I was probably two years into the engineering management phase of my career before I really learned...
For years, the engineering manager role has been a delicate balancing act of three roles: part technical lead, part people leader, and part project manager. That balance is under strain. Many organizations are shifting toward larger teams and more technically oriented managers. Growth through rapid expansion is no longer the norm, and some argue that we don’t need pure people managers anymore. If the team is not expanding, why dedicate resources to roles that do not directly ship code?
On the surface, this shift seems efficient. In reality, it risks hollowing out one of the most important aspects of engineering leadership: developing people. Stepping into people management requires an entirely different skill set, including evaluating performance, giving feedback, cultivating culture, and coaching. It is a steep, experience-driven learning curve. I read all the books on leadership before becoming a manager, but learned quickly that there are no shortcuts.
When a manager’s scope expands to five or more engineers, their calendar shifts from maker time (long stretches of deep work) to manager time (meetings that turn the calendar into Swiss cheese). It becomes difficult to contribute meaningfully to a codebase, or even keep a development environment current. When technical leads are also responsible for people management, something gives. More time spent coding means less time on deep listening, mentorship, and career advocacy. The result is burnout for both ICs and managers, stalled career growth, slipping morale, and eventual attrition.
Instead of asking people managers to go back to being technical, what if we recognized people leadership as its own valuable specialization? Instead of cramming three jobs (people manager, technical lead, and project manager) into one role, we could split it into two.
Tech Lead Managers could lead small, focused teams of two or three engineers, fully embedded in the technical work and driving projects across the finish line. A day in the life might involve reviewing code, unblocking tricky implementation issues, and collaborating closely with engineers to solve architectural challenges.
People Coaches would lead groups of Tech Lead Managers, and as coaches they could guide individual contributors through career growth, build team culture, and help navigate interpersonal challenges, without the competing pressure of delivery deadlines. A day in the life might include one-on-ones focused on development, designing growth plans, resolving team tensions, and aligning people’s career goals with the company’s mission.
This model acknowledges that technical execution and human development are both essential, and both deserve dedicated focus.
The companies that thrive in the next decade will understand that great engineering is not just about shipping features, it is about creating the conditions for people to do their best work, connected to purpose and continually growing. What would happen if we stopped forcing one role to do three jobs, and instead created space for both technical and human leadership to flourish? Perhaps it’s time to try it, pilot it, and see what happens when both sides of engineering leadership finally get the attention they deserve.
