Tech Leadership: The Blueprint for Evolving from Individual Contributor to Tech Leader

I wish I had this book when I transitioned to management from a Staff IC role at a FAANG corp. I'd always thought I wanted to go into management and the title change certainly felt like another accomplishment. The truth is I had no idea what I was doing, how challenging it would be, and just how much my IC leadership style needed to change to be successful supporting people. There was no playbook waiting for me and I often had to figure things out on my own the hard way.It seems obvious but it took me a while to realize that people, even friends and trusted colleagues, really do view you in a different way when you become an EM and getting honest feedback suddenly becomes a lot harder which unfortunately can be an 'othering' experience and lead to trust issues, and feelings of being alone at work not knowing if anyone else knows what this is like. Lots of bumps, bruises, and scar tissue built up over the first year or two. Many lasting lessons learned.But I don't think the journey to EM needed to be so traumatic. Andrew's book, including his conversational tone and candor, really resonate with me and mirror many of the situations I found myself in as a new manager. I wish I had read it before making the transition. I would still become a manager, but I think I'd be a much more effective and supportive one and get to that point sooner with less friction and fewer 'costs' past on to my reports and partners.'Tech Leadership' is one of those easy but impactful reads that I'll be revisiting and reflecting on from time to time. Highly recommend for new managers or prospective managers.

The author not only provides nice frameworks and detailed advice for new and upcoming leaders in tech, but he does so with the attention to soft skills and sustainable leadership that is certainly missing in many tech "leaders" who are really career oriented managers or accidental managers. The author gives advice and experience from the perspectives of an INTENTIONAL tech leader looking to build people, products and teams in tech. Lots of references and stories from the history of tech leadership are interwoven with the author's direct experience and advice, making for a nice starting point to additional resources as well, if that's what you're looking for.A refreshing and authentic "people-first" perspective on technical leadership bolstered by experience in some of the most demanding technical organizations in the world. Highly recommended for existing and prospective leaders and managers looking to do it in the "right" and sustainable way.

Traditionally, many career paths follow the Peter principle, where techies are promoted to the level of incompetence. This book isn't about biding your time in tech until there's a job opening. Instead, it's full of practical, actionable steps a person in tech can follow to become a strong, dynamic leader in the industry. Andrew's own journey shows that moving into leadership isn't about luck or waiting; it's about plotting your own course, learning leadership fundamentals, and growing into a true leader and not just a manager.

I spent 20 years in tech and could have really used this book. Moving from individual contributor into a leadership role is hard. The author has concrete suggestions and clearly has a lot of high level experience in the tech world. I recommend this to anyone working in tech who wants to explore how to grow their role.

As an engineer who has been both a manager and individual technical leader, I find that this book is a treasure trove of principles and values that every leader must posses. By filling it with personal anecdotes, Andrew makes the concepts and ideas easy to follow and relatable. I found the insights shared in the book to be profoundly accurate and I hope this book continues to inspire others just as it has inspired me!

I wish I had this earlier in my career. Designed primarily for the transition from Individual Contributor to Tech Leader - its principles are universal, applicable across various business landscapes. It's packed with actionable worksheets, insightful coaching techniques, mindset shifts, precise language guidance, and strategies to set teams on the path to success.Highly recommend for anyone looking to level up their game.

Andrew has significant experience as a world-class engineering leader, having overseen building large-scale systems at some of the world's largest technology companies, and he's now distilled down his lessons learned for us. Transitioning software developers from individual contributors into leaders is one of the largest challenges in organizations, as not all individual contributors are easily able to make the transition. This book contains practical how-to advice for succeeding in this adventure. Highly recommended!

I bought this book for my teen who is in the ISTEM program in high school. So far they have found Andrew’s book to be insightful and motivating. My teen said they have enjoyed reading Andrew’s back story of how he ended up working in tech and becoming a leader. My teen says this is a great read for someone just starting out and trying to decide what career path to follow!

Read the forst three chapters and i can relate directly to the authors observation, great book.

Andrew hit the nail on the head with this one. It's refreshing to get such practical advice from someone who has worked at top tech co's like Instagram, Google, Youtube and Roblox for decades. A must read for anyone looking to level up from IC to Leader. 5 Stars.

I've read this book a bit too late in my career, but it's a good refresher. For everyone stepping into the leadership it might be quite helfpul. The only thing I dislike about this book is "mantras" the author is pushing.