Your guide Know what to do when the people stuff gets hard.
A 90-day program for engineers in their first management role.
82%
of new engineering managers are never trained
100%
of program finishers rate it 5 stars
9 modules, 48 lessons, 7 expert interviews, 3 AI simulations, community, personal mentorship, quizzes, office hours.
Most of your problems are people problems now.
Someone is not pulling their weight and you keep not saying it.
Your 1-1s have turned into status updates.
Everything is urgent and you are the bottleneck.
You cannot tell if your team is fine or just quiet.
Your 90 days
You do not need more content. You need an order to do things in.
Tap a week to see what you do
Week 1Days 1-30
Find out where you actually stand.
- Your EM Scorecard. 24 questions, scored out of 100 across six parts of the job. You retake it in week 12 and compare.
- The EM Archetype quiz. Which of five managers you default to when it gets hard, and what that costs you.
- Dr Claire Knight, Director of Engineering at n8n, on her first 90 days as a brand new EM.
Week 2Days 1-30
What the job actually is.
- What an engineering manager actually does. The job description nobody gave you.
- This is a career change, not a promotion. Why the thing you were good at stops counting.
- What changes, and what does not. Including the parts of being an engineer you get to keep.
Week 3Days 1-30
What they expect of you.
- What Your Team and Org Expect worksheet. Write down what your team needs from you and what your own manager needs from you, side by side. Almost nobody has ever done this.
- Chris Ellis, Engineering Manager at Meta, on making the shift from doer to enabler.
Week 4Days 1-30
Start with the people.
- How to run a listening tour, with the worksheet. Sit down with everyone on your team and find out what is actually going on. This is the week that changes what you think your problems are.
- From Conversations to Clarity worksheet. Turn what you heard into two or three things you are going to do about it.
- Q&A: keeping the culture together on a shrinking team.
- Your first 1-1 mentorship session. Bring what you found.
Week 5Days 31-60
What 1-1s are really for.
- Ask Great Questions worksheet. The questions that get you a real answer instead of a status update.
- What 1-1s are actually for, and how to structure your first few months of them.
Week 6Days 31-60
Running 1-1s that work.
- Your 1-1 Meeting Agenda. A template you take into the next one.
- Dealing with challenging dynamics. What to do when it goes badly, when they shut down, or when it turns into a complaint session every fortnight.
- Alev Yildirim, Engineering Manager at Google, on managing engineers more senior than you.
Week 7Days 31-60
Your time is the bottleneck.
- Three lessons on priorities. Why your time is now the constraint on everyone else's work, and how to choose when all of it is urgent.
- Q&A: a manager who is harsh one day and warm the next.
Week 8Days 31-60
Get it off your plate, and hold a line.
- Delegation Planning worksheet. Pick something you currently own and plan the handover properly.
- The Boxed-In Boss. A live simulation where your own manager wants more than your team can give. You talk to it, it pushes back the way a person would, and you get a written debrief on how you handled it.
- Q&A: what to do when your manager says push the team harder.
- Your second 1-1 mentorship session.
Week 9Days 61-90
Say it so it lands.
- Writing Regular Updates worksheet. The stakeholder update people actually read.
- Running a team meeting worth attending, and communicating up, down and across without saying it three different ways.
- Julia Wallin, Director of Engineering at Cognite, on killing meeting bloat and building a written, async culture.
Week 10Days 61-90
The traps.
- The three mistakes almost every new manager makes. Staying too close to the detail, trying to be everyone's friend, and putting off the conversation.
- The Defensive Star. A live simulation against your strongest engineer, who does not want to hear it. Practise the feedback, then get a written debrief on how you did.
- Q&A: someone gets defensive and challenges your feedback.
Week 11Days 61-90
The conversation you have been avoiding.
- Difficult Conversations Prep worksheet. The one you have been putting off, planned out properly.
- The Coaster. Practise it against an engineer who has quietly stopped trying. Nobody real gets hurt while you work out how to say it.
- Not giving positive feedback. The mistake that costs the most and gets mentioned the least.
- Suresh Choudhary, Director of Engineering at Salesforce, on how great managers coach their teams.
Week 12Days 61-90
The manager you are becoming.
- Reading your team's health. The signals that tell you something is wrong before anyone says so.
- Your EM Scorecard, again. The same 24 questions, and six scores to put next to week one.
- Your capstone. A written 90 day plan for your actual team. Where it is now, what you are going to change, and how you will know whether it worked. Marked and returned with feedback.
- James Charlesworth, Director of Engineering at Pendo, on measuring success and outcomes, and John Weatherford, Sr Director of Engineering at Medely, on values-based leadership.
The 90 days is a suggested pace, not a deadline. Nothing locks and nothing expires. Come back in six months and it will be exactly where you left it.
Build your network.
Two video calls1-1s with an expert mentor
Every monthLive office hours with Ryan
Always onA community of managers
Who you learn from
Your guide 
What you walk away with
Your capstone
A 90-day plan for your actual team. Where it is now, the two or three things you are changing, and how you will know whether it worked.
Read and marked by our experts, and they send it back with notes if it is not there yet.
A document you can put in front of your own manager.
Your Scorecard, before and after.
The same 24 questions in week one and week twelve, and six scores to put side by side. The change is a number, not a feeling.
Everything, for good.
All 48 lessons, the seven expert interviews, the simulations, the quizzes, the Q&A library and the community. Yours permanently, including anything added to the program later. No subscription, nothing to cancel.
A certificate.
Once you have done the work and delivered the capstone.
What people say
It's never been a more exciting time to be an engineering manager. Or a more challenging one. Ryan offers a complete leadership package with insights, tools, and community support you won't get from onboarding. He's been in the EM trenches long enough to be your best guide to mastering this difficult role.
SS
Steven Syrek
Senior Engineering Manager ·
Previously
Week one · the foundations series
I wish I’d had something like this when I made the IC-to-EM transition. It would have given me a clear framework for the different stages of leadership, how to navigate tough situations, and what to actually expect from the role. Ryan has built something that addresses the gaps no one prepares you for.
AC
Anyell Cano
Staff Engineering Manager ·
Previously 
Email · the skeptic's review
I’ve known Ryan for a long time, and if you’re an engineer stepping into leadership, or trying to do it better, you should be talking to him. He’s that rare combination: an excellent engineering manager and a genuinely great coach. He doesn’t lecture. He helps you think clearly about your situation and figure out what to do next. If you’re considering coaching to level up as a manager, I can’t recommend him highly enough.
OL
Owain Lewis
Director of Engineering · 
Previously
Course review · rated 5 out of 5
Ryan transformed my approach to communication both upwards and to my team. He enabled me to move into roles that otherwise felt beyond my reach, and gave me a new level of confidence when dealing with superiors.
MA
Matt
Engineering Leader · FinTech & Retail
Thirty days in · a real situation, handled
Ryan’s work has weight. He writes about engineering management with practical clarity and hard-won judgment. Trust, feedback, ambiguity, tension, the decisions no framework can make for you. If his EM Accelerator carries the same honesty as his writing, it will be worth serious attention.
TH
Taha Hussain
CEO · Tahas Method
Previously
The practice · AI simulator
Ryan’s content feels very real and honest: actual day-to-day engineering leadership experience, not just high-level theory. I really appreciate how openly he shares challenges, lessons learned, and vulnerable moments while staying practical and relevant to what engineering managers deal with today.
AF
Anemari Fiser
Founder · AF
Published with 
EM Playbook review · rated 5 out of 5
Ryan Murphy’s insights are valuable for any engineer looking to level up. Unlike many industry voices, his background as an Engineering Manager allows him to bridge the gap between technical execution and leadership.
DS
Demitri Swan
Senior Software Engineer ·
Previously
Email · the security blanket review
Who this is for
- You are in your first management role, or about to start one.
- Nobody trained you, and you have been working it out as you go.
- You manage engineers directly, and the people problems have already started.
- You have two or three hours a week, not two or three evenings.
What it costs
The whole program, both 1-1s with your expert mentor, the capstone, the certificate, and everything added afterwards.
A fourth phase lands this winter. Days 91-120, on building an AI operating system for your own work: your inbox sorted, your meetings turned into decisions, and jobs that run without you. It becomes part of the program, and the price goes up when it does. Buy now and you get all four phases at today's price.
No subscription, nothing to cancel.VIP Tier
Unlimited 1-1s for three months with your expert mentor + Direct Access
You get the full 90-day program, but bookable 1-1s anytime you want for 3 months. Plus, you get a direct line to your mentor with DM access.
$1,999Once
Start as VIP Not ready? Take the first week free.
Your EM Scorecard, so you find out where you actually stand. The Archetype quiz. And Dr Claire Knight, Director of Engineering at n8n, on her first 90 days as a new EM.
No card. Nothing happens at the end of the seven days unless you decide to carry on.
Start the free weekSeven days to change your mind.
A full refund from the day you pay, on top of the free week before it. No reason needed and no awkwardness.
Finish it and still feel you got nothing?
One free 1-1 mentoring session. Claim within 30 days of finishing. VIP already includes unlimited 1-1s, so this one is for everyone else.
A lot of people get this through their company.
Say the word and we will send you a one page document to put in front of your manager.
FAQs
What if I fall behind?
Behind what? There is no schedule to be behind. Nothing locks, nothing expires, and nobody is going to email you about a week you did not finish. Put it down for three months and pick it up on a Tuesday evening, exactly where you left it.
How much time does it take each week?
Two to three hours, and some weeks less. But that is a suggestion, not a rule. Go as fast or as slow as you want. If you are keen you can whizz through it, and if work swallows a month, nothing is lost.
The weeks open in order, so going fast means doing the work faster rather than skipping ahead.
What are the two 1-1s, and how do I book them?
One when you finish the first stretch of the program, one when you finish the second. Video call with an expert mentor, booked by you when you get there rather than on a fixed date. Book at least 24 hours ahead. Bring whatever you are actually stuck on. A specific person, a conversation you are dreading, a decision you cannot make.
If two is not enough, VIP gives you unlimited sessions for three months.
What does VIP actually get me?
Everything in the program, plus unlimited 1-1s with your expert mentor for three months from the day you pay, and DM access to them in between. Book as often as you need. Nothing renews at the end. You keep the program and everything in it permanently, and you can book another three months if you want one.
Is any of it live, or is it all self paced?
The lessons are self paced, so nothing starts and nothing expires. The live part is three things: your two 1-1s with an expert mentor, monthly office hours you can drop into, and the community, which is running every day.
Miss a month of office hours and you have lost nothing. There is no start date and no cohort, and it would be dishonest to call it one.
What happens in the office hours?
One open video call a month with Ryan. People bring a real situation from that week, a difficult conversation, a decision they are sitting on, a person they cannot read, and we work through it out loud. You can come with something, or come and listen to other people's, which is usually more useful than it sounds.
You do not need to book, prepare or attend. Come to all of them or none of them.
What if I do not have a team yet?
You can still do it, and most of it will land harder once you are in the role. The one part that changes is the capstone. Instead of a plan for the team you have, you write one for the team you are about to take on. Someone who walks into an EM interview with a written 90 day plan has done something almost nobody does.
What is the capstone, and can I fail it?
A written 90 day plan for your actual team. Where it is now, the two or three things you are changing, and how you will know whether it worked. An expert mentor reads it. You cannot fail it, but they will send it back with notes if it is not there yet.
What happens after the 90 days?
Nothing changes. You keep all of it, permanently, including anything added to the program later. No renewal, no expiry, nothing to cancel.
Can my company pay for this?
Most people do it that way. Ask and we will send you a one page document to put in front of your manager, covering what it is, what it costs and what they get back.
Can I get a refund?
Yes. Seven days from the day you pay, in full, no reason needed and no awkwardness. That is on top of the free week before it, so you have a fortnight in total before any money is at risk.
The program on its own keeps its seven day refund. VIP is non refundable, because the time is reserved for you.
Ninety days from now, you will have a plan and you will have run it.
Or your team will be ninety days further into bearing the brunt of your learning on the job.
$899 $599 for a limited time only. Everything, permanently. Two 1-1s. Seven days to change your mind.
Not sure it is for you?
Book a free call.
Fifteen minutes, no pitch. Get a straight answer on whether this is the right fit for you.
Book a callOr try a free assessment