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My Engineering Management README

graham_m·2025-01-29·4 min read
My Engineering Management README

A manager README is a document you hand someone on day one: here's how I work, here's what I'll expect, here's how to get the best out of working with me. It saves months of guessing. This is mine — written down so my team can hold me to it.

Who I Am

I'm an engineering leader with over 15 years in SaaS, product-led growth, and software engineering. I've co-founded and scaled startups, built engineering teams, and shipped AI-powered tools used by thousands. If I had to compress my philosophy to three words: ownership, growth, collaboration.

What You Can Expect From Me

  • Clear Communication – Transparency is key. I ensure expectations, priorities, and feedback are communicated openly.
  • Autonomy & Trust – I start from a place of trust and empower my teams to take ownership of their work.
  • Growth & Development – I am deeply invested in my team’s professional growth. If you work with me, expect regular coaching, mentorship, and career development support.
  • Bias for Action – We move fast but with purpose. I encourage experimentation and learning from failures.
  • High Standards – I push for excellence but balance it with pragmatism. "Done" is better than "perfect," but "great" is better than "good enough."

What I Expect From My Team

  • Ownership & Accountability – Take responsibility for your work and own the outcome.
  • Continuous Learning – Stay curious and keep improving, both technically and professionally.
  • Collaboration – Work as a team, support each other, and build great things together.
  • Customer-Centric Thinking – Understand how your work impacts end users and the business.
  • Constructive Feedback – Give and receive feedback with the intent to help each other grow.

My Leadership Style

  • Coaching First – My job is to enable your success, not micromanage your work.
  • Data-Driven & Outcome-Oriented – I make decisions based on data, impact, and alignment with company goals.
  • Empathetic & People-Focused – I care about people as much as I do about results. Psychological safety and well-being matter.
  • Adaptable & Pragmatic – Every situation is different. I adjust my approach based on team needs, business priorities, and constraints.

How I Support Career Growth

I believe that engineering careers are not one-size-fits-all. I use a Growth Framework to help team members identify strengths, development areas, and career paths. We work together to create growth plans that align with individual goals and business needs.

Expect regular 1:1 meetings where we:

  • Discuss career aspirations and skill development
  • Set and review quarterly growth goals
  • Identify stretch opportunities, mentorship, and leadership paths

How I Approach Engineering

Technical Decision-Making

I believe in modular, scalable, and maintainable software design. My approach to engineering balances innovation with pragmatism. When making technical decisions, I prioritize:

  • Scalability & Performance – Thinking long-term to avoid future bottlenecks.
  • Developer Experience – Optimizing for maintainability and productivity.
  • Security & Reliability – Ensuring our systems are resilient and trustworthy.

Processes & Workflow

  • Agile, but Pragmatic – I lean towards Agile methodologies, but I don't blindly follow rituals that don't add value.
  • CI/CD & Automation – We automate what makes sense and continuously improve our release process.
  • Metrics & Observability – I believe in monitoring system health, developer velocity, and user impact.

My Approach to Feedback

  • Frequent & Actionable – Feedback shouldn't be a surprise. I give real-time, constructive feedback regularly.
  • Two-Way Street – I also expect feedback on how I can better support the team.
  • Celebrate Wins – Recognition is crucial. I make sure great work is seen and appreciated.

How I Handle Conflict

Disagreements happen. That’s normal. My approach to conflict resolution is:

  1. Address it early – Don’t let frustrations fester.
  2. Assume good intent – People usually mean well, even if there’s a disagreement.
  3. Facilitate a solution – I help navigate to a resolution that works for everyone involved.

The Fine Print

This document is a promise, not a brag sheet. If I'm not living up to something in here, tell me — that's the whole point of writing it down.