The Manager's Path

I recently read The Manager’s Path

Key Takeaways

• As you progress through Junior, Mid-level and Senior software engineer, it is expected that you bring more of the agenda to your 1:1 meetings.
• At most companies, you need to keep getting promoted every couple of years if you want to stay, until about Senior Software Engineer, where it is perfectly acceptable to remain for the rest of your career.
• Leadership vs Management. You can provide leadership at all levels, without being a manager. As a Senior software engineer, you are expected to provide leadership through giving input on technical direction of projects and mentoring more junior engineers, without being a manager.

Biggest Surprise

I didn’t plan to finish the book. It starts at individual contributor and works up to CTO. I am not planning to become a manager but just wanted to understand what my manager is doing and what his goals are. I kept thinking I’ll stop at the next chapter, so I was surprised when I reached the end.

Who should read it

Anyone who writes code or manages people who do. The first chapter covers “How to be managed”, and at some point they cover the “Tech Lead” role. Also a lot of time is spent on “Mentoring”. So the beginning really is for all of us, feel free to stop reading whenever you are no longer interested.