Grow into Engineering Management
Are you ready to elevate your career and step into the role of an engineering manager? Are you wondering if making the transition to management may be the right choice for you? This comprehensive coaching plan is designed to guide you through the transition from individual contributor to a confident and effective leader in engineering management. With my decade+ of experience in software engineering and engineering management (currently Senior Manager of Engineering at Honeycomb.io), I understand the unique challenges and opportunities that come with engineering leadership. My goal is to equip you with the skills and mindset needed to lead teams, drive change, and foster innovation. Here's what we'll focus on together: Coaching & Mentoring: Develop your leadership style and learn how to inspire and guide your team to achieve their best. We'll work on building trust, providing constructive feedback, and nurturing talent within your team. Conflict Resolution: Gain the tools to navigate and resolve conflicts effectively, ensuring a harmonious and productive work environment. We'll explore strategies to address issues proactively and maintain team cohesion. Change Management: Learn how to lead your team through change with confidence and clarity. We'll cover techniques for managing transitions, communicating effectively, and minimizing disruption. Problem-Solving: Enhance your ability to tackle complex challenges with innovative solutions. We'll work on sharpening your analytical skills and fostering a problem-solving culture within your team. Time Management: Master the art of prioritizing tasks and managing your time efficiently. I'll help you develop strategies to balance your responsibilities and maintain focus on high-impact activities. Team AI Upskilling: Stay ahead of the curve by upskilling your team in AI technologies. We'll explore ways to integrate AI into your projects and empower your team to leverage these tools for greater success. Throughout our sessions, I'll provide personalized guidance and support, tailored to your specific needs and career goals. Whether you're preparing for a new role or looking to enhance your current leadership capabilities, this plan is designed to help you grow into a successful engineering manager. Let's embark on this journey together and unlock your full potential as a leader in engineering management.
What's included
- A clear sense of how to approach conversations with your new direct reports.
- Enhanced problem-solving skills to tackle complex engineering challenges innovatively.
- Time management strategies to prioritize tasks and focus on high-impact activities.
- Tips for communicating upwards with your manager and company executives to highlight you and your team's impact.
Meet your expert
Emma B.
Lead with Confidence in an AI-Saturated World
I'm a Senior Engineering Manager at Honeycomb, where I lead the App Observability team. Over the past decade, I've built and led engineering teams at companies ranging from pre-seed to Series D, including Zapier, MainStreet, and Endgame, and spent nearly six years as a software engineer and engineering director at Formidable (now NearForm Commerce), shipping projects for clients like Starbucks, Nintendo, and 538. I've managed through reorgs, layoffs, rapid scaling, and the messy in-between parts of startup engineering leadership that nobody writes blog posts about. I've also gone deep on integrating AI into my own management workflows, from building custom tooling for planning and inbox processing to using AI for meeting prep, team updates, and prioritization. It's the thing I get asked about most. I work best with engineering managers and senior ICs who are in the middle of something hard. Maybe you just made the jump from IC to manager and the job feels nothing like what you expected. Maybe you're managing through a reorg or layoff and trying to keep your team steady while everything shifts underneath you. Maybe you're a solid manager who wants to actually use AI in your day-to-day instead of just reading about it. Here's what I bring: practical, specific advice grounded in things I've actually done, not frameworks I read about. I'll share what's worked for me (and what hasn't), help you think through real situations you're navigating, and push you to build systems that stick instead of ones that fall apart in two weeks. I'm direct, I ask a lot of questions, and I care more about what's actually useful to you than what sounds good on paper. If any of that resonates, send me a message and tell me what you're working through. We'll start with an intro call to make sure we're a good fit, and go from there.