There are A LOT of resources for EMs out there. Articles, books, podcasts. It’s very hard to find the real gems among all the noise.
I decided to try, by limiting myself to only 5 resources from each category. 3 felt too little, 7 and 10 too much, but 5 feels manageable!
So:
5 books
5 articles
5 newsletters
5 podcast episodes
Books
1. Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager
By James Stanier · Published 2020 · Goodreads rating: 4.34
If you read just one book from this list, make it this one. It covers EVERYTHING an engineering manager needs, across all levels of experience. Don’t let the price (~$30) and design scare you, totally worth it!
2. An Elegant Puzzle
By Will Larson · Published 2019 · Goodreads rating: 4.07
My second-favorite EM author! I covered a chapter in “10 common ways engineering managers get stuck”. What I love both about Stanier and Larson is that they don’t spend much time on surface-level tips, but dive much deeper, and share practical examples from their own careers.
3. The Manager's Path
By Camille Fournier · Published 2017 · Goodreads rating: 4.25
This one is more basic, but covers the whole ladder - from tech lead to CTO. It includes how to be managed, what is expected in each level, and a bit on the progression.
4. Peopleware
By Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister · Published 1987 · Goodreads rating: 4.14
Yes, a 40-year-old book, that is still super relevant! It's where the term "jelled team" comes from, and most of the book is about improving the odds it happens to YOUR team. Best read once you have some experience. Shared some thoughts from it in “Okay vs Excellent Engineering Managers”.
5. Extreme Programming Explained
By Kent Beck · Published 1999 · Goodreads rating: 4.13
Yes, a 2nd oldie. The longer books stay in print, the more I trust them. It’s a tricky balance of course, as tech changes very fast, but there are still a lot of gems in both of those old books. Specifically in XP, it has 5 values, 14 principles and 26 practices, and most are truer than ever. I covered it in the article “Extreme Programming 1999->2026”.
Books are by far my favorite medium to consume and learn from.
In case you are also a bookworm, here are other reading lists I shared:
10 Must-Reads for Engineering Leaders - mostly leadership books from non-EMs.
The generalist EM's reading list - the non-engineering books I found the most useful in my career.
The 7 must-read Engineering Management books - overlaps with this list, with 2 additional books.
Articles
As a newsletter author, I admit - not all my articles are good. Most are average, some suck, but some I believe are excellent. The challenge is that there are thousands more articles than books, and it’s even harder to find the true timeless classics. Every platform (X, LinkedIn, Reddit) will show you what’s fresh.
For a while I’ve been thinking about aggregating those in a single place. Let me know if you feel that pain too :)
Until then, some classics:
1. The Econ 101 Management Method
By Joel Spolsky, 2006
Why rewarding people for hitting metrics backfires: smart people game whatever you measure. 20+ years old and still happening everywhere, especially with the crazy compensation packages in the AI startups.
Joel Spolsky is a software engineer who co-founded both Trello and Stack Overflow, and wrote his great blog until 2022, writing 1000+ articles.
2. Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule
By Paul Graham, 2009
Why a single meeting can kill an engineer's whole afternoon. This too is a classic by Paul Graham, who founded Viaweb (acquired by Yahoo), Y Combinator and Hacker News, and has been writing his blog for 25 years (his latest article from September - Making Startups Powerful is also a great one).
3. The Update, the Vent, and the Disaster
By Michael Lopp (Rands), 2010
BY FAR the best article I've read on 1:1s. Every 1:1 is one of three types, and knowing which one you're in changes how you should react and conduct yourself.
Lopp started his career as a software engineer in 1988 - working at Netscape, Palantir, Apple (twice) and Pinterest in various engineering leadership roles.
4. The Engineer/Manager Pendulum
By Charity Majors, 2017
The best argument that you don't have to pick IC or management forever. Swinging between the two makes you better at both, which is VERY relevant to 2026!
Charity is co-founder and CTO of Honeycomb (valued at ~$500M) and an active author and speaker, with spicy takes.
5.The Big Management Lie: Overpromising
By Stay SaaSy, 2026
I have a recency bias, but this one resonated a lot, as it’s a common mistake I make. It's so tempting to share good news early to get that initial dopamine bump.
Newsletters
Next category - newsletters. The best way to get relevant knowledge in small doses.
1. The Pragmatic Engineer
I’ve been a paid subscriber for 2 years, and it’s a crazy ROI for my money. It has weekly deep dives into the insides of how other companies work (and I learn a lot from it), and “the pulse” editions that let me keep up with everything that’s new with minimal effort and zero FOMO.
2. The Engineering Manager
The 2nd newsletter I pay for (out of just 2). Start with "The Disappointment Frontier", one of the rare articles that gave me a completely new concept (and showed me one of my biggest mistakes as a manager).
3. Stay SaaSy
By an anonymous engineering + product leader duo
Short, sharp posts I keep coming back to. Being anonymous gives them a lot of leeway in terms of opinions and takes, and their thinking is very sharp.
4. Wes Kao’s newsletter
By Wes Kao
The most practical writing on working with senior leadership, and in general dealing with complex org dynamics. “6 reasons why the senior leadership doesn't take you seriously” is written based on her articles.
5. Irrational Exuberance
By Will Larson
Will Larson's blog, where An Elegant Puzzle started. These days it leans toward senior leadership and strategy, a great preview of where your job goes next. Deep, technical, but sometimes a bit harder to digest.
And of course, manager.dev from yours truly.
Podcast episodes
There are 2 podcasts I listen to somewhat-regularly - Lenny’s podcast, and the Pragmatic Engineer podcast. And still, I listen to probably just 20-30% of the episodes, as it takes a lot of time.
I wish there was a simple way to curate specific episodes, but until then, here are my top 5 from the last few years:
1. How Netflix builds a culture of excellence
With Elizabeth Stone · Lenny's Podcast
Netflix's CTO on how they keep the bar so high: talent density, candor, and the famous keeper test. Goes deeper too.
2. AI Skills with Matt Pocock
With Matt Pocock · The Pragmatic Engineer
A practical look at how Matt Pocock teaches and uses AI day to day, worth it for anyone leading engineers through the shift. He’s probably the most influential dev today - his skills repo has 288k(!) stars.
3. Why Uber's CPO delivers food on weekends
With Sachin Kansal · Lenny's Podcast
Uber's CPO still delivers food on weekends. The best case I know for staying close to your users, no matter how senior you get. I think I shared this one tens of times already.
4. Engineering Management for the Rest of Us
With Sarah Drasner · The Changelog #540
From the author of Engineering Management for the Rest of Us, another book I loved. "The culture of your team is only as strong as the worst behavior it tolerates." (a bit basic, but great reminders!)
5. here's how i shipped 2,500 PRs
Don’t let the hype title discourage you. It’s a 38-minute talk by Lauren, a software engineer at Cursor, previously working on React Compiler (so not a vibe coder). It’s the BEST thing I’ve heard about how to create a system for moving faster.
A must watch.
What I enjoyed reading this week
For the brave souls who reached here and want to read more interesting articles - I salute you. 3 from the authors mentioned above:
If your team is happy, are you doing a good job? Another spicy take by Charity Majors on the balance between psychological safety and accountability.
Running an engineering reorg by Will Larson - practical and deep.
Focus as a convex curve by James Stanier. Just read it, you’ll thank me.
