Books I'd Recommend to Engineering Managers

Tadashi Shigeoka ·  Thu, January 9, 2020

I’d like to introduce books I personally recommend to Engineering Managers.

Engineering Manager | エンジニアリングマネージャー

Background: EM Position Handover

I wrote this article while organizing information for handing over the Engineering Manager (EM) position.

Organizational Prerequisites

I was handing over the EL/EM position in the following organizational structure to an engineer member. Since the EL/EM role involves 1-on-1s not only with the CTO but also with the CEO, I’m also introducing books necessary for understanding financial statements.

Reporting Line

Management Members (Directors + Officers)  ↓ Engineering Lead (エンジニアリングリード) / EM  ↓ Software Engineers (エンジニア)

Engineering Management

エンジニアのためのマネジメントキャリアパス ―テックリードからCTOまでマネジメントスキル向上ガイド

Since I had to manage without having become a CTO or VP of Engineering myself during my career, the part about “these kinds of career paths exist” was helpful in broadening my perspective.

エンジニアリング組織論への招待 ~不確実性に向き合う思考と組織のリファクタリング

Although it says “Engineering” and might seem like a book for engineers at first glance, I recommend it not only for engineers but also for management and leadership layers.

Management

ヤフーの1on1―――部下を成長させるコミュニケーションの技法

シリコンバレー式 最強の育て方 ―人材マネジメントの新しい常識 1on1ミーティング

Financial Knowledge

ざっくり分かるファイナンス~経営センスを磨くための財務~

This was the material used by someone who was CFO at the time and is now CEO in an internal study session a few years ago.

Reading this should help with understanding the three financial statements (BS・CF・PL).

Not limited to engineering managers, I think all business professionals should acquire the knowledge written here.

That’s all from summarizing books I’d recommend to Engineering Managers from the Gemba.