Your first 90 days as an engineering manager

The first 90 days in a new management role can feel like drinking from a firehose.
You want to prove yourself, build trust, and make an impact—all at once.
That urgency often backfires.

Here’s how to approach it instead.

Don’t rush to change things

One of the biggest mistakes new managers make?
Coming in and immediately trying to “fix” everything.

I learned this lesson the hard way. Not everything needs solving—certainly not on day one. Sometimes what looks like a performance problem is actually a systems or alignment issue. Moving too quickly risks creating more problems than you solve.

Take the first month to listen, observe, and understand before you act.

Focus on trust, not control

Emma put it well on the podcast:

“People don’t want to be micromanaged. They want to feel seen.”

Your job isn’t to hover. It’s to support your team, unblock them, and help them grow.
That means being clear about your intentions—why you’re asking questions, what you’ll do with the information, and how you’ll help. Transparency builds trust far faster than control ever will.

Build alignment with peers

Your influence extends beyond your direct reports. Product managers, designers, and cross-functional peers need clarity on what you own and what they own. Without it, confusion stalls progress.

I’ve had to set some hard boundaries in new roles:

“You have plenty on your plate. Let me do my job.”

Not fun to say, but essential for alignment.

Watch out for the pitfalls

A few common traps to avoid in your first 90 days:

• Doing too much too fast. You don’t have enough context yet.
• Mistaking empathy for compassion. You can support your team without absorbing their emotions.
• Forgetting culture. Technical fixes won’t stick if trust and psychological safety are weak.

Try this

Pull up your calendar from the past two weeks.
How much of your time went to listening and learning versus directing and doing?

If you’re not spending enough time listening, you may be moving too quickly. Slow down. The impact will come.

What to read

📚 The First 90 Days – a practical guide to transitions.
📚 Think Again – a reminder to challenge your own assumptions.

Listen to the full episode: Your First 90 Days as an Engineering Manager