Managing Up

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  September 4, 2025Effective Engineering Manager, Managing Up

  Micromanagement: The Silent Threat to Engineering Teams

  Micromanagement is a hidden but damaging force in engineering teams, eroding trust, autonomy, and innovation. In this episode of the Effective Engineering Manager podcast, Slava and Adam explore the roots of micromanagement - poor delegation, fear of failure, and lack of trust - and its consequences for morale, productivity, and retention. They also share strategies for organizations and managers to address micromanagement, from coaching and role adjustments to practical ways of shielding teams from its effects.

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  November 6, 2022Effective Engineering Manager, Managing Up

  Managing Up: Complaining

  We are starting a series on managing up. In this episode we talk about how not to communicate work issues to your boss. We define what complaining is and why complaining is ineffective. We provide a checklist that our listeners can use to see if their upward communications are in the complaining territory.

• July 29, 2022Effective Engineering Manager, Egineering Manager Tools, Managing Across, Managing Up

  Escalating Work Issues Effectively

  We offer an approach to escalating work issues that brings results without destroying relationships. We share what the escalations are, the impact of escalating unskillfully, and how to escalate professionally and effectively. In the end we provide a checklist that our listeners can use to escalate work issues effectively.

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  November 3, 2021Building managers, Effective Engineering Manager, Managing Across, Managing Up, One-on-One

  Building Managers: Now That You Are A Manager

  Wrapping up the ‘becoming a manger series’ with guidance and steps on what new engineering managers can do once their training completes and they are now officially a manager. Guidance includes: managing introductions and the first couple of weeks; planning your first 30-60-90 days; setting up foundational meetings like 1-on-1s; building key lateral relationships; creating space for the team to get to know you and your plan.

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  February 17, 2021Managing Up, One-on-One

  Effective One-One-Ones: 1:1s with New Boss

  We provide practical guidance on avoiding risks associated with 1:1s with a new boss. This continues the series on the Effective One-On-Ones. We also recommend checking out EEM episode "Practicing Observe and Absorb" that will help you to plan and implement a strategy for managing 1:1s with your new boss.

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  October 17, 2020Effective Engineering Manager, Managing Across, Managing Up

  Practicing Observe and Absorb

  In this podcast we define the concept of 'observe and absorb', discuss why it is important and share practical recommendations to engineering managers on how to use this tool to unlock and build stronger working relationships. In the end, we share a checklist that engineering managers can use to start practicing "observe and absorb".