Engineering Management & System Design

Most Popular

Blog for Engineering Managers

The manager I hated and the lesson he taught me

How a tough manager changed my approach to leadership (and why I’m grateful now)

4 Mar 2025Read

Blog for Engineering Managers

Measuring developer productivity

What I learned from years of chasing the "right" way to measure developer productivity

25 Feb 2025Read

Blog for Engineering Managers

You’re doing everything right… so why aren’t you moving up?

Stop waiting for recognition. Promotions happen when the business needs a role filled, not when you've earned it. Here's how to create the need.

18 Nov 2025Read

Blog for Engineering Managers

Being an Engineering Manager today has never been harder - but why?

How we got here, what’s broken, and where to go from here.

10 Jun 2025Read

Blog for Engineering Managers

Your interview process for senior engineers is wrong

Your interview process is optimised to filter out exactly the engineers you need most.

30 Dec 2025Read

Blog for Engineering Managers

Why your best engineers stay silent in meetings

Everyone's nodding along. No one actually understands. And that's a leadership problem, not a comprehension problem.

20 Jan 2026Read

Latest Posts

• 

  #37 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers1 Mar 2026
• 

  Stop being a human JIRA bot

  If you're spending your days nudging tickets and following up on PRs, the problem isn't your team's discipline - it's your system of clarity.

  Blog for Engineering Managers24 Feb 2026
• 

  #36 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers22 Feb 2026
• 

  Stop telling your engineers to "work on visibility"

  The visibility problem isn't theirs to solve. It's yours.

  Blog for Engineering Managers17 Feb 2026
• 

  #35 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers15 Feb 2026
• 

  Fast PRs but shallow understanding

  The productivity you're celebrating might be hollowing out the expertise you'll desperately need six months from now.

  Blog for Engineering Managers10 Feb 2026
• 

  #34 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers8 Feb 2026
• 

  Someone has to define that project. It might as well be you.

  Ambiguous projects aren't obstacles. They're leadership opportunities hiding in plain sight.

  Blog for Engineering Managers3 Feb 2026
• 

  #33 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers1 Feb 2026
• 

  The message in your team's over-communication

  That wall of text explaining why it wasn't their fault is not because they're bad communicators but because they're scared.

  Blog for Engineering Managers27 Jan 2026
• 

  Observability (Metrics, Logs, and Traces)

  A simple guide for software engineers

  System Design, but Simple26 Jan 2026
• 

  #32 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers25 Jan 2026
• 

  #31 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers18 Jan 2026
• 

  Your engineers don't know what "Ready for Promotion" actually means

  Your top performer has been doing next-level work for a year. They still don't know what's missing - because you haven't told them.

  Blog for Engineering Managers13 Jan 2026
• 

  #30 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers11 Jan 2026
• 

  Why your best engineers aren't getting promoted to Staff+ roles

  When "not leadership material" really means "doesn't fit my narrow definition of what a leader looks like"

  Blog for Engineering Managers6 Jan 2026
• 

  Common Architectures: Monolithic, Distributed, and Serverless

  Understanding when each approach makes sense for your system

  System Design, but Simple5 Jan 2026
• 

  #29 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers4 Jan 2026
• 

  Communication Protocols

  HTTP, WebSockets, SSE, gRPC, REST, and GraphQL

  System Design, but Simple29 Dec 2025
• 

  #28 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers28 Dec 2025
• 

  You hired senior engineers to think, but you keep telling them what to do

  This is how well-intentioned managers quietly block growth, trust, and retention.

  Blog for Engineering Managers23 Dec 2025
• 

  REST vs GraphQL

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple22 Dec 2025
• 

  #27 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers21 Dec 2025
• 

  Deliver faster, at the expense of understanding?

  Every line of code you don't understand is a loan you'll eventually repay, with interest.

  Blog for Engineering Managers16 Dec 2025
• 

  HTTP Status Codes You Must Know

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple15 Dec 2025
• 

  #26 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers14 Dec 2025
• 

  You're not as clear as you think you are

  The gap between what you said and what they heard.

  Blog for Engineering Managers9 Dec 2025
• 

  Types of API Testing

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple8 Dec 2025
• 

  #25 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers7 Dec 2025
• 

  Signs you work at a toxic company

  Constant reorgs, fear-based management, and the slow creep of dysfunction. Here's how to recognize a toxic workplace before it burns you out.

  Blog for Engineering Managers2 Dec 2025
• 

  The Only 5 Diagramming Tools You Need for System Design

  The tools I actually use (and recommend to my mentees)

  System Design, but Simple1 Dec 2025
• 

  #24 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers30 Nov 2025
• 

  How to raise concerns without being seen as the problem

  Your job isn't to be a cheerleader. But it's also not to be the person who only points out problems.

  Blog for Engineering Managers25 Nov 2025
• 

  Read-Through vs Write-Through Cache

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple24 Nov 2025
• 

  #23 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers23 Nov 2025
• 

  What happens when you type a url in your browser?

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple17 Nov 2025
• 

  #22 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers16 Nov 2025
• 

  Write better performance reviews in half the time

  Most engineering managers spend 20 hours writing performance reviews that nobody finds useful. Here's how to write reviews that actually help your team grow.

  Blog for Engineering Managers11 Nov 2025
• 

  How to store passwords in your database

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple10 Nov 2025
• 

  #21 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers9 Nov 2025
• 

  Engineering managers are paralyzed by the wrong fears

  Fear of failure costs $36B annually.

  Blog for Engineering Managers4 Nov 2025
• 

  How to choose between SQL and NoSQL

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple3 Nov 2025
• 

  #20 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers2 Nov 2025
• 

  3 ways Senior Engineers can lose your trust (and how great managers respond)

  When your most experienced team members become your biggest challenge.

  Blog for Engineering Managers28 Oct 2025
• 

  Authentication (Session Vs JWT)

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple27 Oct 2025
• 

  #19 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers26 Oct 2025
• 

  Anxiety is excitement without a full, trusting breath

  Fritz Perls' wisdom and the power of trust can transform your leadership under pressure

  Blog for Engineering Managers21 Oct 2025
• 

  Every type of API you must know

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple20 Oct 2025
• 

  #18 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers19 Oct 2025
• 

  Your metrics are fine - you just need to fix your storytelling

  How data storytelling can fix the communication crisis.

  Blog for Engineering Managers14 Oct 2025
• 

  Design Leetcode

  Like you should in an interview. Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple13 Oct 2025
• 

  Get 10 free Notion Templates for Engineering Managers

  Plus: weekly lessons to help you grow from engineer to a great leader.

  System Design, but Simple12 Oct 2025
• 

  #17 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers12 Oct 2025
• 

  What I know about autism

  Almost a decade of being a manager and I still have loads to learn.

  Blog for Engineering Managers7 Oct 2025
• 

  Design Instagram

  Like you should in an interview. Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple6 Oct 2025
• 

  Common Team Topologies implementation mistakes

  Platform teams, Conway's Law, and cognitive load.

  Blog for Engineering Managers30 Sept 2025
• 

  Design FB Live Comments

  Like you should in an interview. Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple29 Sept 2025
• 

  #16 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers28 Sept 2025
• 

  Quantum Accountability for Engineering Managers

  Taking ownership of invisible forces can transform your team's performance.

  Blog for Engineering Managers23 Sept 2025
• 

  Design WhatsApp

  Like you should in an interview. Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple22 Sept 2025
• 

  #15 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers21 Sept 2025
• 

  Your team's OKRs are probably broken (and how to fix them)

  Most engineering teams are doing OKRs wrong. Spectacularly wrong.

  Blog for Engineering Managers16 Sept 2025
• 

  Design Uber

  Like you should in an interview. Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple15 Sept 2025
• 

  #14 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers14 Sept 2025
• 

  The insane privilege of being a manager

  You get to see the future by helping your team members set awesome goals

  Blog for Engineering Managers9 Sept 2025
• 

  Design Dropbox/Google Drive

  Like you should in an interview. Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple8 Sept 2025
• 

  #13 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers7 Sept 2025
• 

  Building a SaaS with Claude Code

  Coding with AI reminded me what good Engineering Management actually looks like.

  Blog for Engineering Managers2 Sept 2025
• 

  Design Facebook's News Feed

  Like you should in an interview. Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple1 Sept 2025
• 

  #12 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers31 Aug 2025
• 

  How Engineering Managers can actually get promoted

  Inspired from people who have gone from EM -> Director, VP, and CTO roles.

  Blog for Engineering Managers26 Aug 2025
• 

  Design Twitter (X)

  Like you should in an interview. Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple25 Aug 2025
• 

  #11 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers24 Aug 2025
• 

  Evaluating AI usage in performance reviews is 'totally fair game'

  That's what Microsoft said to its employees, so I worked with senior leaders to create a framework for that.

  Blog for Engineering Managers19 Aug 2025
• 

  Design a Ticket Booking Service Like Ticketmaster

  Like you should in an interview. Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple18 Aug 2025
• 

  #10 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers17 Aug 2025
• 

  Engineering Managers are not Psychologists

  But they have more in common than you might think.

  Blog for Engineering Managers12 Aug 2025
• 

  Design a URL shortener

  Interview walkthrough explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple11 Aug 2025
• 

  #9 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers10 Aug 2025
• 

  Gossip Protocol in 1 diagram and 179 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple7 Aug 2025
• 

  Your rants are "honestly" hurting you

  Complaining does not mean being transparent.

  Blog for Engineering Managers5 Aug 2025
• 

  Idempotency in 1 diagram and 144 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple4 Aug 2025
• 

  #8 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers3 Aug 2025
• 

  Fan‑out in 1 diagram and 178 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple31 Jul 2025
• 

  The 3 pillars of the modern Engineering Manager

  Your team's product, your company's finances, and industry domain knowledge.

  Blog for Engineering Managers29 Jul 2025
• 

  Fan‑in in 1 diagram and 186 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple28 Jul 2025
• 

  #7 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers27 Jul 2025
• 

  Reverse Proxy in 1 diagram and 188 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple24 Jul 2025
• 

  Would your onboarding process catch a Soham?

  This software engineer worked for multiple startups at the same time.

  Blog for Engineering Managers22 Jul 2025
• 

  CDN in 1 diagram and 194 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple21 Jul 2025
• 

  #6 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers20 Jul 2025
• 

  Blue‑Green Deployment in 1 diagram and 195 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple17 Jul 2025
• 

  Your "Open Door" policy is pretty useless

  And probably promotes the opposite of what you think.

  Blog for Engineering Managers15 Jul 2025
• 

  Auto scaling in 1 diagram and 171 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple14 Jul 2025
• 

  #5 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers13 Jul 2025
• 

  UDP (User Datagram Protocol) in 1 diagram and 162 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple10 Jul 2025
• 

  10+1 Interview questions I ask every engineer (and the red flags I’m listening for)

  The questions I use to find great engineers (not just great coders)

  Blog for Engineering Managers8 Jul 2025
• 

  TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) in 1 diagram and 145 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple7 Jul 2025
• 

  #4 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers6 Jul 2025
• 

  WebSockets in 1 diagram and 186 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple3 Jul 2025
• 

  Is your team buzzing?

  Before your team's velocity drops, energy fades. Here’s how to spot it.

  Blog for Engineering Managers1 Jul 2025
• 

  Stream Processing in 1 diagram and 196 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple30 Jun 2025
• 

  #3 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers29 Jun 2025
• 

  Ambassador Pattern in 1 diagram and 193 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple26 Jun 2025
• 

  Engineering Leadership in 2025: AI, Burnout, and the Motivation Crisis

  What 617 leaders said about the real state of engineering teams this year

  Blog for Engineering Managers24 Jun 2025
• 

  Event Sourcing in 1 diagram and 205 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple23 Jun 2025
• 

  #2 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers22 Jun 2025
• 

  CQRS in 1 diagram and 178 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple19 Jun 2025
• 

  The Engineer who became CTO and quit after 6 months to join my team

  What happens when your dream role becomes a nightmare and what I learned from it.

  Blog for Engineering Managers17 Jun 2025
• 

  Pub/Sub in 1 diagram and 187 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple16 Jun 2025
• 

  #1 | Sunday reads for EMs

  My favourite reads of the week to make your Sunday a little more inspiring.

  Blog for Engineering Managers15 Jun 2025
• 

  Consistency Patterns in 3 diagrams and 165 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple12 Jun 2025
• 

  CAP Theorem in 1 diagram and 132 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple9 Jun 2025
• 

  A senior stakeholder always bypasses you and goes straight to your engineers.

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers8 Jun 2025
• 

  Retry with Exponential Backoff in 1 diagram and 173 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple5 Jun 2025
• 

  Treating everyone the same is NOT fair

  Fairness means equity, not uniformity.

  Blog for Engineering Managers3 Jun 2025
• 

  Consistent Hashing in 1 diagram and 198 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple2 Jun 2025
• 

  NO time to think. Just meetings all day.

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers1 Jun 2025
• 

  Circuit Breaker in 1 diagram and 167 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple29 May 2025
• 

  Coaching vs. Mentoring vs. Managing (most EMs confuse them)

  How to switch hats and stop solving problems your team should own.

  Blog for Engineering Managers27 May 2025
• 

  Dead Letter Queues in 1 diagram and 205 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple26 May 2025
• 

  Your engineers love to code, but hate writing documentation

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers25 May 2025
• 

  Multi-Leader Replication in 1 diagram and 229 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple22 May 2025
• 

  Leadership lessons I learnt from Will Larson

  10 timeless leadership lessons from Will Larson that shaped my journey through every step of engineering management.

  Blog for Engineering Managers20 May 2025
• 

  Leader-Follower Replication in 1 diagram and 243 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple19 May 2025
• 

  Your Product Manager keeps overcommitting on behalf of engineering

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers18 May 2025
• 

  Agentic AI use cases Engineering Managers actually need

  Here’s how to make AI agents work for your team this week.

  Blog for Engineering Managers13 May 2025
• 

  Database Sharding in 1 diagram and 204 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple12 May 2025
• 

  Your team is demotivated by a lack of innovation

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers11 May 2025
• 

  The EM job market is brutal. Here’s what actually worked for me.

  All the CV & LinkedIn tips, and interview prep material you could hope for if you're interviewing for Engineering Manager roles.

  Blog for Engineering Managers6 May 2025
• 

  Rate Limiting in 1 diagram and 252 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple5 May 2025
• 

  You’re a new Engineering Manager and miss writing code

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers4 May 2025
• 

  Your Hackathon survival guide (modern stack, 2025)

  My advice and exact tools & technologies recommendations after being a judge in 10+ hackathons.

  Blog for Engineering Managers29 Apr 2025
• 

  Database Index in 1 diagram and 229 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple28 Apr 2025
• 

  The team doesn’t respect you as their manager

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers27 Apr 2025
• 

  Don't be too hard on yourself

  Domain-specific struggles don’t mean you’re a bad leader - you can bounce back from them stronger.

  Blog for Engineering Managers22 Apr 2025
• 

  API Gateway in 1 diagram and 147 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple21 Apr 2025
• 

  Your Tech Lead just resigned and no one else understands half the backlog

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers20 Apr 2025
• 

  5 Uncommon Steps to Land a Tech Leadership Role at Big Tech

  How the top 1% of Engineering Managers get offers from Big Tech companies.

  Blog for Engineering Managers15 Apr 2025
• 

  Cache in 2 diagrams and 173 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple14 Apr 2025
• 

  One engineer dominates every conversation

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers13 Apr 2025
• 

  How to spot 10x Engineers at every stage of their career

  What real top performers look like at junior, mid, and senior levels.

  Blog for Engineering Managers8 Apr 2025
• 

  Message Queues in 1 diagram and 180 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple7 Apr 2025
• 

  Your two senior engineers disagree on everything

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers6 Apr 2025
• 

  The simple thinking techniques that would’ve saved us $500,000

  For engineering leaders to avoid shallow decisions.

  Blog for Engineering Managers1 Apr 2025
• 

  Load Balancers in 1 diagram and 91 words

  Explained as simply as possible… but not simpler.

  System Design, but Simple31 Mar 2025
• 

  You have too many stakeholders and they all want different things

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers30 Mar 2025
• 

  Comfort is killing your Engineering Team

  The counterintuitive discovery that transformed my plateaued team into an innovation powerhouse

  Blog for Engineering Managers25 Mar 2025
• 

  The System Design Interview

  What to expect in System Design interviews, and the framework to use

  System Design, but Simple24 Mar 2025
• 

  Crush your System Design interview - Grab your free Cheat Sheet!

  🎁 Get your free System Design Interview Preparation Cheat Sheet

  System Design, but Simple24 Mar 2025
• 

  Your team hates code reviews

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers23 Mar 2025
• 

  Evolve these 5 engineering skills to succeed as a manager

  Debugging, code reviews, continuous deployments, refactoring, and pair programming.

  Blog for Engineering Managers18 Mar 2025
• 

  Tech Debt is piling up but leadership doesn't care

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers16 Mar 2025
• 

  Just monitoring is not enough

  Observability-Driven Development might be what your team needs.

  Blog for Engineering Managers11 Mar 2025
• 

  You have too many direct reports

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers9 Mar 2025
• 

  An important project is late and execs are losing patience

  What would you do?

  Blog for Engineering Managers2 Mar 2025
• 

  Engineering teams that spark unexpected innovation

  The Power of Structured Serendipity and the Hidden Org Chart

  Blog for Engineering Managers18 Feb 2025
• 

  How to win the Product vs. Engineering prioritisation battle

  Use the same scoring system for all projects and watch your backlog finally make sense.

  Blog for Engineering Managers11 Feb 2025
• 

  When to stay, or leave a job as an Engineering Manager

  Why I walked away from £200K and why you should think twice before saying Yes.

  Blog for Engineering Managers4 Feb 2025
• 

  Doing the Managing vs. being the Manager

  Inspired by Austin Kleon but for Engineering Managers.

  Blog for Engineering Managers28 Jan 2025
• 

  AI replacing Software Engineers is just silly to think

  But it is replacing Programers.

  Blog for Engineering Managers21 Jan 2025
• 

  The CEO of Airbnb doesn't believe in autonomy

  So maybe engineering managers shouldn’t too?

  Blog for Engineering Managers14 Jan 2025
• 

  How you can become an Engineering Manager in 2025

  Cut through the fluff and learn how to make this career move successfully.

  Blog for Engineering Managers7 Jan 2025
• 

  7 steps to drive successful initiatives as an EM

  A simple guide to identifying, testing, and scaling impactful solutions in your organisation.

  Blog for Engineering Managers31 Dec 2024
• 

  Become the Engineering Manager everyone wants to work with

  🎁 Get your free resources here!

  Blog for Engineering Managers25 Dec 2024
• 

  Language shapes team success

  Rethink traditional leadership to empower your team’s voice and decision-making.

  Blog for Engineering Managers24 Dec 2024
• 

  Build honest & human connections (Radical Candor)

  How Kim Scott's framework helps leaders caring and challenging directly.

  Blog for Engineering Managers17 Dec 2024
• 

  OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro: Is $200/month worth the price?

  A breakdown of who benefits most from OpenAI's new premium tier.

  Blog for Engineering Managers10 Dec 2024
• 

  Pay bands, scope of influence, and growth timelines

  Mapping engineering career growth through pay bands, influence, and progression timelines.

  Blog for Engineering Managers3 Dec 2024
• 

  Great leaders are in the details

  "Founder Mode" and why being in the details is key to high-performing engineering teams.

  Blog for Engineering Managers26 Nov 2024
• 

  What a successful EM guild looks like

  How to foster a community of learning, growth, and shared leadership.

  Blog for Engineering Managers19 Nov 2024
• 

  How to create the best OKRs to increase your impact

  Transform Your Goals into High-Impact OKRs: Actionable Examples for Every Level + Your Personal OKR GPT Assistant 🤖

  Blog for Engineering Managers12 Nov 2024
• 

  How to self-assess as an Engineering Manager

  A practical guide to evaluating your leadership impact, team health, and areas for growth.

  Blog for Engineering Managers7 Nov 2024
• 

  Inclusion should come before diversity (DEI)

  Create an inclusive culture as the foundation for diverse teams

  Blog for Engineering Managers29 Oct 2024
• 

  4 skills senior engineers often think they have but rarely do

  The gap between engineering expertise and effective leadership.

  Blog for Engineering Managers24 Oct 2024
• 

  The 3 systems I always use to manage my team

  3 Frameworks that help me manage my team more efficiently.

  Blog for Engineering Managers21 Oct 2024
• 

  Read this before you become an Engineering Manager

  Transitioning from individual contributor to engineering manager comes with challenges, here are some that you need to know.

  Blog for Engineering Managers18 Oct 2024
• 

  5 Subtle habits that instantly elevate your Leadership Skills

  Small but powerful habits that can transform how you lead your engineering team.

  Blog for Engineering Managers14 Oct 2024
• 

  How Systems Thinking can make you a better Engineering Manager

  Embracing Systems Thinking can help you navigate complexity and build teams that thrive in any environment.

  Blog for Engineering Managers12 Oct 2024

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Jymit Singh Khondhu

Engineering Manager, Security @ Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Author of: An Empathetic Leader's Journey

Love your substack!

Anemari Fiser

Top Voice

Career coach in tech

Author of: Level Up as a Tech Lead (7k+ subscribers)

If you are an aspiring, new in the role or expereinced Engineering Manager this newsletter is for you :)

Suresh Choudhary

Engineering Director at Salesforce

Author of: Diary of an Engineering Manager (2k+ subscribers)

Stephane not only writes actionable and thought-provoking content for Engineering Managers, but also provides tools to implement them.

Marcos F. Lobo

Team Lead at Nexthink

Author of: The Optimist Engineer (1k+ subscribers)

I like Stephane's work because helps Engineering Managers improve team performance and decision-making with practical tools, strategies, and resources.

Aayush Kumar

Software & AI Engineer at JPMorganChase

As someone who aspires to become an engineering leader in the future, your articles are like a goldmine to me. I find them to be full of wisdom.

Oliver Beach

Founder & CEO, Flowstate

I've been reading your blog for months - it's awesome! Your readers are very lucky.

Patricia Juarez Muñoz

Senior Engineer at Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Author of: Wonderlead in Tech

Stephane helps engineers and engineering managers to succeed. I found myself multiple times diving deep into his interesting posts and website full of useful tools!

Colette Molteni

Data and Process Excellence Manager at ResMed

Seeing your post this morning was such a lovely piece of encouragement to start my day. The information you share has a lot of application in my day to day work.

Arqam Ahmad Siddiqui

CEO & Founder at Next Level Programmers

I supported your work with a paid subscription because I want to learn about engineering managers' efficient plans to work for better outcomes.

Jabez Justin

Global Engineering Leader - Compliance at PayPal

Great EM insights and educating the EM community, great value addition and support system.

Caleb Mellas

Team Lead at Olo

Author of: Level Up Software Engineering Newsletter 🚀 (33k+ subscribers)

Great resource for engineers looking to step into leadership roles, or engineering managers looking to level up in their experience and skills.

David Weiss

Lead Software Engineer at Starship

Author of: Besides Code (2k+ subscribers)

Stephane shares helpful advice to grow as an engineering leader and manager.

Jose Parreño Garcia

Data Science Manager at Skyscanner

Author of: Data Science Lead (2k+ subscribers)

I just wanted to say how much I genuinely enjoy your newsletter! Even though my background is in Data Science, the leadership content you share resonates so much, it’s incredibly insightful and applicable across disciplines.

Eman Saeed

Back End Engineer at Coformatique

I need to thank for your articles, they have added to my knowledge and I am reading them every week to learn more! Keep going.

Subbu Chandranathan

Senior Technical Delivery Manager at Precisely

I support your work because your system design posts are clear, easy to read, and memorable.