Engineering managers who build are pulling ahead Engineering managers now need hands-on building experience to lead effectively, and the ability to spot AI-generated slop has become the critical review skill, according to LeadDev. The old speed-vs-quality tradeoff is disappearing, making quality no longer the cost of moving fast, fundamentally changing the skills required for effective management within the past year. Estimated reading time: 5 minutes Key takeaways: - Engineering managers now need hands-on building experience to lead effectively. - Taste and the ability to spot AI slop has become the critical review skill . - The old speed-vs-quality tradeoff is disappearing, so quality is no longer the cost of moving fast. When the AI revolution https://leaddev.com/ai/best-ai-coding-assistants is discussed, the headlines are usually focused on productivity gains https://leaddev.com/ai/the-struggle-to-prove-ai-productivity-gains for writing code, changes in hiring engineers, and the challenges faced by non-technical team members. The impact on engineering managers is rarely discussed widely. The skills required to be an effective manager https://leaddev.com/career-development/the-reality-of-being-an-engineering-manager are now completely different from what they were even a year ago.