Developing people is a core competency for engineering managers that involves cultivating talent, providing mentorship, and creating growth opportunities that align individual career aspirations with organizational needs. According to research from Google's Project Oxygen, being a good coach is the number one trait of effective managers across all disciplines, but especially in engineering where technical and leadership skill development must progress in tandem.

For engineering managers, the ability to develop people encompasses much more than periodic performance reviews or career conversations. It includes identifying individual strengths and growth areas, providing appropriate challenges, delivering constructive feedback, and creating a learning environment that enables engineers to thrive. The most effective engineering managers view people development not as a separate administrative task but as an integrated part of their daily leadership approach, weaving coaching moments into project work, technical discussions, and team interactions.

When interviewing candidates for engineering manager roles, assessing their ability to develop people requires looking beyond generic statements about "growing the team." Structured behavioral interviewing helps uncover specific examples of how candidates have approached talent development, how they've adjusted their approaches for different individuals, and whether they've successfully balanced immediate technical goals with long-term team growth. The best candidates will demonstrate a track record of elevating their team members' skills, confidence, and career trajectories through intentional development strategies and consistent coaching.

Interview Questions

Tell me about a time when you helped an engineer on your team overcome a significant technical or career obstacle.

Areas to Cover:

• The specific challenge the team member was facing
• How the candidate identified this obstacle
• The development approach the candidate took to address it
• How the candidate balanced providing guidance with allowing autonomy
• The outcome for the engineer and the team
• How this experience shaped the candidate's approach to developing others

Follow-Up Questions:

• What made you choose that particular development approach for this person?
• How did you measure whether your coaching was effective?
• What would you do differently if faced with a similar situation now?
• How did you balance giving this person the attention they needed while managing your other responsibilities?

Describe how you've tailored your development approach to accommodate different learning styles or personality types within your engineering team.

Areas to Cover:

• The candidate's awareness of different learning preferences and work styles
• Specific examples of adapting their approach for different team members
• How they identified the need to adjust their development method
• Challenges faced when working with styles different from their own
• The effectiveness of these adaptations
• Evidence of self-awareness about their own style and potential biases

Follow-Up Questions:

• How do you identify when your usual development approach isn't working for someone?
• What resources or tools have you used to better understand different learning styles?
• Can you share an example of when you struggled to adapt your approach and what you learned?
• How do you ensure fairness while accommodating different styles?

Share an experience where you helped an engineer develop a skill that wasn't their natural strength.

Areas to Cover:

• How the candidate identified the skill gap
• The way they approached the potentially sensitive conversation
• Specific development strategies they implemented
• How they created a safe environment for growth and experimentation
• The challenges encountered during the development process
• The outcomes and lessons learned

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you balance pushing this person outside their comfort zone while maintaining their confidence?
• What indicators told you this was a skill worth developing versus finding alternative paths?
• How did you handle moments when progress stalled or setbacks occurred?
• What did you learn about developing "non-natural" skills that you've applied elsewhere?

Tell me about a time when you had to provide difficult feedback to an engineer who wasn't meeting expectations.

Areas to Cover:

• The specific performance issue and its impact
• How the candidate prepared for the feedback conversation
• The approach taken to deliver the feedback constructively
• How the candidate balanced candor with compassion
• The development plan that resulted from the conversation
• The outcomes for the engineer and team

Follow-Up Questions:

• Looking back, what signals did you miss before the situation required intervention?
• How did you ensure the feedback was specific and actionable?
• How did this experience shape your approach to ongoing feedback with your team?
• What follow-up did you provide after the initial feedback conversation?

Describe how you've helped engineers on your team prepare for their next career step, whether inside or outside your organization.

Areas to Cover:

• The candidate's approach to understanding team members' career aspirations
• Specific actions taken to create growth opportunities
• How they balanced current team needs with individual career development
• Examples of career advancement that resulted from their guidance
• Their philosophy on supporting moves that might mean losing team members
• Long-term relationships maintained with those they've developed

Follow-Up Questions:

• How do you handle situations where someone's career aspirations don't align with available opportunities?
• What systems or rituals have you put in place to ensure consistent career development conversations?
• How do you measure success in your people development efforts?
• What's the most rewarding experience you've had developing someone else's career?

Share an example of how you've created a learning culture within your engineering team.

Areas to Cover:

• Specific initiatives or practices the candidate implemented
• How they modeled continuous learning themselves
• Ways they encouraged knowledge sharing among team members
• How they integrated learning into everyday work
• Challenges encountered in building this culture
• Measurable impacts on team growth and performance

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you address time constraints that often compete with learning activities?
• What worked best for encouraging reluctant team members to participate?
• How did you measure the effectiveness of your learning initiatives?
• How did you adapt your approach as the team grew or changed?

Tell me about a time when you invested in developing someone on your team, but didn't see the improvement you hoped for.

Areas to Cover:

• The specific development situation and goals
• The approaches the candidate tried
• How they evaluated progress and identified issues
• Steps taken when initial approaches weren't working
• How they balanced continued support with team needs
• What the candidate learned from the experience

Follow-Up Questions:

• What warning signs did you notice that progress wasn't being made?
• How did you adjust your approach when you realized things weren't improving?
• What conversations did you have with the individual about the situation?
• How did this experience change how you approach developing people now?

Describe how you've helped a high-performing engineer grow when they were already excelling in their current role.

Areas to Cover:

• How the candidate identified growth areas for someone already doing well
• The approach to challenging high performers without overwhelming them
• Specific growth opportunities created or facilitated
• How they prevented complacency or boredom
• The outcomes for the high performer and the team
• Strategies for retention of top talent

Follow-Up Questions:

• What challenges did you face in finding appropriate stretch opportunities?
• How did you ensure the engineer remained challenged without burning out?
• How did you handle their impact on team dynamics as their skills advanced?
• What did you learn about developing high performers that surprised you?

Tell me about how you've developed engineering leads or emerging managers on your team.

Areas to Cover:

• The candidate's approach to identifying leadership potential
• Specific development opportunities provided to build management skills
• How they balanced continued technical growth with leadership development
• Mentoring strategies used for first-time or developing managers
• Challenges faced in transitioning technical experts to people leaders
• Outcomes for the individuals and organization

Follow-Up Questions:

• What qualities do you look for when identifying potential engineering leaders?
• How do you help technically-minded engineers develop the people skills needed for management?
• What resources or support did you provide during their leadership transition?
• How do you measure success in developing new engineering managers?

Share a situation where you needed to help an engineer or team recover from a significant failure or setback.

Areas to Cover:

• The nature of the failure and its impact
• How the candidate approached the situation without placing blame
• The learning framework they established to grow from the experience
• Specific developmental actions taken in response
• How they balanced accountability with psychological safety
• Long-term impacts on the individual's or team's growth

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you determine the right time to transition from addressing the immediate issue to focusing on growth and learning?
• What specific steps did you take to maintain the team's confidence after the setback?
• How did you ensure the lessons were internalized without creating fear of future mistakes?
• How has this experience shaped your approach to failure as a development opportunity?

Describe how you measure the effectiveness of your people development efforts.

Areas to Cover:

• Specific metrics or indicators the candidate uses to track development progress
• How they balance quantitative and qualitative measures
• Methods for collecting feedback on their coaching approach
• Systems for tracking individual growth over time
• How they evaluate the impact of development on team performance
• Examples of adjusting their approach based on measured outcomes

Follow-Up Questions:

• What's the most important indicator that tells you your development efforts are working?
• How do you distinguish between development that appears successful short-term versus lasting growth?
• How do you handle situations where different metrics give contradictory signals?
• What's been your most significant insight from measuring development effectiveness?

Tell me about a time when you had to develop remote or distributed engineering team members.

Areas to Cover:

• Special challenges faced in developing people at a distance
• Specific techniques adapted for remote development
• Communication strategies used to maintain connection
• How they created growth opportunities despite physical separation
• Tools or technologies leveraged for remote coaching
• Outcomes achieved and lessons learned

Follow-Up Questions:

• What was the biggest difference you found between developing remote versus co-located team members?
• How did you ensure remote team members had equal development opportunities?
• What unexpected challenges did you encounter, and how did you overcome them?
• What practices would you recommend for other managers developing remote engineers?

Share an example of how you've helped an engineer develop not just technical skills but also soft skills like communication or collaboration.

Areas to Cover:

• How the candidate identified the need for soft skill development
• Their approach to developing skills that can be less concrete than technical abilities
• Specific opportunities created to practice these skills
• Feedback methods used for skills that can be subjective
• Challenges faced in developing soft skills in technically-focused individuals
• Outcomes and impact on the engineer's effectiveness

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you help the engineer recognize the importance of these non-technical skills?
• What techniques or resources did you find most effective for soft skill development?
• How did you measure progress in areas that can be difficult to quantify?
• What have you learned about balancing technical and non-technical skill development?

Describe how you've advocated for development resources or opportunities for your team that weren't readily available.

Areas to Cover:

• The development need the candidate identified
• How they built a case for additional resources or opportunities
• Strategies used to influence decision-makers
• Creative solutions implemented with limited resources
• Challenges faced and how they were overcome
• The outcome for the team and organization

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you determine which development resources were worth advocating for?
• What was your approach when initially met with resistance?
• How did you involve your team in the process?
• What advice would you give to other managers trying to secure development resources?

Tell me about a time when you needed to balance immediate delivery pressure with long-term team development needs.

Areas to Cover:

• The specific situation and competing demands
• How the candidate evaluated priorities
• Their approach to integrating development into delivery work
• Trade-offs made and their reasoning
• Communication with stakeholders about these decisions
• Short and long-term outcomes of their approach

Follow-Up Questions:

• How did you decide when to prioritize development over immediate delivery needs?
• What strategies have you found most effective for developing people during high-pressure periods?
• How did you communicate your decisions to both your team and other stakeholders?
• Looking back, would you make the same trade-offs again? Why or why not?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is developing people considered such a critical competency for engineering managers?

Engineering is a rapidly evolving field where technical skills quickly become outdated. Managers who excel at developing people create self-sustaining teams that continuously learn and adapt. Beyond the immediate benefits to current projects, strong development practices improve retention, attract top talent, and build organizational resilience. According to studies, team members who feel they're growing professionally are 34% more likely to stay with their organization and 29% more engaged in their work.

How can I evaluate if a candidate truly develops people versus just claiming to do so?

Look for specificity, reflection, and outcomes in their answers. Strong candidates will share detailed examples with clear development approaches, explain their reasoning, discuss both successes and failures, and demonstrate how they've adapted their methods over time. They'll talk about specific individuals (while respecting confidentiality) rather than generic team scenarios, and they'll show a genuine interest in others' growth rather than viewing development as a checkbox activity.

What are some red flags that suggest a candidate might not be strong at developing people?

Watch for candidates who: focus solely on technical guidance rather than broader professional development; describe one-size-fits-all approaches to development; can't provide examples of adapting their style to different individuals; take full credit for others' growth without acknowledging the individual's effort; or frame development purely in terms of correcting deficiencies rather than building on strengths. Also be cautious of candidates who can't discuss a time when their development efforts weren't successful.

How many of these questions should I include in an interview?

For most roles, select 3-4 questions that best align with your team's needs, allowing 10-15 minutes per question to enable proper follow-up. This approach gives candidates sufficient opportunity to demonstrate their people development capabilities while still leaving time for other competencies. Remember that the quality of follow-up questions is often more important than the number of initial questions.

Can these questions be used for individual contributors who might become engineering managers?

Yes, with slight modifications. For those without formal management experience, adapt the questions to focus on peer mentoring, technical leadership, and contributing to team learning cultures. For example, ask how they've helped onboard new team members, supported colleagues through technical challenges, or initiated knowledge-sharing practices. These experiences often reveal the foundations of people development skills that can be built upon in management roles.

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