Your First 90 Days As An Engineering Manager
The first 90 days in any new role are crucial—but as a new engineering manager, they can make or break your trajectory. In this episode, we dive into how to approach your first three months with intention and clarity. From building trust with your team to understanding your new responsibilities, setting expectations, and avoiding common pitfalls, we lay out a roadmap to help you start strong. Whether you're stepping into management for the first time or looking to reset in a new role, this episode is your essential onboarding guide.
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Neo4j
NODES 2025 is a free online conference focused on graph-driven innovations, with content for all skill levels. Its 24 hours are packed with 140+ interactive technical sessions from top developers, AI engineers, and data pros worldwide, covering a broad range of topics and use cases.
The event tracks include:
AI Engineering– Build software with AI. Delve into the latest AI-driven software development trends, from knowledge graphs to multi-agent systems.
App Dev – Discover tools and best practices to create graph-powered applications and APIs with any software stack and programming language.
Data Intelligence – Explore how data scientists and ML practitioners drive innovation through better data, smarter algorithms, and graph-powered insights.
Knowledge Graphs – Uncover new ways to create, visualize, integrate, and analyze knowledge graphs with powerful tools and scalable techniques.
Don’t miss your chance to hear about the latest graph-powered implementations and best practices for free on November 6 at NODES 2025. Go to Neo4j.com/NODES to see the full agenda and register.
Show Notes.
01:22 Our first 90 days as EMs
13:58 Building a new team vs. taking over an existing team
20:34 Observing to learn
25:07 Understanding the business and tech strategies
26:02 Building influence
31:09 Common pitfalls
Resources.
Transcript.
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