Forward deployed engineers work inside someone else's company, which breaks most of how engineering managers normally see their team. Here's what changes and how to manage it.
Lattice and Emtricks get compared often, but they solve different problems for different buyers. Here's an honest breakdown of which one fits your situation — including when Lattice is the right answer.
Most EMs run their team from a spreadsheet, and for a while it works. Here's an honest look at where the spreadsheet wins, exactly where it breaks, and how to tell which side of that line you're on.
Most EMs juggle 10+ tools and still feel disorganised. Here are the 7 categories of engineering manager tools that actually matter in 2026, what to look for in each, and what you can skip.
Your team is shipping faster than ever and understanding less of what it ships. Here's how to manage the comprehension gap that AI-assisted development creates.
AI writes code faster than humans can review it. The fundamentals of good code review haven't changed — but almost everything around them has. Here's how to adapt.
Staff isn't 'senior but better'. It's a different job with a different unit of work — and most organisations promote into it badly. Here's what the role really is.
The path from junior to senior isn't one transition — it's three, and each requires something different from you as a manager. Here's the practice that actually moves people.
Most retrospectives produce the same action items every quarter and change nothing. Here's how to run them so they actually result in lasting improvement.
Most engineering ladders are either too vague to be useful or so detailed they're gamed. Here's how to build one that drives genuine growth and makes promotion conversations honest.
Underperformance conversations are the hardest thing EMs face. Here's how to handle them clearly, fairly, and without destroying the relationship or the person.
The promotion document is where your engineer's case is won or lost. Here's a structure that works, what to include, and the mistakes that sink otherwise strong cases.
The EM and Tech Lead roles are often confused, poorly defined, or collapsed into one person by accident. Here's how to split them clearly — and why getting it right matters for your team.
Algorithmic puzzles test a narrow skill that most engineering jobs don't require. Here's how to design an interview process that actually predicts whether someone will succeed on your team.
Remote engineering teams don't fail because of timezone gaps or video call fatigue. They fail because managers apply in-office practices to a fundamentally different environment. Here's what actually works.
The first 30 days determine whether a new engineer will thrive or struggle. Here's a structured approach to onboarding that actually works.
Most 1:1 problems are invisible until they've been accumulating for months. Here's how to recognise the signs that your 1:1s have stopped being useful and what to do about each one.
A single 1:1 template doesn't work for every engineer. Here's how to adapt your approach to different personalities while keeping the conversations genuinely useful.
Psychological safety is the single strongest predictor of team performance. It's also widely misunderstood. Here's what it actually means and how to build it deliberately.
Some engineers do great work that nobody sees. Left unaddressed, this is one of the most reliable predictors of disengagement, stalled careers, and eventual departure.
The biggest OKR failure mode isn't bad goal-setting. It's goal-setting that feels handed down from above with no room for ownership. Here's how to cascade goals without killing motivation.
Most OKRs fail not because they're bad goals but because nobody looks at them after they're set. A weekly check-in ritual fixes this — if you do it right.
Both metrics matter, but they point to different bottlenecks. Here's how to read them together and decide where to focus first.
DORA metrics are the closest thing engineering has to a universal performance standard. Here's what they measure, what they don't, and how to use them without turning your team into a dashboard.
Engineers don't quit suddenly. The signs appear weeks or months before. Here's what to look for and how to re-engage before it's too late.
Skip-level meetings give you visibility into team health that your direct reports can't always give you. Here's how to run them without undermining your EMs.
The jump from EM to Senior EM isn't about managing more people. It's about a fundamental shift in how you think about problems and where you spend your leverage.
Most EM feedback is forgotten by the next morning. Here's a framework for delivering feedback that sticks — and a template for the toughest conversations.
Most EMs delegate too little and in the wrong ways. Here's a framework for delegating effectively — and why getting it right is the key to team growth.
Most engineering OKRs are either too vague to be useful or too output-focused to be motivating. Here's how to write them in a way your team will actually connect with.
Performance reviews don't have to be a bureaucratic nightmare. Here's how to make them honest, fair, and actually useful for your engineers' growth.
PR cycle time is the most actionable engineering metric most teams ignore. Here's what it tells you about your team's health and how to improve it.
New to the EM role? Here's a week-by-week playbook for your first 90 days — what to learn, what to avoid, and how to build trust without overstepping.
Learn how to run effective 1:1 meetings that build trust, unblock your team, and surface problems early. Includes a weekly template and checklist.
Stop guessing about engineering velocity. These 5 GitHub metrics give Engineering Managers objective signal on team health, delivery pace, and process bottlenecks.
Most engineers miss promotions not because of their work, but because their work is undocumented. Learn how to write impact stories that make promotion cases undeniable.
OKRs often fail in engineering teams because they're set top-down and measured wrong. This guide shows how to run OKRs that actually drive focus and motivation.
Burnout rarely announces itself. Learn the leading indicators — in 1:1s, GitHub activity, and team dynamics — that tell you someone is struggling weeks before they hit a wall.