4 ms·
I think the don't section is far too specific and short. I also think you can learn a lot more from failure than success, but I might be biased there. My manag
by drblast 12y ago
I think the don't section is far too specific and short. I also think you can learn a lot more from failure than success, but I might be biased there. My management experience is in large bureaucracies.
Here are my top ways to fail as a technical manager:
1. You don't understand what the people who work for you do well enough to know good work from bad work. This has all sorts of bad ramifications. You can't be a leader if you don't understand what's going on. Does that mean you should be able to write code? Maybe. . .it depends on the job. It does mean that "Don't write code" is not universally good advice.
2. People don't trust you. This might not be because of anything you've done but things you've failed to do, like chat with people regularly and give them bad news quickly.
3. You don't manage the careers of subordinates so that they feel like you're helping them succeed. This is particularly important for the typical engineering personality type that finds "selling yourself" repulsive. Don't have enough data to "sell" a subordinate at review time? See #1.
4. You don't set a goal or direction. Details are the engineers' job. You have to know about the details and understand them, but your job is to give a clear overall direction and goal and help the team stick to it, and change it when necessary. If you've hired good people who want to accomplish something, they'll do that. Just make it clear what that is.
5. You forget that your success might occur in spite of you. Especially as a middle manager, you're like an insurance company; if there's anyone on your team that causes that team to be a success, you look like a success. A mostly dysfunctional team (or a completely dysfunctional manager) may still succeed. Understand that great people risk a lot more working for you than you risk having them work for you. If you're successful, you should live in fear that you're doing everything wrong and constantly check yourself. You also need to hide this fear from everyone.
6. You don't live to serve. Your goal every day should be to give your people the tools they need to succeed.
- ritchiea 12y agoWhat does managing careers of subordinates mean? Sorry to ask a basic question but most of my experience is at startups that barely have structure to the team. What specifically should managers be doing to support their team members's careers?
- chris_mahan 12y agoTeach them, mentor them, introduce them to people, give them exciting, challenging projects (for that person)...
- quanticle 12y agoIt means telling me what I need to do to get to the next level on my career path. Step 1 is asking what your subordinate's next position will be. Are the looking to stay technical? Are they looking to transition to a more managerial role? Do they not know? If they don't know or are uncertain, take a step back and ask them about what they enjoy doing, present them with options and then let them decide what their goal state is. Step 2 is figuring out what you and they need to do in order to move to that goal. Also, like the original article states, a lot of engineers are really bad at selling themselves. They won't ask for a promotion. They won't ask, "Okay, what am I missing that's preventing me from getting an acknowledgement for my skills and experience." If they're anything like me, they'll just look around after a while and jump ship when they find a position somewhere else that does give them what they want. Finally, I should note that I am not a manager, nor do I have any desire to be one. But I've dealt with a fair number of managers, and the ones I've been most comfortable with have been the ones who've been direct about asking me (after 4-6 months) where I want to go in the organization. The worst feeling is going to one-on-ones week after week, and just rehashing the same points you go over in your daily stand-ups. Weekly one-on-ones should be about the developer and the manager figuring out where the developer wants to go in the organization and what needs to be done to get them there.
- bcbrown 12y agoThe very first meeting I had with the best manager I've ever had, he asked me what my career goals were. After working for him for a while and demonstrating my interest in a certain sub-field, he got me an invitation onto a new team focusing on that sub-field. Know what your people want, and put them in a place where they have the chance to achieve it. That's what I want out of a manager.