id: 1111,2A
title: Signs that an engineering director is struggling.
date: 2024-04-27

Signs that an engineering director is struggling.

It’s a common problem that directors do not get the training or support that they need to be effective. It’s also common to trim companies by their middle management layer when it’s time to take a hard look at who contributes what. This can create significant fear in this layer, and insecurity + fear = defensive behavior, particularly by drawing inward into the certain skills that made success in past roles and by spending greater focus on their teams than the organization. They de-risk their failures by ensuring lax timelines and increasing headcount requests. Blame is deflected on these factors, too. Knowledge silos increase and the connectedness of more junior employees decreases. Other parts of the organization start to route around things the director is rendering ineffective.rN4