Speaker
Abstract
The highest performing companies in every industry, like Apple, adhere to the principle of Experts leading Experts. As Apple says "it's easier to train an expert to manage well than to train a manager to be an expert".
As engineers we're used to acquiring new technical skills and our ability to do that is probably what got us into our managerial position. But what about all this "manager" stuff we are now expected to do? Performance management, organizational design, coaching and mentoring, influencing and persuading. How do we become good at that? And do we even want to?
After leading over 250 engineers across the world and coaching and mentoring people at many different stages of their leadership journey, I have learned that many engineers who take on leadership roles feel the expectations of management are unclear and ill defined. I want to help people on the journey to understand how they can grow to become a great engineering manager. And why it's critical that we remove the obstacles and enable today's engineers to grow into tomorrow's empowered engineering leaders.
Topics
QCon London 2024 is a three day conference for senior software engineers, architects and team leads. An international program committee of working engineers selects every session. Patterns and practices, not products and pitches.
Part of the track
Engineering Leadership for All Hosted by Tanja Lichtensteiger Director of Product Engineering @BBCFrom the same track
Monday 8 April
10:35 Whittle (3rd Fl.) Session Engineering Management Help: I Didn’t Realize I Was a Manager Now! Peter Gillard-Moss Senior Engineering Manager @DeepL, Previously Head of Technology @thoughtworks, Technology Leader with 20+ Years Experience The highest performing companies in every industry, like Apple, adhere to the principle of Experts leading Experts. As Apple says "it's easier to train an expert to manage well than to train a manager to be an expert". 11:45 Whittle (3rd Fl.) Session staff+ Navigators: Decentralizing Decisions and Empowering ICs at Carta Shawna Martell, Dan Fike As organizations grow, maintaining communication channels between individual contributors (ICs), managers, and executives is vital. At Carta, we have harnessed the power of this small group of senior engineers to bridge the gap between innovation and executive decision-making. 13:35 Fleming (3rd Fl.) Session The Art, Science and Psychology of Decision Making Hannes Ricklefs Head of Architectures @BBC An exploration into the science behind decision-making, and tips and tricks to improve your ability to make sound personal and professional choices. 14:45 Whittle (3rd Fl.) Session leadership Small Actions, Big Impact: Catalyzing Change in Groups Eb Ikonne Associate Vice President Product & Engineering @Cox Automotive, Author of "Becoming a Leader in Product Development", & Spreading Joy Through "Joy at Work" In the dynamic landscape of software engineering, the power to effect change does not lie in grand and colorful strategies but in the cumulative influence of small, strategic actions within teams and organizations. 15:55 Rutherford (4th Fl.) Event Connecting the Dots: Engineering Leadership (Limited Space - Registration Required) Join some leading experts in engineering leadership to share your challenges, hear from others who have similar challenges, and collaborate together on ways to take what you’ve learned at QCon back to work. (Limited Space - Registration Required) 17:05 Whittle (3rd Fl.) Session Data, Drugs, and Disruption: Leading High-Performance Company in Drug Development Dr. Olga Kubassova President @IAG, Image Analysis Group Ever wonder how to find inspiration and leadership drive to transform your cutting-edge engineering idea into a viable technology powered business?