Managing people properly takes time. For example, a 30 min 1:1 with the report looking at their wellbeing, motivation, challenges, career goals should be a wee

Managing people properly takes time. For example, a 30 min 1:1 with the report looking at their wellbeing, motivation, challenges, career goals should be a weekly task. The 30 mins is really 45 mins because notes need to be made following so that there is audit trail, and clarity of expectations for both parties. QoS is important so they can't be shoved back to back, otherwise one will find actively concentrating difficult after a while, so that's really 1hr per team member per week. That adds up pretty quickly. Add in coaching sessions (min 1hr) on specific problems, analysis of team performance, handling of fires, meeting facilitation... This is all before you get to your own work. Doing engineering management well is a tough job. People are complex and their needs likewise. Sometimes, it pretty much is holding someones hand. I've coached juniors to seniors and it's a lot of work, feedback, questioning, teaching.