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I'm in a role as manager/lead dev, so it's kind of mixed. The transition to the managerial part was pretty rough back then and I wished I had gotten more suppor

I'm in a role as manager/lead dev, so it's kind of mixed. The transition to the managerial part was pretty rough back then and I wished I had gotten more support, many companies don't know how to do that well. With a developer mindset, what helped me was this (no particular order) * Go about it as a problem solving task. This can be as complex and fun as building a new system - you are building organization and culture. The way you treat them will mirror in how they treat each other and your customers. * Don't assume too much what a manager should do or what you have seen, but see your new job as an enabler of other people and find out what the particular needs there are. You're the user interface for other people to get things done in the company. * The hardest thing is probably to stop solving implementation problems yourself. That's again an enabling position. All the stuff you were the expert in before you now need to transfer to other people. Don't just quickly solve their new problems because you know it better. * One thing about micromanagement - If there's something that appears to be micromanagement, it's often a problem of too little actual management and not enough. That sounds weird, but the reason is that management interferes with people's work directly, where they actually should have given them the tools and the knowledge to do it themselves. So when you start hearing or sensing that notion, don't stop managing, but try to find out where you really need to help.

ddebernardy 9y ago
Good tips. A few more: * Resist all tasks that you and your team can't figure out next step for. (They're not actionable.) * Find the maximum task length you're comfortable with doing yourself; try to delegate anything that you expect will take you longer. Keep this number very low (e.g. 15 min or 5 min). * To balance the latter, find the maximum hours you're comfortable with having someone else do work you'd do in an hour. Keep this number high (e.g. 8 hours or 20 hours), and step in to do things yourself only when delegating will make you over it. (Edit: Also, there are good lessons learned from the past; don't forget to read books books, like PeopleWare.)
- mikehollinger 9y ago
  Go have a listen to this excellent podcast on delegation [1] from Manager Tools. They hit the same notes you’re hitting, but provide some additional actionable tips and tricks for figuring out when things are going well, about to go wrong, or going wrong. [1] https://www.manager-tools.com/2005/08/the-art-of-delegation https://www.manager-tools.com/2005/08/the-art-of-delegation
  - tome 9y ago
    This is a great episode about their "balls in boxes" model of delegation. If you delegate it's probably worth your while to listen to it. If you are delegated to then it's probably also worth your while!
ninegunpi 9y ago
>I wished I had gotten more support, many companies don't know how to do that well. It's literally the biggest leadership failure when non-managers get elected to management positions - failure to coach them by senior managers, and ends to torture for everyone. People don't get to deadlift 500lbs after lifting 20lbs for previous 10 years just because someone decided they can do it.
- elcapitan 9y ago
  There's only so much you can "teach" of that, a lot is learning on the job, but a company needs to facilitate that learning. If it was simply a matter of teaching, it would be very easy, but I think everybody knows the feeling of opening a book on "management", reading briefly into it, and then throwing it away thinking that it's all completely obvious. It's not, and you really only find out when you actually do it.
  - ianhowson 9y ago
    Agreed. I found that books were good for learning the language and theory of management, but the important stuff -- interacting with, influencing and negotiating with people -- that only comes from practice and reflection.
  - ninegunpi 9y ago
    coaching does not equal teaching. teaching is learning information, coaching is ensuring skills transfer and achieving desired personal qualities.
    - elcapitan 9y ago
      That's just terminology, in both cases there is no way of actually creating those skills beforehand, you have to learn it while going. And that means making a non-manager a manager at some point.

ddebernardy 9y ago

Good tips. A few more: * Resist all tasks that you and your team can't figure out next step for. (They're not actionable.) * Find the maximum task length you're comfortable with doing yourself; try to delegate anything that you expect will take you longer. Keep this number very low (e.g. 15 min or 5 min). * To balance the latter, find the maximum hours you're comfortable with having someone else do work you'd do in an hour. Keep this number high (e.g. 8 hours or 20 hours), and step in to do things yourself only when delegating will make you over it. (Edit: Also, there are good lessons learned from the past; don't forget to read books books, like PeopleWare.)

mikehollinger 9y ago
Go have a listen to this excellent podcast on delegation [1] from Manager Tools. They hit the same notes you’re hitting, but provide some additional actionable tips and tricks for figuring out when things are going well, about to go wrong, or going wrong. [1] https://www.manager-tools.com/2005/08/the-art-of-delegation https://www.manager-tools.com/2005/08/the-art-of-delegation
- tome 9y ago
  This is a great episode about their "balls in boxes" model of delegation. If you delegate it's probably worth your while to listen to it. If you are delegated to then it's probably also worth your while!

ninegunpi 9y ago

>I wished I had gotten more support, many companies don't know how to do that well. It's literally the biggest leadership failure when non-managers get elected to management positions - failure to coach them by senior managers, and ends to torture for everyone. People don't get to deadlift 500lbs after lifting 20lbs for previous 10 years just because someone decided they can do it.

elcapitan 9y ago
There's only so much you can "teach" of that, a lot is learning on the job, but a company needs to facilitate that learning. If it was simply a matter of teaching, it would be very easy, but I think everybody knows the feeling of opening a book on "management", reading briefly into it, and then throwing it away thinking that it's all completely obvious. It's not, and you really only find out when you actually do it.
- ianhowson 9y ago
  Agreed. I found that books were good for learning the language and theory of management, but the important stuff -- interacting with, influencing and negotiating with people -- that only comes from practice and reflection.
- ninegunpi 9y ago
  coaching does not equal teaching. teaching is learning information, coaching is ensuring skills transfer and achieving desired personal qualities.
  - elcapitan 9y ago
    That's just terminology, in both cases there is no way of actually creating those skills beforehand, you have to learn it while going. And that means making a non-manager a manager at some point.