# Things I’ve learned in my 10 years as an engineering manager

<https://www.jampa.dev/p/lessons-learned-after-10-years-as>

- Host: [jampa.dev](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/hosts/jampa.dev/)
- Saved: January 29, 2026 (2026-01-29T13:10:06Z)
- Record: https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/81f8af0e9633/
- JSON: https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/81f8af0e9633.json

## What Jamie wrote

Great set of less-obvious learnings.

1. The "well-defined engineering manager role" is a myth
2. Everyone needs to care about the Product
3. There is no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to processes
4. Communicating downward requires transparency
5. Communicating up requires a strategy
6. You are 10% player, 30% coach, and 60% cheerleader
7. Your goal is for your team to thrive without you
8. You can't succeed without trusting your team
9. Trust, but verify
10. Eventually delegate everything.
11. There is no free lunch when it comes to reducing risk

I'd add a giant +1 to this callout on the product.

> **The most common reason companies fail is creating products that don't deliver value to users, causing them not to pay.**

All of this is great advice.

## Facts

- Kind: [Page](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/kinds/page/)

## Appears in

- [WT339: Weekly Thing 339 / OpenClaw, Isometric, Prism](https://weekly.thingelstad.com/archive/339/), Notable

## Saved the same week

- [EFF Statement on ICE and CBP Violence | Electronic Frontier Foundation](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/16bb220afea9/) (eff.org, January 29, 2026)
- [Does Evidence Even Matter? – On my Om](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/8f25f2a19d79/) (om.co, January 29, 2026)
- [Report: ICE Using Palantir Tool That Feeds On Medicaid Data | Electronic Frontier Foundation](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/092fddc3607b/) (eff.org, January 29, 2026)
- [LED lighting (350-650nm) undermines human visual performance unless supplemented by wider spectra (400-1500nm+) like daylight | Scientific Reports](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/3c6fa14f5be3/) (nature.com, January 29, 2026)
- [Beware: Government Using Image Manipulation for Propaganda | Electronic Frontier Foundation](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/66e33a35e43c/) (eff.org, January 29, 2026)

## Elsewhere

- Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.jampa.dev/p/lessons-learned-after-10-years-as