The User Manual for the Young Engineering Manager - or: the worst mistakes I made in my career

In this episode of The Agile Software Engineering Deep Dive, Alessandro Guida reflects on the transition from engineer to engineering manager - and the mistakes he had to learn the hard way.

When engineers step into management roles, they often bring with them the very strengths that made them successful: problem-solving speed, technical clarity, and the ability to see solutions quickly. While these qualities are valuable, they can quietly create unintended consequences. Discussions become shorter. Decisions become centralized. Teams grow dependent rather than autonomous.

This episode explores several of the most impactful early-career management mistakes - including believing it was still his job to be the smartest person in the room, confusing speed with progress, and becoming “too central” in the system.

These reflections are not presented as a leadership framework or a management theory, but as experience-based lessons shaped by years of building and leading engineering teams across different domains and levels of complexity.

The goal is not to discourage engineers from moving into leadership, but to highlight a simple and often uncomfortable truth: leadership is less about brilliance and more about restraint.

If you are a young engineering manager - or considering the transition - this episode may help you avoid strengthening your team’s dependence when you actually intend to build their autonomy.

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