7 Tips for Engineering Managers

Being a good engineering manager to every one reporting to you is very tough job, very difficult to meet everyones expectations. But bigger organizations have good people management trainings (MTP – Managing Through People, Situational Leadership etc), best practices and tools for managing people in effective way, but applying these best practices consciously day to day will be a challenging one. Here is my thoughts for being better Engineering Manager for your people, from my experience or I wish my boss should be like this.

1. No favoritism: Don’t ever show favoritism to any one. Never. Recognize the good work, but make sure every one understand good work always receive due credit what it deserves.

2. Equal opportunity: Make sure every one get equal opportunity in the team. Same opportunity for every one may not be possible. But make sure, every one in your team aware that they will get same opportunity at times.

3. Every one is equal: Each member brings different skills and values to the team, obviously there will be STAR performers in the team, but make a deliberate attempt to create a environment where each member feels they are important to the team, explain to them that, though they may not be getting recognition like the STARS but how important their other skills and values are to the team success.

4. Be a Situational Leader: No one same in the world, so the leadership style needed for them. Change your leadership style as per the situation and people associated. Don’t expect your people to understand your style and perform, that never going to happen.

5. Be generous in Rewarding: Don’t be conservative in rewarding people, create a culture where every one in the team also in generous in recognize and rewarding each other. No formal rewards a simple thank you, and stop by their office/cube and simple chat will make lot of difference.

6. Personalized: Management style is personalized, every one is different, so your management style for each of them should be different. Apply different style to different people.

7. Accept Imperfection: Yes true. You can’t be good to every one, there will be low performers, people at the bottom in ranking, you have to take actions. You cant be good all the time. But they will talk about you. Things you said, disappointments they had, they keep talking. Even if you happen to know some one talked bad about you, accept it is norm, move on.