Engineering leaders use a distinct vocabulary. Practise the collocations that characterise confident, effective technical leadership communication.
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Fill in: 'Good engineering managers know when to ___ authority to senior ICs rather than micromanaging every decision.'
We 'delegate authority' — 'delegate' is the management-specific collocation for entrusting decision-making power to others. 'Give authority' is informal; 'hand over authority' implies a permanent transfer; 'transfer authority' suggests a formal organisational change.
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Fill in: 'My main job this quarter is to ___ the team by removing blockers and securing resources.'
We 'unblock a team' — 'unblock' is the Agile and engineering-leadership collocation for removing impediments that prevent progress. 'Help' and 'support' are generic; 'assist' is formal but does not convey the removal of a specific obstacle.
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Fill in: 'The VP of Engineering is determined to ___ accountability across all engineering teams.'
We 'drive accountability' — 'drive' is the leadership collocation for actively pushing and maintaining a culture of ownership. 'Create accountability' is about establishing it; 'build accountability' focuses on incremental development; 'enforce accountability' is punitive and not the preferred leadership idiom.
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Fill in: 'Before the all-hands, the CTO needs to ___ the technical direction for the next 18 months.'
We 'set the direction' — 'set the direction' is the leadership-standard collocation for defining strategic orientation. 'Define the direction' is more analytical; 'establish the direction' is formal; 'make the direction' is not idiomatic.
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Fill in: 'Leaders who ___ the behaviour they expect from their teams are far more effective than those who merely state it.'
We 'model the behaviour' — 'model' is the leadership collocation (from 'role model') for exemplifying the conduct you expect. 'Show the behaviour' and 'demonstrate the behaviour' are acceptable; 'display the behaviour' is formal but less idiomatic in leadership discourse.