36: The CTO’s Guide to Managing Large Engineering Teams Effectively

Join The CTO Playbook Slack Community to connect with other CTOs

In this episode, you'll learn how to shift from one-on-one coaching to group leadership, how to reduce politics and knowledge gaps in large engineering teams, how to build a high-trust leadership environment, and how to implement an open-door policy for better team alignment.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Introduction  

[00:45] What leading leaders means  

[01:30] Lessons from top CEOs on leadership  

[02:15] Defining a small engineering organization  

[03:00] Why politics emerge in growing teams  

[03:45] The impact of trust and information gaps  

[04:30] The challenge of repeating yourself as a leader  

[05:15] Why large organizations create communication bottlenecks  

[06:00] NVIDIA's leadership model with 60 direct reports  

[06:45] How Airbnb’s CEO manages leadership without one-on-ones  

[07:30] Group coaching vs individual coaching  

[08:15] The benefits of shared leadership problem-solving  

[09:00] How open feedback reduces internal politics  

[09:45] Why peer support strengthens leadership teams  

[10:30] Creating strong alignment among engineering leaders  

[11:15] How shared context improves decision-making  

[12:00] Why engineering leadership needs a structured approach  

[12:45] The importance of experience in leadership roles  

[13:30] How ad hoc one-on-ones still play a role  

[14:15] Transitioning engineering leadership to a group model  

[15:00] Why equalized voices improve engineering management  

[15:45] Avoiding loudest voice domination in meetings  

[16:30] Encouraging collaboration instead of top-down directives  

[17:15] Setting up team-wide planning and retros  

[18:00] Ensuring transparency in data and decision-making  

[18:45] Teaching leaders how to think critically  

[19:30] Preventing leadership silos with open discussions  

[20:15] Helping new leaders adapt to group leadership  

[21:00] Why weekly one-on-ones may still be necessary  

[21:45] Balancing structured and flexible leadership approaches  

[22:30] Implementing an open-door policy for transparency  

[23:15] Why leadership alignment is critical for scaling  

[24:00] Spotting and eliminating unchecked politics  

[24:45] Supporting new leaders through mentorship  

[25:30] Why strong engineering leadership improves team morale  

[26:15] How to prevent groupthink in leadership teams  

[27:00] Keeping leadership teams engaged and evolving  

[27:45] Steps to successfully transition to a group coaching model

Want to start a podcast like this one? Book your free podcast planning call here.

Find more from Adam on LinkedIn and YouTube and check out Adam's CTO coaching company Synova Tech.