To become a successful Engineering Leader you need to learn how to do two things very well
- learn how convince an A List engineer to want to join your engineering team
- learn how to convince an A List Engineering Leader to want to join your engineering team
Succeeding at this two things, the teams will start developing their own internal dynamic. At that point you need to learn how to get out of the way and only do a soft nudge once in a while
Always make decisions that follow heuristics that are consistent. This prevents ambiguity within the rank and file. It also allows you to be able to look your rank and file in the eyes and honestly explain how and why the decision was made
source: From my conversations with Michael