Building a community of engineering leaders

I set out on this adventure of creating a community of engineering leaders in part because I believed there was an unmet need which was not being addressed: on the ground tactical advice & feedback. I equally have started down this path because sincerely question whether technology leadership, and more especially engineering leadership, is a priorty at some companies. My hope is to inspire a community of engineering leaders to share their experiences, and to help each other grow.

A little bit about me: I have been an engineering manager for 10 years but I have been an engineering leader for all 13 years of my career. I have worked at startups, mid-sized companies, as well as NASA in various roles: manager, architect, director, and CTO. My direct reports have varied between two and fourty-five depending on the role.

Over time my authority has branched out beyond the codebase to include product, design, and especially business roadmaps & vision. No matter where I was or what the role, one constant always held true: in order to be successful as a manager & and as a leader I needed to invest into the people I worked with as well as who I was responsible for. Success meant building trust in others before laying out any grand visions. It included having difficult conversations (something I hope to cover often in the community newsletter).

Who is this community for? Engineering managers at any size company looking to grow and learn from others. Aspiring engineering leaders looking to become better team leads or become a manager. Managers who are making the jump from managing one team to many. Even product managers who are looking to better understand the engineering side of the house.