Coaching vs. Mentoring vs. Managing (most EMs confuse them)

How to switch hats and stop solving problems your team should own.

👋 Hey, it’s Stephane. Welcome to my weekly newsletter where I share lessons, and stories from my journey to help you lead with confidence as an Engineering Manager.

When I got my first Engineering Manager role, I was over the moon! I’d been coding for years, led a few projects, and had plenty of informal chats with teammates about career progression. How hard could managing people be, right?

Turns out, very.

Looking back I didn’t know much about management really.

When do I need to coach? When to mentor? I didn’t even know the difference between the two…

Many EMs, even experienced ones, still confuse these terms.

So, let’s untangle them once and for all.