I’ve often told my managers to spend time on both their leadership and technical skills.  In organizations it’s often easier to get access to tools like LinkedIn Learning.  So I’ve curated a list of courses that I suggest to my managers if they’re looking to hone in on certain areas or if they’re just getting started.  

The people management training is designed to help them grow in their career and evolve their skills.  Starting with manager basics and continuing on to Senior Leadership.  There is also a secondary focus on understanding and taking care of themselves.  

Jump Right in to Manager Basics

Becoming a new manager can be a difficult transition.  Balancing the learning curve for an Engineering leader can be even more difficult.  Here are some courses that found that might be helpful to making that transition.  There are redundancies in the courses but overall is a good picture of technical leadership.  NOTE:  All the training start out with overly cheerful intro’s.  Try to move past that to get to the content.  

Make the Move from Individual Contributor to Manager
Tech Career Skills: Moving from Developer to Engineering Manager
Succeeding as a First-Time Tech Manager
New Manager Foundations

Performance Management Basics

As a leader, I found performance management challenging.  Being able to give good and meaningful feedback was not natural.  Each of your team members is unique and is therefore on a different path.  Yet, as a people leader, you have to be consistent in the expectations that you set for each level (dev 2 vs 3).  The (semi) annual performance cycle should be the culmination of all of the 1×1 feedback, both good. General rule: never put something in a review that you’ve never discussed previously.

Leading Productive One-on-One Meetings
Delivering Employee Feedback
How to Effectively Deliver Criticism
Performance Management: Conducting Performance Reviews
Letting an Employee Go

Agile Leadership for Software Development

Engineering leaders often wear multiple hats.  We are part time scrum masters, occasional business analysts and full time Jira & Confluence admins.   I became a project manager (PMP) in order to help me understand how to better support my teams through deadline driven work.   For this section there is a Learning Path already created: 

Master Agile Software Development

Know Thyself

I have seen all kinds of leaders in my career, good, bad and everything in between.  Occasionally the most technical person was promoted and that was often disastrous.  When people choose leadership it’s usually because they want to lead teams or change.  You need to decide what kind of leader you are.  This gives you the foundation to adapt in sustainable ways that are true to your core beliefs.  When you try to lead in inauthentic ways, your teams will know and this can cause issues.

Leadership Foundations: Leadership Styles and Models
Developing Your Leadership Philosophy
Ken Blanchard on Servant Leadership
Bill George on Self-Awareness, Authenticity, and Leadership
Become a Better Coach for Your Team
Management Tips
Managing Technical Professionals

Committing to Leadership

Once you’ve gotten through the basics, you will make a choice.  Do you stay a leader or go technical again.  If you stay, I challenge you to be a great leader.  Just as you’ve done in the technical part of your career, being a GREAT leader takes dedication to the field.  Each new level you reach will require you to continue to add new skills.  Here are a few video’s that have helped me grow in my career.  

Balancing Multiple Roles as a Leader
Transitioning from Manager to Leader
Building High-Performance Teams
Leading with Empathy
Managing High Performers
Managing New Managers
The Power of Introverts
Leading Your Team Through Change
Becoming a Manager Your Team Loves

Senior Leadership

As you continue to advance your career, you’ll find you need new skill in your toolbox. Skills like influencing, outsourcing and organizational design are important.

Managing Experienced Managers
Influencing Others
Leading with Innovation
Outsourcing Fundamentals
Risk-Taking for Leaders 

Take care of yourself to take care of others

Working and leading in software can be very exciting and rewarding.  Working with high performing teams, is a reward unto itself.  However, the “always on and available” culture of our fast paced environment has its own challenges.  Work life balance can be difficult at the best of times.  Most technical leaders are introverts and feel the stress of leadership in different ways.  I understand that and have worked through that myself.  Here are some videos that might help you.  

Managing Your Career as an Introvert
Managing Your Well-Being as a Leader
Avoiding Burnout
Overcoming Overwhelm
Leading with a Heavy Heart
Mindful Leadership
Managing Career Burnout