I probably made every mistake a new manager could make as a first-time manager, even with experience managing managers. Every day was a school day, and each included many lessons.
- I tried to be everyone’s friend.
- I jumped in to solve every problem.
- I avoided difficult conversations.
- I worked 70-hour weeks trying to prove myself.
- I thought being reactive and giving full autonomy, relying on senior engineers, was the best way to achieve business impact.
Sound familiar?
After 25 years in software engineering, including managing teams and managers, hundreds of conversations with leaders with varying experiences from different backgrounds, and countless hours of management books and podcasts, I’ve captured the lesson I wish I’d known from day one.
My new book “Fixing Management: A Manager’s Guide to Moving from Ineffective to Exceptional” isn’t about theory. It’s about reality.
The book is not only for engineering managers. It’s for any aspiring, first-time, or experienced manager in any industry.
Inside, along with common but ineffective real-life scenarios and their analysis, you’ll find:
✓ Practical actions you can use tomorrow
✓ Solutions to the challenges nobody talks about, but are part of every manager’s life
✓ Busting myths about bad internet advice
No fluff. No corporate buzzwords. Just honest insights from research and the experiences of researchers, experts and people who’ve been on this road many times because our people deserve more from us.
- Performance management: hiring, 1:1s, feedback, development plan, performance review, firing
- Influence: communication with DiSC, conflict resolution, motivation, stakeholders, managing up
- Team culture: psychological safety, interviewing, meeting etiquette, engagement
- Goals: OKRs, metrics, quarterly plan, project management, crises
- Self-management: resume, personal brand, impostor syndrome, time management
- Navigating the organization: business acumen, team building, mentorship
Can a book have an impact?
Definitely! You may know Jorge Méndez Blake’s piece: “The Impact of a Book”
An excellent opportunity to use your neglected education budget.
While you are here, check out the free
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