3-minute assessment · free

What kind of engineering leader are you actually?

Take this 3-minute assessment to discover your engineering management archetype, your hidden blind spots, and the development path that fits who you actually are.

Take the free assessment
3 minutes · Free · Instant results · No credit card
Yours to keep

Five archetypes. One of them is you.

Every quiz-taker gets a personalised archetype card with their actual scores. Post it to LinkedIn, send it to your team, or save it for yourself. No two are the same.

What you get

Three minutes. One clear read.

The same diagnostic Ryan walks new managers through in coaching, distilled into a quick assessment.

01

Discover your archetype

Find out which of the 5 engineering management archetypes you're actually becoming, based on how you really lead (not how you think you do).

02

See your blind spots

Every archetype has specific weaknesses and risks. Understand the ones quietly costing you team trust, performance, or your own promotion.

03

Get your development plan

Receive personalised next steps tailored to your archetype and current situation. Know exactly what to work on next.

How it works

From question one to your personalised plan.

1

Answer 10 quick questions

Multiple choice, takes about 3 minutes. Honest answers give the best results.

2

Get your archetype

We map your answers to one of 5 engineering management archetypes and show you your full profile.

3

Receive your plan

Personalised next steps, blind spots to watch for, and resources tailored to your archetype.

Ryan Murphy
Ryan Murphy
Founder

Hi, I'm Ryan.

Top-rated 6x instructor at Dometrain, two-year LeadDev programme committee member, and speaker at LeadDev and CTO Craft with nearly 20 years experience in Software Engineering.

I built and led engineering teams at Yelp for nearly half a decade. I write to 80,000+ followers every week. This quiz exists because most EMs never get a proper read on what kind of manager they're becoming, and the cost compounds.

80K+ LinkedIn, YouTube & Newsletter LeadDev Programming Committee · 2 Years CTO Craft & LeadDev Speaker & Instructor Dometrain #1 Career Course Creator
Recommended by leaders with experience at
From the room

What people are actually saying.

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.
Steven Syrek
Senior Engineering Manager · DeepL
Previously
  • HelloFresh
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.
Owain Lewis
Founder · AI Engineer
Previously
  • Oracle
  • BBC
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.
Taha Hussain
CEO · Tahas Method
Previously
  • Microsoft
  • Yahoo
  • Walmart
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.
Demitri Swan
Senior Software Engineer · Apple
Previously
  • Google
  • DigitalOcean
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.
Matt
Engineering Leader · FinTech & Retail
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.
Anemari Fiser
Founder · AF
Published with
  • O’Reilly
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.
Steven Syrek
Senior Engineering Manager · DeepL
Previously
  • HelloFresh
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.
Owain Lewis
Founder · AI Engineer
Previously
  • Oracle
  • BBC
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.
Taha Hussain
CEO · Tahas Method
Previously
  • Microsoft
  • Yahoo
  • Walmart
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.
Demitri Swan
Senior Software Engineer · Apple
Previously
  • Google
  • DigitalOcean
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.
Matt
Engineering Leader · FinTech & Retail
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.
Anemari Fiser
Founder · AF
Published with
  • O’Reilly

Ready to find out?

Three minutes from now you'll know which of the five archetypes you're becoming, and exactly what to work on next.

Start the assessment
3 minutes · Free · Instant results