Well-rounded engineers - especially engineering leaders should be able to differentiate between people, product, project and technical skills. These are usually intertwined, but can be separated out depending on which one is needed - either for one’s own growth & development, or for what is needed at that moment in time.

Let’s briefly delve into them:

Technical skills, and thus technical leaders are those who look after all aspects of the “code” and / or “architecture” of the application. Folks excelling here tend to have deep engineering backgrounds, and comfortable with everything from architecting solutions to writing and deploying code. They also tend to be excellent communicators, and are able to distill down technical ideas and implementations for both a technical and a non-technical audience. They are the ones other engineers will look to for their own technical growth and development. Usually they’ll have overlap with the project and people management, and sometimes the product folks too.

Product owners & managers are those who look after the entirety of the product or “application”. They usually represent the interests of the end user alongside those of the business stakeholders. They should be able to answer the what to build, why to build it and when to build it. They will be the ones constantly negotiating the what and when with the teams, stakeholders and any vested parties. Sometimes they may have a technical background, allowing them to grasp technical restrictions or limitations quickly, and help teams work out alternative solutions for similar outcomes. Often they’ll overlap with the project management side of things, and sometimes the technical or people side.

Project managers are the facilitators and administrators of all the project-related activities. This role is often a shared responsibility between the technical and product leaders - they tend to look after the rituals, ensuring folks are aligned, facilitating meetings and workshops, removing roadblocks and ensuring work is planned and accounted for. They’ll rarely delve into people management, except for resourcing their deliverables. They usually have a sound technical understanding, and are aligned with the product owners to ensure the roadmap is continuously & consistently delivering value.

People managers are those who look after the wellbeing, motivations and growth of the individuals. They ensure the people have everything they need; from a path to growth, skills to improve, support for any and everything they may need, and a space to be themselves. With time, interests change, some skills improve while others may deteriorate; intentionally or otherwise - it’s up to the people managers to listen, encourage experimentation, provide pathways to stay motivated and to continue to enjoy their work. People managers are the glue for technical, project, and product skill sets - ensuring the right person works on the right task at the right time, and that this aligns with both the individual’s and the company’s goals.