My management style
Over my three years of experience as an Engineering Manager at Mercari, I worked with a dozen engineers at different stages of their careers. Like many others, the opportunity to become an engineering manager came without much training before I took the position. My prior manager left the company, and I took the opportunity to take the role. I’ve learned from previous and current managers about their management styles and “learn by doing” with my own experience as a manager and took some valuable lessons from various coaching sessions. Today I want to highlight some of the lessons I’ve learned over the years and outline some of “my management styles.”
Disclaimer: Just like anything else in life, my management styles do evolve. Please take this as a reference point but not as a fixed statement of my management style.
Alignment
As a manager, I believe there are two essential jobs to play. First and foremost, ensure that direct reports are happy, healthy, engaged, and performing at their full potential (Retention). Second, ensuring that the company expectations to individuals are well understood and delivering the values to the business (Alignment). It is an important reminder that as managers interact with their direct reports, direct reports will see the manager as a point of contact with the company. My job as a manager is to ensure that each direct report is well informed about the company, priorities of the business, and context of the work so that they can make informed decisions in day-to-day work for the best of the company. As a manager, the primary job is to ensure I am well informed and understand the business context so that direct reports can align the expectations as I help inform and help them make the decisions.
When working with direct reports, managers need to understand their career growth and interests and the business context, working with the two to deliver value to the business while enriching the individual’s career growth.
Goal setting
Goal setting is one of the most effective exercises between a manager and direct reports. As mentioned in the Alignment, as a manager, I will need to understand the business priority of an individual; with the business context in mind, it is equally important to work with the individuals to understand their career growths and interests. I break down the exercise of understanding their career growth in three stages:
Understand where you are
Understanding where they are in career growth is an essential exercise for both parties. It is important to remind that this is not one-way communication. It is equally vital to allow direct reports to think of their stage and share their views; similarly, managers can look into their performance (from previous performances to today’s contributions) and develop their idea of their stage. Then we can discuss and develop the alignment (or find gaps in understanding expectations).
Understand where you want to be
Through the discussions, the primary job of a manager is to unpack their views and help them understand as concretely as possible. With that understanding of the current stage, we can continue the conversations to know where they want to go. It is important to remind them that they are in the driver’s seat, not managers. It is sometimes helpful to provide insights and reference points (such as pointing out role models, possible roles, and potential opportunities that arise within the company).
Understand how to get there
It now becomes an exercise to develop plans and possible next steps to make progress. This can translate into quarterly goals (I am an advocate of the OKR format) and can be a touch point in regular 1on1s discussions to follow up.
The power of asking questions
One of the most effective communication tools as a manager is to frame conversations in a question. In setting goals, for example, it is crucial to facilitate discussions with the right questions. This reinforces the ownership of problems and provides a sense of autonomy while giving a chance for feedback. I came across a practical coaching framework, SOON question list, from the LifeLabs manager training lessons. Techniques like the SOON question list will give managers practical communication skills with the proper use of questions.
1on1s
1on1s are a critical venue to achieve many of the management contributions. It is used to attain goal-setting alignments and understand issues they might have. Members have their preferences in what they want to see in 1on1s. While I keep 1on1 styles open and can adjust based on their preferences, I try to make specific points.
Bird view vs. day-to-day
During 1on1s, it can sometimes result in project status updates and too much focus on the day-to-day operation agenda. While important and sometimes necessary, I try to balance longer-term conversations such as goal setting, reviewing the progress of such goals, and career growth opportunities. Managers can avoid spending too much time on project updates by asking members to write project updates in the meeting minutes before the call and have enough context in day-to-day work through different venues (project meetings and other communication channel) and only go over the highlights.
Celebrate success/constant feedback
1on1s can be crucial in delivering feedback to members and recognizing contributions. Both manager and member can think of what went well or highlights this last two weeks and celebrate any wins (small or big).
Action items/follow-ups
I find it effective to create a flow of communications by coming up with action items from the conversations, writing them down on 1on1s meeting minutes, and following up on the talks. This will help build momentum and relationships by following up on necessary actions.
Autonomy/Ownership
Providing a sense of autonomy and working with members to continue expanding the ownership is a significant part of my job. I believe that, by building the alignment, understanding their goals/growth, and making sure members are best informed, each member is capable of making decisions and taking ownership.
Empathy/Compassion
I practice empathetic leadership by active listening; I am genuinely interested in the people I get to work with and want to be helpful. I value the relationships we get to build together, and I demonstrate compassion through actions and care.
References
I develop my management style by working with members, learning from peers, and reading management books. LinkedIn Learning has many valuable courses on management; you can find the lessons I’ve taken here. I want to highlight some references that helped me develop my management experience. I took a year-long coaching session with Christopher Yeh, a former colleague from Clio and a friend, who taught me effective coaching and the power of asking questions. I am also a part of ELC Peer Groups, where I get to discuss with engineering leaders in a closed and safe environment about lessons learned and management experiences of each other. Management-related books I read include The Manager’s Path, An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management, The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever, and Harvard Business Review Manager’s Handbook: The 17 Skills Leaders Need to Stand Out.
These are some of the management styles I practice; as always, I want to constantly learn and improve my effective management style, and always keen on learning from other leaders.
People management is not the only role I play as an engineering manager. Hiring, scaling organizations, and product strategy/execution are other main contributions, which I might have a chance to review in other posts.
Happy engineering management!
