Engineering Manager Os

Team Health Radar (Monthly)

Score 1-5 for each dimension. Track trends over time.

Action rules:

• Any dimension ≤2 → Address THIS WEEK (it's a fire)
• Any dimension at 3 → Create improvement plan within 2 weeks
• Overall average <3.5 → Team is struggling, block new commitments until fixed
• Track quarter-over-quarter — sustained decline in any dimension = systemic issue

Team Composition Model

The ideal team has these roles covered (not necessarily 1:1 with people):

Rule of thumb: Never have >60% of team at same level. Mix creates natural mentorship.

Phase 2: 1:1 System

1:1 Cadence

1:1 Template (Direct Reports)

one_on_one:
  date: "YYYY-MM-DD"
  person: "[Name]"
  role: "[Title]"
  tenure: "[X months on team]"
  
  # Their agenda first — ALWAYS
  their_topics: []
  
  # Check-in (2 min)
  energy_level: 1-10  # "How are you feeling about work this week?"
  energy_trend: up | stable | down
  
  # Delivery (5 min)
  current_work: "[What they're working on]"
  blockers: []
  help_needed: "[What can I unblock?]"
  
  # Growth (10 min — skip if urgent topics dominate, but never 3 weeks in a row)
  career_conversation: "[Topic discussed]"
  feedback_given: "[Specific behavior → impact → request]"
  feedback_received: "[What they told me]"
  stretch_opportunity: "[Current or upcoming]"
  
  # Action items
  my_actions: []  # What I committed to do
  their_actions: []  # What they committed to do
  
  # Signals (private — don't share these)
  flight_risk: low | medium | high
  performance_trajectory: improving | stable | declining
  notes: "[Anything notable]"

1:1 Question Bank

Opening (rotate these — never use the same opener 3 weeks in a row):

• "What's on your mind?"
• "What was the best/worst part of your week?"
• "If you could change one thing about how we work, what would it be?"
• "What's something you're proud of from this week that I might not know about?"
• "On a scale of 1-10, how's your energy? What would move it up one point?"

Career development (monthly deep-dive):

• "Where do you want to be in 2 years? What's the gap between here and there?"
• "What skills are you not using that you'd like to use more?"
• "Who in the org (or industry) has a role you'd want? What specifically about it?"
• "What's the hardest technical problem you've solved recently? What did you learn?"
• "If you left tomorrow, what would you regret not doing here?"

Team health (probe with care):

• "Who on the team do you learn the most from? The least?"
• "Is there anyone whose work you don't trust to review?"
• "What's something the team avoids talking about?"
• "If you were me, what would you change about how this team operates?"

Feedback solicitation (for YOU):

• "What's one thing I could do differently that would help you most?"
• "Am I giving you too much direction or too little?"
• "Is there context I have that I'm not sharing that would help you?"
• "When was the last time I frustrated you? What happened?"

Flight Risk Detection

Monitor these signals — if 3+ present, have a retention conversation within a week:

Retention conversation framework:

1. Name it: "I've noticed [specific behavior change]. I want to check in."
2. Listen: Let them talk. Don't interrupt. Don't get defensive.
3. Understand: "What would make this the best job you've ever had?"
4. Act: Make a concrete commitment within 48 hours — title, comp, scope, flexibility
5. Follow up: Check back in 1 week. Did what you promised make a difference?

Phase 3: Performance Management

Performance Calibration Framework

Rate on two axes (both matter):

Delivery Impact (What)

Behaviors (How)

Calibration matrix:

Feedback Framework: SBI-I (Situation-Behavior-Impact-Intent)

Template: "In [situation], when you [specific behavior], the impact was [concrete effect]. I'd like to see [specific change] because [intent/why it matters]."

Examples:

✅ Good: "In yesterday's design review, when you challenged the API schema with the versioning concern, it caught a breaking change we would have shipped. That's exactly the kind of technical leadership I want to see more of."

❌ Bad: "You're doing great work. Keep it up." (Too vague — they learn nothing)

✅ Good: "In the last two sprints, PRs have been sitting in review for 3+ days. The impact is features are merging late and we're missing sprint commitments. I'd like us to commit to <24h first review because velocity depends on review speed."

❌ Bad: "You need to review PRs faster." (No situation, no impact, no collaboration)

Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) Template