I have about 9 months of experience as an engineering manager after a little under 4 years of experience as a developer. I found it a mostly straightforward tra

I have about 9 months of experience as an engineering manager after a little under 4 years of experience as a developer. I found it a mostly straightforward transition, but perhaps I had a background that prepared me better than a lot of people have. Good leadership is paramount I found - it makes the difference between a team that is focused on executing and one that is mired in other issues. As a Marine, I strongly believe in the Marine Corps leadership principles [1] and applied them with great success in improving the work experience for the engineers I was managing in a dysfunctional environment - I have been told that I was the best manager some of these people had as a result, one engineer with over 20 years of experience in the industry. Anything you are not able to accomplish to make people's lives better at work makes their lives harder, so you must use that as motivation to do the best you can to give them the tools and environment to succeed. Trust in your engineers to make the right decision & the judgment of the team as a collective - your job is not to handle the technical stuff in general. Keep eyes and ears open for stuff coming down the pipeline and its effect on the team (people might be interested in certain projects, or it might even affect technical design sometimes). Keep listening for the things each team member may need/want. Actively probe, and take action wherever possible to help accomplish it. The list of things that one may want to know is endless. An ability to learn & adapt is very important for a good manager. Seek advice from above and below constantly. [1] http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/usmc/leadership.htm http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/usmc/leadership.htm