Level-up Engineering Leading vs Managing: András Fincza (VP of Engineering at Emarsys)
Leading vs managing comparison, true stories of failures, shortcomings, struggles and solutions that lead to success in an executive leadership position. András Fincza, VP of Engineering, Emarsys shares his invaluable experience to tell you what you've never heard about leadership before.
In this interview we're covering:
- The difference between managing developers and leading engineering managers
- How to get direct information as an executive leader
- How to transition from engineering management to leadership
- What new tech leaders should do in their first 60 days
- How to build trust
- Characteristics of a great engineering manager
- How to evaluate the performance of your engineering managers
- And more!
Excerpt from the interview:
"I felt overwhelmed. I felt I couldn't finish anything. I didn't feel safe making decisions.
One night, in the midst of my agony, I started to write down all my duties, tasks, initiatives, and everything I couldn't finish. There were hundreds of items, and I put them into 20 categories and 80 subcategories. Then I buried my face in my hands, and the only thing I could think was, "What am I doing?"
It was insane.
I grabbed the list, and the next day, I reached out to my boss and mentor and asked to go out for a coffee or beer. He saw that I was upset, and I threw everything at him. The list, my feelings about it—I told him I was thinking of resigning because I couldn’t handle the pressure."