An Engineering Management Manifesto

Managing for Meaning, Autonomy, and Human Potential

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Why We Manage for Meaning

Engineering management is not the art of extracting output from people. It is the practice of creating the conditions under which thoughtful, motivated humans can do work they are proud of.

People do their best work when they understand why it matters. Meaning is not a motivational poster or a quarterly slogan; it is a clear line of sight between daily effort and real-world impact. When teams understand how their work improves lives, reduces harm, creates opportunities, or advances knowledge, quality naturally improves. Care emerges without coercion.

Managing for meaning means treating purpose as infrastructure, not decoration.

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Hiring for Passion and Diversity

We hire for passion because curiosity, care, and intrinsic motivation compound over time. Skills can be taught; sustained interest cannot be faked. Passionate people learn faster, challenge assumptions, and push past the minimum viable answer.

We hire for diversity because complex problems require multiple perspectives. Diversity of background, culture, gender, neurotype, experience, and worldview is not a moral accessory—it is an engineering advantage. Homogeneous teams converge too quickly on familiar solutions. Diverse teams surface blind spots, ask better questions, and build systems that work for more people.

Inclusion is not about lowering standards. It is about widening the aperture through which excellence can enter.

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Autonomy as a Prerequisite for Excellence

High-performing engineers are not interchangeable resources. They are skilled professionals who want agency over their craft.

We get the best work by granting real autonomy: • Autonomy over how work is done • Autonomy to influence technical decisions • Autonomy to experiment, learn, and iterate

Autonomy does not mean absence of accountability. It means clear goals, clear constraints, and trust in people to navigate the space between them. Management’s role is to set direction and remove obstacles, not to micromanage execution.

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Choice and Ownership

People do their best work when they have meaningful choices. Choice creates ownership, and ownership creates care.

We encourage teams to choose: • The tools and techniques that suit the problem • The paths by which goals are achieved • The trade-offs they are willing to make, consciously and explicitly

When people help shape the solution, they take responsibility for its outcomes. This is how craftsmanship emerges.

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The Manager’s Role

The manager is not the smartest person in the room, the bottleneck for decisions, or the keeper of truth. The manager is a systems designer.

My role is to: • Clarify purpose and priorities • Create psychological safety • Align incentives with desired behaviour • Invest in growth, learning, and feedback • Protect teams from unnecessary chaos

Success is measured not by personal heroics, but by how well the team functions in my absence.

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What This Looks Like in Practice

Purpose Is Made Explicit

Every team understands who their users are, what problem they are solving, and how success is measured in the real world. If an engineer cannot explain why a piece of work exists, that is a management failure.

Teams Own Solutions, Not Just Tasks

Problems are presented as problems, not pre-decided solutions. Management defines outcomes and constraints. Teams decide architecture, trade-offs, and implementation.

Autonomy With Clear Boundaries

Autonomy works when boundaries are explicit. Clarity prevents both chaos and fake autonomy.

Feedback Is Continuous and Safe

Feedback is frequent, specific, and oriented toward growth. Psychological safety is non-negotiable.

Learning Is Part of the Job

Learning, reducing technical debt, and improving systems are planned work, not side projects.

Diversity Is Actively Supported

Inclusion is measured by participation and influence, not headcount. Processes are designed to reduce bias.

Managers Remove Friction

When work slows, the first question is what is in the way. Flow is the goal, not pressure.

Success Is Sustainable

If success requires chronic overtime or burnout, the system is broken.

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What I Explicitly Do Not Believe

I do not believe in management as control, output over outcomes, fake autonomy, hero culture, fear-based motivation, diversity as optics, process as a substitute for thinking, or sacrificing sustainability for short-term wins.

Burning people out is not leadership—it is asset stripping.

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Expectations and Working Agreements

What You Can Expect From Me

Clarity, trust, psychological safety, autonomy with support, investment in growth, friction reduction, and honesty.

What I Expect From Teams

Professionalism, curiosity, craft, collaboration, courage, and respect for sustainability.

What I Expect From the Organisation

Alignment on values, realism, support for sustainable delivery, and open communication.

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Why Developing People Matters to Me

I am intrinsically motivated by growth—watching people become more capable, confident, and effective over time. Developing people is how delivery becomes repeatable, and organisations become durable.

I take seriously the responsibility that comes with management. I aim to leave people stronger than I found them.

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The Importance of Constant Feedback

Feedback is a continuous signal that keeps people and systems aligned with reality. Frequent feedback enables small corrections, accelerates learning, and reduces risk.

Safety is a prerequisite. Feedback flows in all directions. The goal is growth, not compliance.

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A Note to Executives and Senior Leaders

This model is not idealistic. It is a response to how complex systems actually behave.

Managing for meaning, autonomy, and diversity is a risk-management strategy. It produces a better signal, fewer surprises, greater resilience, and sustainable performance.

It requires leadership to trade the illusion of control for actual insight and to align incentives with stated values.

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Closing Synthesis

This approach creates organisations that remain calm under pressure, are honest about risk, and are capable of sustained excellence.

For teams, it means meaningful work without burnout. For leadership, it means making better, reality-grounded decisions. For me, it is how I choose to lead.

This manifesto is an invitation to alignment, not universal agreement. It is meant to attract organisations that value learning, trust, and truth—and repel those that do not.

That is by design.