Engineering Leadership Report 2025 LeadDev (Category Management)

I studied the March language with interest. report from LeadDev on Engineering Leadership, which was based on a survey 600+ leaders, which was held in March this year. To begin with, LeadDev, the creator of the report, was founded in the 2013 He specializes in engineering leadership. The company holds conferences and mitapas around the world in technology hubs. Their mission is to help engineering leaders become more effective, where leaders are understood as technical managers, lead engineers, technical directors.

The study was conducted during the period 14 along 27 March 2025 year and had the following parameters:

• Number of respondents - 617 Geographical distribution: USA (34%), UK (20%), Germay (10%), Canada (6%), Asia (4%), Others (6%) Profiles of participants: Managers of engineers (37%), managers (18%), advanced engineers (14%), software engineers (12%), techleads (9%), CTO (6%), others (3%) Size of organizations: companies[1000, 5000) - 21%, companies[5000, ∞) - 21%, [100, 250) - 16% and so on. 5% on start-ups up to 20 man

If you look at the key findings of the study, they are

• 65Percentage of respondents are concerned about the recession, reflecting general concerns in the tech sector. Fears of cuts in available jobs have risen 48percent 2024 year 53percent 2025 year. Reducing the wave of layoffs and hiring freezes 17 percentage points compared to the previous year. If 2024 year 67The percentage of companies have experienced layoffs or a hiring freeze. 2025 This indicator has decreased to 50%. - Changes in the management structure. The trend of “alignment” of organizational structures continues. Among the companies that have reduced the number of managers: -- 67% reduced line managers -- 56Percentage of cuts to middle managers -- 18% affects senior management Transforming the role of engineering leaders. 65The percentage of respondents reported expanding their responsibilities to include broader areas of responsibility. 40% received additional subordinates. This led to the fact that 38The percentage of engineers working more hours. There were similar indicators in 2024 This year, however, all parameters have increased. 3-4 percentage points. 58Percentage of respondents spend more time communicating with teams, customers and stakeholders 26% reduced the time for writing and reviewing the code. Motivation crisis and burnout. 40Percentage of respondents believe their teams are less motivated to come to work than 12 months ago. - Impact of artificial intelligence. 53Percentage of respondents have implemented AI features in their products in recent years 12 months. 58Percentage of engineering leaders are considering investing in AI coding tools However, 60They don’t believe AI has significantly increased the productivity of their teams. - Changes in attitude towards DEI. Only 5Organizations scrapped diversity, equity and inclusion programs last year despite headlines about phasing them out at Bigtech

If you think about the advice that can be given based on the results of the study, then it is worth dividing them into categories. For engineering leaders Develop communication and change management skills as leaders spend more time communicating

• Fight burnout proactively Rethink the approach to team motivation

For organizations Invest in the development of managers. As companies continue to shrink their management positions, the remaining managers are bearing an increased burden. Provide them with the necessary tools and support to effectively manage extended teams. Realistically assess AI’s potential and communicate it to teams Maintain a balance between employee efficiency and well-being

It’s an interesting report, but I didn’t get any insights from it.

#Leadership #Engineering #Management #Software #Processes