Continuous Team Advocacy
Engineering managers play a crucial role in not only leading their teams but also in advocating for them. This responsibility intensifies during organizational changes and in fluctuating market conditions. Advocacy should be a continuous effort, transcending beyond periodic roadmap reviews or shifts in company leadership or strategy.
Building Visibility through Advocacy
Advocacy serves as a bridge that connects the team’s efforts to the broader organizational goals. It ensures that the leadership is aware of the team’s contributions, thereby elevating their impact on the business. This visibility is key in decision-making processes and helps in securing necessary resources and support. For example, providing regular updates in broader forums, such as company-wide meetings or newsletters, can highlight feature releases and their positive impact on business metrics.
Accountability and Trust
Advocacy also manifests accountability. When managers articulate their team’s work and challenges, it builds trust with stakeholders. This trust is crucial, especially during organizational restructuring or market downturns, as it positions the team as a reliable and integral part of the company.
Tip: Next time you have a delayed project, bring it up (along with mitigation plans), during your pillar or squad meeting. This will demonstrate transparency and responsibility, bolstering that trust.
Engaging Leadership
Active engagement with leaders helps in stress-testing the team’s charter, reorienting its objectives and tactics to company strategy. These exercise only clarify the rationale for the team’s existence and makes it more resilient to external changes.
Inviting a senior leader to a team meeting for discussing the quarterly roadmaps can provide valuable insights, enhancing the team’s focus and alignment with company objectives.
Tactics for advocacy
- Engineering Tech Talks: Sign up for talks where engineers present technical challenges and solutions. It showcases expertise and thought leadership.
- Show and Tell Demos: Regular demos of new features or tools developed by the team can visually communicate progress and impact.
- Participation in Product Reviews: Engaging in product review meetings not only provides a platform for showcasing the team’s work but also offers an opportunity to understand and align with cross-functional goals.
- Soliciting Feedback: Actively seeking feedback from peers and leaders demonstrates openness and a commitment to continuous improvement.
- Hackathons: Organize or participate in hackathons to highlight creativity and problem-solving skills.
To wrap up, advocacy by engineering managers is not a sporadic task but a continuous commitment. It’s about creating a narrative that aligns the team’s work with the company’s vision, thereby ensuring visibility, building trust, and enhancing resilience. In the current market scenario, where change is the only constant, proactive advocacy can significantly impact the team’s success and sustainability.
The learning continues in…
- All chapters — The Engineering Manager’s Pocket Guide
- Chapter 6 — Stakeholder Management For Engineering Leads
- Chapter 7 — One-way & Two-way Door Decisions
- Chapter 8 — From Busy to Productive: Time Management Tips for Engineering Managers
- Chapter 9 — Constructive Feedback Strategies Every Leader Should Know
- Chapter 10 — Leading vs. Managing in the Engineering World
- Chapter 11 — “Time to X” — metrics your team should track
- Chapter 12 — Defining “done” in software projects
- Chapter 13 — Continuous Team Advocacy
If you have any thoughts or experiences to add, let me know! Respond to this post or let me know on LinkedIn. I’m happy to talk about anything software engineering related.
