You ended up…..are you content in a leadership role or were you thrust into one? Are you happier in an individual contributor role? The engineers are paid to engineer and should have all the context. If you want to be the best manager let them be and ask them hat you can do for them. If it’s getting pizza or setting up offsite team meetings then go for it! I always pause when I hear a manager or director express the desire to code. This is a red flag for that position. Not as much as you have been promoted past your competence, rather you are so good as an individual contributor you were bumped up to manager due to your engineering prowess and desire for more power/money/status. Unfortunately the engineering must be de-prioritized as a manager or director. Your intentions to establish trust are good as are letting those who should own do the owning. Let the team of engineers worry about the skeletons and jumping in to propose changes. If your role is to manage AND also do all those other things I believe you were sold a rotten bill of goods. Your mission should be your team. Nothing more or less. I’d clarify the role with your immediate supervisor. Now having said that, its always a good idea to have a previous engineer manage other engineers to call bullshit and to be able to build morale. I look at us as the grunts like in the Marine Corps. Those who come from the enlisted to become officers have infinite respect compared to the newly minted officers. Anyway it should be fun, unless it isn’t which means the day job sucks. Good luck.