I’ve had the privilege of managing both individual contributors (ICs), as well as managers, for about a decade now. And yes, I use the term “privilege” here intentionally.
I thought I’d share a few thoughts about how I view the job of a manager.
This post isn’t meant to be exhaustive; more so an attempt to articulate the things I get asked by first-time managers or those thinking about a transition into management.
(There has certainly been a lot written about the topic of people management and you can check out a few of my go-to’s at the end of this piece).
The TL;DR is that although it’s not rocket 🚀 science, it does require a shift in mindset and behaviors on the part of the manager. The responsibilities are not for everyone, which is why I think understanding some of these attributes early on is key.
And for the record, my so-called ‘credentials’ on the topic include:
Hiring, managing, and leading high-performing product design and research functions – in IRL, hybrid, and remote environments, including international team members.
Achieving some of the best retention rates at the companies that I have been a part of.
Helping to stand-up a management-focused Community of Practice at a fast-growing startup. We recognized that fixing this gap was essential in order to achieve the next phase of growth.
Taking several management courses (e.g., Crucial Conversations).
IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU
First off, when you take on the role of manager, it really becomes much less about you — and more about your team. This is pretty much that fundamental shift in mindset I mentioned at the top.
Hey, it’s about you all — Courtesy of DALL-E
I believe that the goal of people management should be to create the conditions for great work; and, to enable individuals to do the best work of their careers. Full stop.
This is very different from being an awesome IC. As a matter of fact, one could argue that critical management skills may kind of be the opposite – which is why many first-time managers stumble. (However, I’ll stress that you still need solid domain/ craft expertise/ street cred to be excellent. See Google’s Project Oxygen for more on that).
What got you here as a doer and a maker won’t necessarily help you become a great manager – especially if you happen to land in more of a fuzzy player/ coach role.
Recognizing that your success is dependent on the success of your team however, will.
You can call it a servant leadership mindset or a focus on talent n’ team, but it’s a relatively simple theory that’s tough to put into practice – especially early in your management career.
I think part of this transition has to do with daily accomplishments and output. IC’s are able to point to something at the end of the day, be it checking-in code or sharing a Figma prototype 👩💻. Crossing-off that backlog item feels pretty, darn good!
But with management, you tend to spend your days recruiting, coaching, and aligning the team to meet the needs of customers and the business. The fruits of that labor tend to manifest much more in the future, so it’s much harder to see the payoff at the end of any given day.
BALANCING ACCOUNTABILITY WITH AUTONOMY
As a manager, you are accountable for the work product of your team. But how do you develop talent while also ensuring that high quality work goes out the door?
Well, it’s a balancing act.
This is especially tough for IC-to-manager converts; where, some of the time, they can literally do a better job. And possibly faster.
I like to think about this in terms of risk mitigation — and whether the ability to learn outweighs any drawbacks. For example, is the thing about to ship — and will it cause user issues if so? Is the presentation to stakeholders going to color their perception of the team? Does the meeting have sufficient context and a corresponding feedback loop?
I’ve certainly made mistakes in the past; either in overstepping too early, or in not putting my thumb on the scale quite enough. Finding that sweet spot between limiting risk vs. individual growth requires constant calibration.
However, as indicated above, simply understanding that your success is dependent on the success of your team helps frame your thinking to improve this calibration over time.
Note that this also assumes that you’ve put the right strategic vision and decision-making frameworks in place so that the team has a clear understanding of where everyone is heading.
AND, A FEW PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
I think everyone has to develop their own management style. However, it should ultimately lead to an authentic connection with your direct reports.
Here are a few things that I’ve found to be helpful:
1:1’s are massively important. These should happen once a week. (Maybe every two weeks if there is an established working relationship and/or the direct is relatively senior). It’s your primary surface area to understand what’s going on; not only with the individual, but within the function, the product teams, and the company as a whole.
I generally like folks to bring up their topics first to see what’s top-of-mind for them and what issues they are facing. But, I also have an agenda coming into each meeting. These could take the form of inquiries to help nudge, or follow-ups from the last time to keep us both honest. (BTW, this requires preparation on the part of the manager ahead of each 1:1!)
Having a discussion around longer-term career goals pretty regularly is also necessary. Quarterly check-ins feel about right, but again, creating the space to have that conversation is what really matters.
And perhaps the most important piece of advice I would dole out here is to listen actively. Stay engaged. Don’t check your mobile device. And say less so as to hear more.
Stop and actively listen — Thanks again, DALL-E
Understand motivations (and triggers!) Not everyone is motivated by the same things. And not everyone is stressed out by the same things. Understanding these differences across your team is really important. It allows you to better load balance and allocate resources accordingly. Asking yourself, do we have the right people in the right places? on a regular basis is also critical.
People have things going on in their personal lives that impact their work lives. It could be a family situation, a health issue, etc. There are also triggers to be aware of. Maybe some folks get really nervous before large presentations and prefer to rehearse with you. Or, maybe they become stressed-out by ambiguity. In knowing what’s really going on, you at least have a set of constraints to work within.
And so how do you learn what those things are? You inquire and learn over time.
I tend to ask folks what motivates them head-on, what they want to do more of, less of, etc. I’ve also asked directly what stresses people out. They may not have a fully-formed answer on the tip of their tongue, but it at least gets them thinking about it — and shows that you are invested.
Again, this doesn’t mean you don’t assign them the things that potentially stress them out or that they don’t like doing. It’s just that you are better equipped in understanding their capabilities so as to effectively lead the team.
Be responsiveness. Be it Slack or jumping on an unscheduled Zoom meeting, I tend to drop whatever it is that I’m doing – within reason, of course – when I get pinged by one of my direct reports.
It could be a question, an approval to unblock something, or even the need for a quick-sync to work through a problem that they’re facing at that particular moment in time. The hard truth here is that you may very well be doing some deep work of your own with your favorite playlist 🎧 and experiencing a state of flow. This is also part of embracing that shift.
But, it’s not an inconvenience, nor a burden. It’s the job.
The other thing to keep in mind is that life happens — and knowledge work at tech companies is especially fluid.
Kids get sick, dogs run off into the neighbor’s yard, and the internet goes out. Being kind and responding in an even-keeled manner — as long as these aren’t habitual issues — acknowledges them and shows empathy. (Some of the most high-performing folks I know feel stressed when these types of things occur – and they simply want to communicate their status. Acknowledging it then helps to alleviate their stress).
Gosh, there is so much more that could be said on this general topic. We’ve just scratched the surface.
There’s everything from performance management, the differences between management and leadership, and how managing managers is a bit different. I’ll save those topics for another day.
Lastly, here are a few resources that I’ve found particularly helpful in the past:
Managing Oneself – Peter Drucker (A great starting point for all types of knowledge workers, regardless of IC vs. Management considerations).
High Output Management – Andy Grove (Pretty timeless wisdom).
Radical Candor — Kim Scott (Thoughtful — with lots of real world anecdotes from a couple FAANG companies).
Goggle Google’s Project Oxygen (A data-driven approach to compile the attributes of an effective manager).
HBR’s Management Tip of the Day (Succinct and pragmatic advice).
Thanks for reading.
Marc