You have too many direct reports
What would you do?
Your calendar is packed. One-on-ones, team meetings, and firefighting fill your day. You barely have time to think before jumping to the next call.
You check your Slack, and an engineer messages:
"Hey, can we chat about something important?"
Then another:
"I’m feeling stuck on a few things, can we go over them?"
You want to help, but you're stretched thin. You have 15 direct reports, and keeping up feels impossible. You're behind on performance reviews, career growth talks, and even basic project oversight. The team is starting to feel it.
Your top engineer is getting frustrated.
A new hire isn’t getting enough support.
And your own work? It’s slipping.
Something has to change.
Outline
🔒 Your options
🔒 Breakdown
🔒 What experienced Engineering Managers do
🔒 What if leadership says no?
🔒 Lessons for EMs
🔒 Some useful links from me
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