[Part of Advent of Writing 2025]
I became an engineering manager earlier this year. One fun part of becoming a manager is defining the kind of leader you are. I’m still new at this so there’s plenty left to learn, but there’s one area where I’m starting to form a strong opinion: top-down vs bottom-up leadership.
Before getting into what I’ve learned, it’s worth calling out the factors that shape the style you choose. Your personality plays a role. The makeup of your team plays a role. The kind of manager you report to plays a role. And of course, the type of work you’re leading plays a role.
The leader is prescriptive. The vision comes from the top and the team carries it out. Input is welcome, but the leader makes most of the important decisions.
The leader encourages others to participate in decision-making. This usually requires a high-trust environment and a team that’s capable and motivated to own decisions. The leader delegates more, but also spends more time building the conditions where delegation actually works.
I err strongly on the side of bottom-up.
Especially with technical decisions, I believe the group mind is smarter than the individual. At Ditto, where I work, we hire engineers who have experience leading, who want to be self-sufficient, and who enjoy shaping the work rather than just doing the work. My team is also really smart, so I want them in an environment where they can make decisions together instead of just carrying out my perspective. Often this means listening to others rather than owning the floor. But this type of dynamic is only possible with a low-ego team, so it's important to foster and protect that.
That said, top-down isn’t inherently wrong. The right approach depends on the situation. There are specific areas where I lean more toward a top-down approach, usually when I’m more opinionated or when team members have less experience. In those moments, providing clear direction is often more helpful than deferring on decisions.
What matters most is being deliberate rather than defaulting to whatever feels easiest in the moment. I've learned that always going into a conversation with a clear sense of which approach you want to take makes a big difference in the success of the decision.
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