Manager's Path : A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change (Bestseller)

Managing people is difficult wherever you work. But in the tech industry, where management is also a technical discipline, the learning curve can be brutal—especially when there are few tools, texts, and frameworks to help you. In this practical guide, author Camille Fournier (tech lead turned CTO) takes you through each stage in the journey from engineer to technical manager.

From mentoring interns to working with senior staff, you’ll get actionable advice for approaching various obstacles in your path. This book is ideal whether you’re a new manager, a mentor, or a more experienced leader looking for fresh advice. Pick up this book and learn how to become a better manager and leader in your organization.

• Begin by exploring what you expect from a manager
• Understand what it takes to be a good mentor, and a good tech lead
• Learn how to manage individual members while remaining focused on the entire team
• Understand how to manage yourself and avoid common pitfalls that challenge many leaders
• Manage multiple teams and learn how to manage managers
• Learn how to build and bootstrap a unifying culture in teams

Table of Content

Chapter 1Management 101

What to Expect from a Manager

How to Be Managed

Assessing Your Own Experience

Chapter 2Mentoring

The Importance of Mentoring to Junior TeamMembers

Being a Mentor

Good Manager, Bad Manager: The Alpha Geek

Tips for the Manager of a Mentor

Key Takeaways for the Mentor

Assessing Your Own Experience

Chapter 3Tech Lead

All Great Tech Leads Know This One WeirdTrick

Being a Tech Lead 101

Managing Projects

Managing a Project

Decision Point: Stay on the Technical Trackor Become a Manager

Good Manager, Bad Manager: The Process Czar

How to Be a Great Tech Lead

Assessing Your Own Experience

Chapter 4Managing People

Starting a New Reporting Relationship OffRight

Communicating with Your Team

Different 1-1 Styles

Good Manager, Bad Manager: Micromanager,Delegator

Practical Advice for Delegating Effectively

Creating a Culture of Continuous Feedback

Performance Reviews

Cultivating Careers

Challenging Situations: FiringUnderperformers

Assessing Your Own Experience

Chapter 5Managing a Team

Staying Technical

Debugging Dysfunctional Teams: The Basics

The Shield

How to Drive Good Decisions

Good Manager, Bad Manager: Conflict Avoider,Conflict Tamer

Challenging Situations: Team CohesionDestroyers

Advanced Project Management

Assessing Your Own Experience

Chapter 6Managing Multiple Teams

Managing Your Time: What’s Important, Anyway?

Decisions and Delegation

Challenging Situations: Strategies for SayingNo

Technical Elements Beyond Code

Measuring the Health of Your Development Team

Good Manager, Bad Manager: Us Versus Them,Team Player

The Virtues of Laziness and Impatience

Assessing Your Own Experience

Chapter 7Managing Managers

Skip-Level Meetings

Manager Accountability

Good Manager, Bad Manager: The People Pleaser

Managing New Managers

Managing Experienced Managers

Hiring Managers

Debugging Dysfunctional Organizations

Setting Expectations and Delivering onSchedule

Challenging Situations: Roadmap Uncertainty

Staying Technically Relevant

Assessing Your Own Experience

Chapter 8The Big Leagues

Models for Thinking About Tech SeniorLeadership

What’s a VP of Engineering?

What’s a CTO?

Changing Priorities

Setting the Strategy

Challenging Situations: Delivering Bad News

Senior Peers in Other Functions

The Echo

Ruling with Fear, Guiding with Trust

True North

Recommended Reading

Assessing Your Own Experience

Chapter 9Bootstrapping Culture

Assessing Your Role

Creating Your Culture

Applying Core Values

Creating Cultural Policy

Writing a Career Ladder

Cross-Functional Teams

Developing Engineering Processes

Practical Advice: Depersonalize DecisionMaking

Assessing Your Own Experience

Chapter 10Conclusion