Having said that, feeling well prepared and equipped te become a manager will go a long way, and Sarah Drasner proves to be an outstanding guide for this sinuous journey. The book has been edited and compiled as a cohesive whole, and includes a few chapters not publicly available.

This book provides some organization for collaborating with networks of people, working together towards a common purpose. This includes clearly articulating project goals, giving precise instructions, providing constructive feedback, and maintaining an open line of communication with team members. Empathize and Support Your Team: As an engineering manager, it’s vital to understand and empathize with your team members. It can be very tough for those of us who didn’t go into Engineering with the distinct concept that we would become managers, but still want to do our best to support our teams.

Both have their merits, and the best choice would depend on the reader’s current needs and experience level. Even though the author makes some assumptions about the reader — they work in tech, are engineering managers, and look forward to making themselves better — it never underestimates or overestimates the reader. Every technical term is explained, and most are irrelevant to the bigger picture: to be a better manager, you need to focus much more on humane than technical things. However, even seasoned managers could benefit from Drasner’s insights, particularly those struggling to navigate the day-to-day challenges of managing a technical team. Sarah Drasner’s “Engineering Management for the Rest of Us” is a practical and easy-to-read guide to the world of managing engineers.

However, there are a few topics that seem to be less connected to the enginineering manager's job and more to the individual contributors.

The text artfully balances anecdotal evidence, factual data, and actionable steps, weaving a narrative that is as engaging as it is informative. There seem to be millions of articles and “how to”s on programming and only a handful of resources on Engineering Management- why? I think that it is a solid compendium for people who have not read any book or had any experience whatsoever in leading a team; and even if you have, it's still a great read as it covers specific aspects related to engineering management and not any other type of management.