Leadership Lessons from 'The New One Minute Manager’ Every Tech Leader Needs'
3 One-Minute Practices Every Tech Leader Should Master
As technology leaders, we obsess over architecture, scalability, sprints, and system design. But there’s one challenge that consistently defines success or failure — people management.
Ever wondered why some engineering leaders consistently scale high-performing teams while others struggle to retain developers or meet business outcomes?
It’s not just about using the right stack or following Agile rituals. The true game-changer is this:
The best tech leaders know how to bring out the best in their people.
That’s the core philosophy of the book The New One Minute Manager — a timeless guide on leading people effectively, especially relevant in today’s fast-paced, outcome-driven tech world.
???? From Coding to Coaching: The Shift Tech Leaders Must Make
Let’s face it:
What we can do is build a culture where engineers are aligned, empowered, and trusted.
The New One Minute Manager gives us 3 tactical habits to build such a culture — and each one takes just a minute to apply.
Let’s translate these into the tech context:
?? 1. One Minute Goals → Crystal Clear OKRs for Developers
In a fast-moving dev environment, ambiguity kills momentum. That’s why your engineers need clarity — not just Jira tickets, but true context.
Instead of micromanaging tasks, great leaders help engineers define clear, outcome-driven goals.
?? "If a goal can’t be reviewed in under a minute, it’s too complicated."
?? Tech context:
When goals are simple and visible, your team self-aligns. No more “What should I prioritise next?” confusion.
?? 2. One Minute Praisings → Real-Time Recognition in Dev Culture
Tech culture often glorifies criticism (code reviews, post-mortems), but under-appreciates praise. That’s a mistake.
Great tech leaders make it a habit to recognize contributions early and often — especially for junior devs or new joiners.
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?? "Catch developers doing something right — and tell them immediately."
?? Tech context:
Recognition is free, fast, and builds positive engineering culture where people want to show up and contribute.
?? 3. One Minute Redirects → Instant, Constructive Feedback Loops
What happens when a developer ships buggy code, misses deadlines, or skips documentation?
Average managers wait until performance review season. Great leaders step in immediately, constructively, and respectfully.
?? "Feedback delayed is feedback denied."
?? Tech context:
And once the redirect is done — move on. No long-term blame. Just course-correct and grow.
?? Leadership in Tech = Multiplying Impact
These “one-minute” practices might sound simple, but they unlock exponential outcomes:
? Engineers take ownership ? Teams feel seen and valued ? Culture shifts from reactive to proactive ? Leaders stop being bottlenecks and start being multipliers
As a technology leader, your real product is the team itself — how they think, execute, collaborate, and grow.
If you master these three micro-habits from The New One Minute Manager:
—you’ll not only ship better products, but also build a resilient, motivated, and self-managing tech org.
?? Want to Read More?
I highly recommend The New One Minute Manager — especially for engineering leaders transitioning from IC to management, or for VPs/CTOs scaling fast-moving teams.
You can grab the book here.
?? If this blog helped you, feel free to share it with fellow tech leaders, engineering managers, or anyone leading people in the product & tech world.
Let’s lead better, not harder.