Sharmeen Rehan’s Post

Engineering Management is a technical discipline, not just a set of "people skills". To command the respect of your team, they must see you as technically credible. Engineering Managers that don't stay in the code risk making themselves technically obsolete. Your ability to communicate with other departments, such as Product, Design, and Marketing is easier when you're confident in your ability to evaluate how easy or difficult a feature is to implement. It's certainly possible to be a good non-technical manager, but you face a very steep uphill climb. #softwareengineering #engineeringmanagement

Engineering management: 80% people, 20% engineering. Intrigued? Read on. 👇 In engineering management, it's a common misconception that the job is all about technical expertise. It's not. In fact, 80% of it is about people, and only 20% is about engineering. Imagine you're an engineering manager. You're technically proficient, sure. But your day-to-day isn't filled with coding or designing. Instead, you're in meetings, you're strategizing, you're mentoring. You're dealing with people. As an engineering manager, your role is guiding your team towards a common goal. This requires understanding each team member's strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and aspirations. It's about fostering a culture of collaboration and mutual respect. It's about communication, conflict resolution, and building relationships. That's the 80%. Now, let's not forget the 20%. Yes, you need to understand the technical aspects. You need to make informed decisions, provide technical guidance, and ensure the quality of the work. But remember, this is just a fraction of your role. So, if you're an aspiring engineering manager or even a seasoned one, remember this: your technical skills might get you the job, but your people skills will make you excel. Remember, engineering management is a balancing act. It's about people and engineering. Mastering this balance is what makes a genuinely great engineering manager. What are your thoughts?

Engineering management: 80% people, 20% engineering. Intrigued? Read on. 👇 In engineering management, it's a common misconception that the job is all about technical expertise. It's not. In fact, 80% of it is about people, and only 20% is about engineering. Imagine you're an engineering manager. You're technically proficient, sure. But your day-to-day isn't filled with coding or designing. Instead, you're in meetings, you're strategizing, you're mentoring. You're dealing with people. As an engineering manager, your role is guiding your team towards a common goal. This requires understanding each team member's strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and aspirations. It's about fostering a culture of collaboration and mutual respect. It's about communication, conflict resolution, and building relationships. That's the 80%. Now, let's not forget the 20%. Yes, you need to understand the technical aspects. You need to make informed decisions, provide technical guidance, and ensure the quality of the work. But remember, this is just a fraction of your role. So, if you're an aspiring engineering manager or even a seasoned one, remember this: your technical skills might get you the job, but your people skills will make you excel. Remember, engineering management is a balancing act. It's about people and engineering. Mastering this balance is what makes a genuinely great engineering manager. What are your thoughts?

In case you ask me "Why engineering management"? In the dynamic sphere of the IT industry, the role of an Engineering Manager is not just beneficial, but indispensable. 👩💻👨💻 These industry professionals are the backbone of every successful project. They serve as a bridge, connecting the technical team with business stakeholders. Their expert grasp of both worlds ensures that every project aligns with the company's goals and business strategy, fostering a seamless execution of ideas. Engineering Managers are the guiding force behind their team's progress. They inspire and direct their teams to foster innovation and creativity, leading to the development of new and exciting technologies. They encourage a culture of continued learning and advancement, which is essential in an industry that is always evolving and advancing. Quality control is another key aspect of their role. They maintain rigorous standards to ensure that every product, every solution, is of the highest quality. This commitment to excellence is what helps to deliver cutting-edge solutions that keep businesses at the forefront of their industry. Beyond that, Engineering Managers also play a crucial role in team development, building a collaborative environment that encourages growth, inclusivity, and mutual respect. They mentor, support, and guide their team members, fostering a work culture where everyone can thrive. So, here's a big shout-out to all the Engineering Managers out there, tirelessly working behind the scenes to keep the wheels of the IT industry turning. Your contributions are invaluable, and I appreciate all that you do! 🎉 #engineeringmanagement

Engineering management: 80% people, 20% engineering. Intrigued? Read on. 👇 In engineering management, it's a common misconception that the job is all about technical expertise. It's not. In fact, 80% of it is about people, and only 20% is about engineering. Imagine you're an engineering manager. You're technically proficient, sure. But your day-to-day isn't filled with coding or designing. Instead, you're in meetings, you're strategizing, you're mentoring. You're dealing with people. As an engineering manager, your role is guiding your team towards a common goal. This requires understanding each team member's strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and aspirations. It's about fostering a culture of collaboration and mutual respect. It's about communication, conflict resolution, and building relationships. That's the 80%. Now, let's not forget the 20%. Yes, you need to understand the technical aspects. You need to make informed decisions, provide technical guidance, and ensure the quality of the work. But remember, this is just a fraction of your role. So, if you're an aspiring engineering manager or even a seasoned one, remember this: your technical skills might get you the job, but your people skills will make you excel. Remember, engineering management is a balancing act. It's about people and engineering. Mastering this balance is what makes a genuinely great engineering manager. What are your thoughts?

Engineering management: 80% people, 20% engineering. Intrigued? Read on. 👇 In engineering management, it's a common misconception that the job is all about technical expertise. It's not. In fact, 80% of it is about people, and only 20% is about engineering. Imagine you're an engineering manager. You're technically proficient, sure. But your day-to-day isn't filled with coding or designing. Instead, you're in meetings, you're strategizing, you're mentoring. You're dealing with people. As an engineering manager, your role is guiding your team towards a common goal. This requires understanding each team member's strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and aspirations. It's about fostering a culture of collaboration and mutual respect. It's about communication, conflict resolution, and building relationships. That's the 80%. Now, let's not forget the 20%. Yes, you need to understand the technical aspects. You need to make informed decisions, provide technical guidance, and ensure the quality of the work. But remember, this is just a fraction of your role. So, if you're an aspiring engineering manager or even a seasoned one, remember this: your technical skills might get you the job, but your people skills will make you excel. Remember, engineering management is a balancing act. It's about people and engineering. Mastering this balance is what makes a genuinely great engineering manager. What are your thoughts?

Are you in Systems Engineering, new to the field (1-2 years), and looking to get that extra jump start to your career? Read below for a tip many overlook - plus an extra pro-tip! Want to get picked for the "cool" projects? Line up a lead systems engineering role a few years down the line, or even move into engineering leadership (management)? Then something you can do as a new Systems Engineer is to focus on helping be the solution to the issues facing management. These are often related to scope, cost and schedule - but not always. In the past, I spent extra time on presentations we were giving to customers. While not my "day job", management really wanted these interactions to go well. Recently I was working in a systems team - and we had some difficulty developing some requirements. GREAT! I'm super at writing requirements from needs statements, CONOPS, and early rough drafts. HOWEVER that was not the problem management wanted me to solve. They wanted to solve the problem of the line engineers being too busy to meet consistently enough to develop the requirements themselves. This for me, was not an authorship task - but a herding-cats task. I then when on and facilitated about a year's worth of meetings, with 1-2 per week, walking through requirements, sequence diagrams, even a few use cases. At the end, the right artifacts were developed - specifications, diagrams, process flows - BY THE RIGHT PEOPLE management wanted to work this task. In short, leadership was very happy with my work - and it even led to a promotion! More importantly I became known as being able to solve a teaming and people problem not just a requirement problem. This in turn helped me get my current engineering spot on a highly-visible program with a tight deadline and a lot of technical content. If this is what you want also - getting the inside track for the key assignments in systems engineering by increasing the types of problems you can solve - then at least occasionally step into management's shoes and try to solve some of their problems. Extra pro-tip: do this, WITHOUT BEING ASKED FIRST! COMMENT BELOW, what you think. Has this worked for you? Is this something you are willing to try? #systemsengineering #management #engineeringleadership #softskills LinkedIN is where I post my new content: https://lnkd.in/gtc9RzQx

Engineering management: 80% people, 20% engineering. Intrigued? Read on. 👇 In engineering management, it's a common misconception that the job is all about technical expertise. It's not. In fact, 80% of it is about people, and only 20% is about engineering. Imagine you're an engineering manager. You're technically proficient, sure. But your day-to-day isn't filled with coding or designing. Instead, you're in meetings, you're strategizing, you're mentoring. You're dealing with people. As an engineering manager, your role is guiding your team towards a common goal. This requires understanding each team member's strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and aspirations. It's about fostering a culture of collaboration and mutual respect. It's about communication, conflict resolution, and building relationships. That's the 80%. Now, let's not forget the 20%. Yes, you need to understand the technical aspects. You need to make informed decisions, provide technical guidance, and ensure the quality of the work. But remember, this is just a fraction of your role. So, if you're an aspiring engineering manager or even a seasoned one, remember this: your technical skills might get you the job, but your people skills will make you excel. Remember, engineering management is a balancing act. It's about people and engineering. Mastering this balance is what makes a genuinely great engineering manager. What are your thoughts?

I think one of the reasons I'm hesitant to share as much Engineering Manager content as, for example, Ryan Murphy, is that 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭. This despite the fact that I've arguably had some success as a manager thus far, and that I'm technically a middle manager at this point, managing other managers, even. My biggest flex being that people want to work in my team, specifically 💅 But I'm still learning, guys. All day, every day. I make mistakes. 🥴 And when I do, it affects my reports and everyone sideways and upwards from me. No pressure. Aside from being accountable for the output of the team, providing the technical direction, driving execution, define ways of working, the culture, resource management, supporting people's growth by giving appropriate scope, coach and give feedback... One of the biggest challenges about being a Software Engineering Manager, is knowing exactly when and how to delegate, and when to dive deep. This balancing act is easier said than done to nail, and something I'm always working on. > Engineering Management is not for the faint of heart. > Engineering Management is for people who care about 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 AND 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. > If you care mostly about engineering, go the staff path. > If you don't care as much about engineering, I've no clue, don't take career advice from me 🤭