Welcome to Tech Management Slim - Part 2/2
Continuing on from part one of the series, I am going through the technology management journey. For the first time, I am a people manager and have my own team w00t w00t or ZOMG depending on how one feels about it.
You are Responsible
Like most individual contributor roles, we have responsibility on what we produce. As an IC, we control our own destiny. As a manager, that shifts. You are responsible for what others do and don’t do. One skill that I am working on now is being the one who actually has to set deadlines. Most of my IC roles, a deadline was given to me and I would work tirelessly to get across the deadline. Well someone has to make that deadline that you work towards and guess what that is you know!
With experience and have done similar tasks before, I need to be fair while balancing the results. This is where more experienced managers tend to shine and will come with practice. Ideas are not in a vacuum and need to certainly get the team feedback for deadlines and what is feasible, etc.
Management Principles
Everyone is different and responds to different incentives, etc. We are all people and uniquely so. My main guiding principle is to treat others how you like to be treated no matter the situation.
The purpose of management is to enable your team to be as badass as they can be. Management is there to help your team grow and prosper.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Fortunate that my team is remote and our work is pretty flexible. Don’t worry about “are you at work at 8am”. We are all professionals.
Be inclusive to your team, everyone has a voice and deserves to be heard.
It is not wrong to be friends with those on your team. Having a good working relationship means you treat people better.
Let the personality of your team shine through. Culture these days is the biggest competitive differentiator and let the personalities shine through.
Still Figuring It Out
The pundits will certainly say there is a science to management. Leadership is something that you have to develop and grow. For example, my father for as long as I can remember had VP and higher-level positions [he just retired from the C Suite weeks ago]. He stuck in executive management for a large part of his career and seems to always been growing and expanding his points of view. The art of knowing when to get consensus vs making a decision is more art than science. Onwards for the great team I get the opportunity to humbly lead!
