary Architectures” we talked about the Inverse Conway Maneuver, or using Conway’s Law to your advantage. Conway’s Law implies …
