Do Good Engineers Make Good Engineering Managers?

Earlier this year, Juan Pablo Dellaroquelle, vice president of engineering at the Silicon Valley software company Medallia, made waves when he claimed in a blog post that good engineering managers don't exist.According to Dellaroquelle, engineers who aspire to "move up" into management aren't good engineers -- otherwise they would have been happy in their roles -- and make even worse managers. Conversely, the best engineers may exercise influence through informal channels, but have no interest in becoming managers.

Certainly, nobody would aspire to be the pointy-haired boss from Scott Adams' Dilbert comic strip, and as Alex Wolfe pointed out in a Design News blog, most engineers are happy in non-management roles. But is there such a thing as a good engineering manager? If so, do good engineers have the qualities necessary to be one?

I believe that good engineering managers really exist, because I've worked for them. (In fact, I happen to work for one right now.) I've also known people who were great engineers, but not-so-great engineering managers. And, of course, I've seen people who weren't much good in either role.

One important thing to remember is that there's a big difference between an engineering manager and a senior engineer. An engineering manager isn't, or shouldn't be, directly involved in detail-level design work. If you enjoy detail-level design work -- which you presumably do, since you chose engineering as a profession -- making this transition may be difficult. In fact, it's the main reason why most engineers try to avoid management roles: you have to spend a lot of time doing things you don't like (i.e. going to meetings), and little or no time doing things you like (i.e. designing innovative technical solutions).

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It's also one of the main reasons why some engineers don't succeed as managers: the temptation to get involved in detail-level design is too great. You may be extremely bright and technically knowledgeable. However, if you're in a management role, it's unlikely you're as well versed in the details of a project as the engineers who are working on it every day: they're the ones who actually do the work. If you try to micromanage these details, not only will your engineers resent you, but, more often than not, you'll make bad decisions. Furthermore, your engineers will make bad decisions, as they try to follow your (real or imagined) "mandates" rather than their own engineering judgment. You're not the expert anymore, so don't try to be.

So what should an engineering manager do?

Another important function of engineering managers is to communicate engineers' work to upper management and other departments. There's a persistent stereotype that technical people have poor communication skills, and there's a good case to be made that engineering schools need to do a better job teaching these skills. However, good communication skills, by themselves, aren't enough. When the 19th century Russian biologist Peter Kropotkin conducted field expeditions in Siberia, he would often take the time to explain his research to curious peasants. His aristocratic colleagues ridiculed him for trying to explain advanced biological concepts to illiterate villagers. Kropotkin replied: "You can explain anything to anyone -- provided that you understand it yourself." As an engineering manager, you won't be able to accurately represent your engineers' work to upper management unless you have a strong technical understanding.

For this reason, being a good engineer is a prerequisite for being a good engineering manager. However, it's a necessary but not sufficient condition: not every good engineer will make a good engineering manager, or even want to be one in the first place. This is why good engineering managers are few and far between. The good news is that they really exist. Furthermore, it's something you can get better at. It's a myth that some people are simply born to be managers. Like anything else, management and leadership skills are learned. The best engineering managers, like the best engineers, spend time trying to get better at what they do.

Readers, what do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.