Engineering Manager to Director: The Skills Gap
The jump from Senior Engineer to Engineering Manager (EM) is hard. But the jump from EM to Director is harder. It requires a complete unlearning of what made you successful.
The fundamental shift: Tactics vs. Strategy
As an EM, your timeline is "The Sprint" (2 weeks). You care about tickets, PRs, and 1:1s. As a Director, your timeline is "The Quarter" or "The Year." You care about budgets, hiring plans, and org design.
The Trap: New Directors often try to "Super-EM" their teams. They micromanage. They review PRs. This is fatal. Your job is no longer to play the instrument; it is to conduct the orchestra.
Skill 1: Managing Managers (The Meta-Layer)
Managing ICs is about coaching skills. Managing Managers is about coaching judgment. You cannot be in every room. You have to train your EMs to make the same decision you would make.
The Test: Can you go on vacation for 2 weeks without Slack exploding? If not, you are still an EM.
Skill 2: Org Design as Code
Conway's Law states that software architecture mirrors organization structure. As a Director, you are the architect of the organization. If the software is tightly coupled, it's likely because your teams are tightly coupled.
You need to design teams that minimize dependencies. You need to decide: "Do we organize by Feature (Squads) or by Function (Chapters)?" There is no right answer, only trade-offs.
Skill 3: Influence without Authority
As an EM, you have authority over your team. As a Director, you need to influence Product, Design, and Sales peers who do not report to you.
You need to learn "Executive Presence." You need to speak the language of Finance (EBITDA, COGS) and Sales (ARR, NDR). If you only speak "Technical Debt," you will lose every budget battle.
Skill 4: Recruiting as a Pipeline
EMs interview candidates. Directors build recruiting machines. You need to work with Talent Acquisition to define the brand, the bar, and the process.
Conclusion
Being a Director is lonely. You are removed from the code. You are removed from the daily camaraderie of the team. But the leverage is immense. You are building the machine that builds the code.