Ask HN: Books to read when you transform from SWE into SWE Management?

Everyone recommends The Manager's Path, but I don't think it's a good book to explain HOW to become a manager. The book's goal is to explain the career path of a manager from tech lead to CTO.

My #1 recommendation these days is "Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager" by Jamies Stanier. This book explains how to approach the work a manager is involved in and what you can expect from the day to day. Planning, hard conversations, performance reviews etc.

Also, look for general management books. Leadership is something all humans do – software management is about managing creative people. Some other books I recommend are:

• Creativity, Inc by Ed Matmull • Crucial Conversation • Team of Teams

For email newsletters, I recommend Software Lead Weekly (https://softwareleadweekly.com/) and Better Allies (https://betterallies.com/more-content/).

Lastly, I also write a blog called Build the Stage (https://www.buildthestage.com) about managing SWEs. I've got posts about performance reviews, team meetings, how to give feedback, etc. It'll help you out.

p33p · 4 years ago

Stanier's book should be required reading for anyone becoming a people manager for the first time. I cannot recommend it enough and regularly give it to new or aspiring managers.

aprdm · 4 years ago

Yep, I really like sports related books too, such as Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success, and Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United

cutenewt · 4 years ago

I second this. The Manager's Path is a terrible book.

throwanem · 4 years ago

What's wrong with it? I'm just gathering recommendations myself, and it'd help to know especially if there are more general red flags to watch out for.

Second the recommendations for "an elegant puzzle" and "the manager's path".

Cant believe this one has not been mentioned yet: "Becoming an effective software engineering manager" by James Stanier (https://pragprog.com/titles/jsengman/become-an-effective-sof...) - a good book, and very specific for exactly your situation.

Would also like to mention my own podcast "Ask an engineering manager" - more focused on SWEs, but also has some episodes about how to be an Eng Mgr, e.g. https://askanengineeringmanager.libsyn.com/017-typical-mista...

jstanier · 4 years ago

Thanks for mentioning my book. Indeed, it's written exactly with that moment of time in mind: the "OK, so I want to do this. But how?"

cloverich · 4 years ago

I enjoyed an Elegant Puzzle but often felt it was targeted at a step above first time management, with topics on having interview pipelines, org design, etc. But it was still a good read.

His follow up book on Staff Engineering I think is a good read for first time managers. It lays out the other leadership path, which is helpful both for understanding where you fit in and the other leadership path you can guide your reports towards, based on their trajectory and interests.

strife25 · 4 years ago

endymi0n · 4 years ago

Here's the single one resource I'm giving any of our new leaders, it's really short and the highest signal-to-noise ratio I've ever seen:

https://www.defmacro.org/2014/10/03/engman.html

I'm personally revisiting it every time I send it around, because it's just so good.

Here's another I've seen recently that goes into a bit of detail while not being quite as succinct:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30240428

EDIT: replaced second link with HN one as it contains an Emoji and broke due to policy

p0larboy · 4 years ago

The "defmarco" blog post is gold. I appreciate that he put it a quick bullet format, rather than a long fleshed-out ebook.

Most of the rules actually applies across all types of roles and not just a engineering one.

Gonna print this one out and nailed it on my desk.

Scarblac · 4 years ago

Things I've saved from previous discussions:

HN Question "Advice for a new & inexperienced tech lead?": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22255301

HN Question "Best book / resources on leadership, especially for tech teams?" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21712194

HN Question "I want my tech lead's job" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21369535

Useful comments on a leadership blog post link https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21376838

elmarschraml · 4 years ago

brianmcc · 4 years ago

I recommend "Managing Humans" by Michael Lopp aka "Rands".

https://randsinrepose.com/

It's a bit tongue in cheek rather than "management theory" but no less worthwhile for it.

zweiasakura · 4 years ago

I agree on Rands In Repose. The articles helped me pivot my priorities from shipping code to helping my team ship code. Here's a gist of the articles i found the most helpful: https://gist.github.com/samarkamat/f19a4c4596550429eae1b95cb...

Aeolun · 4 years ago

There’s really only one thing you have to take away from ‘The Mythical Man Month’ and ‘Peopleware’ in my opinion (more people != more work), but they’re still valuable reads.

splittingTimes · 4 years ago

This.

DeMarco's Peopleware is a bit more hands on compared to the man month.

brodo · 4 years ago

Man month is also pretty dated by now. There is some valid advice in the book still, but oftentimes it has to be 'translated' to the modern computing environment. Other things in it are just completely outdated.

dotBen · 4 years ago

Another vote for Peopleware. It felt like it was written for a prior era, and that's when I read it in the early 2000s!

But then you realize that the fundamentals of being a good engineering manager are the same regardless of the technologies you're using and building.

mooreds · 4 years ago

Join the Rands Leadership Slack. Highly highly recommended: https://randsinrepose.com/welcome-to-rands-leadership-slack/

You can learn an awful lot by just browsing around, but they also have channels for questions, both with your name and anonymous.

philk10 · 4 years ago

Becoming a Technical Leader - an Organic Problem-Solving Approach by Jerry Weinberg (https://geraldmweinberg.com/Site/Technical_Leader.html)