The Engineering Leader: Strategies for Scaling Teams and Yourself Paperback – Import, 21 May 2024

Looking for a field guide to Engineering Leadership? Then look no further than this new book by Cate Huston."The Engineering Leader: Strategies for scaling teams and yourself"Where was this book when I was figuring out how to be an Engineering Manager building an engineering group at Google?It's a manual for leaders looking to expand their leadership range, and it's a call to arms for individual contributors to take responsibility for their careers beyond the current job/company.Cate leverages the deep experience of her leadership journey to bring elegant, simple and actionable insight. The book advocates for a different approach to personal and professional growth.Whether you're an IC or a manager, this book is deep and rich. Everyone needs to read this book."Your life is more than your career, and your career is more than your current job."It's a human-first view of leadership. Cate argues that taking responsibility for your career trajectory (beyond this job, beyond this company), is a win-win.There's a nugget on every page.Like when what you're learning are coping mechanisms rather than skills, it might be time to rethink.An entire section is given to "Embracing Growth", with guidance on growing your coachability, and how best to use feedback to orient yourself for growth. Cate's range is large and advocates for a coach-like style of leadership.This is a generous book, and in itself has great range.Everything is covered. From an exploration of burnout to better working with feedback to scaling teams.I especially love Cate's meticulous referencing of her sources, with each chapter offering references for deeper learning.This really is a must-read for everyone in tech.

I originally thought this book would be helpful in transitioning my career to a management position.All I seem to remember from the book is its constant nag about diversity in building teams and how this can be improved.