Advice for new managers

Things I told someone today who is starting their journey as an engineering manager:

1. Yes, the feedback loop is longer
2. But the impact is bigger
3. No, you won’t get to code as much
4. You don’t have to have it all figured out on day 1
5. You’ll grow as a person
6. Don’t give up

The feedback loop is longer

I hit :w in vim, which kicks off the typescript compiler to check my work. Types check! I push the PR and get a slack notification some time later, CI passed! Review looks good, merge to main, and check back in after a snack - it’s in prod!

This feedback loop as a developer is not only essential to efficiently delivering software, it feels great! Seeing the work you’ve produced in someone’s hands at the end of the day, making their life better (unless you work in ad-tech, or maybe still?) feels as natural to me as the loop of sliding down a hill then marching to the top again.

This is not what it is like when you’re a manager - so be prepared to experience the change. It turns out, the longer feedback loop comes with some upsides.

But the impact is bigger

You can’t do as much as 5 of you, or 10, or 15, or 150. But you can be the reason that 5 or 10 or 15 or 150 succeed. You can create the conditions for their success, such that without your input, their output may not have been achieved. Not only do you get to see the outcomes that you had a hand in creating (indirectly), but you get to see others stretch, grow, and achieve something they wanted to achieve. There is something about enabling another human to achieve something they want to achieve that is satisfying in a way that I didn’t anticipate when I started as an Engineering Manager.

No, you won’t get to code as much

That does mean, though, that you won’t have as much time coding - if you’re working on enabling a team to succeed. Don’t let this scare you away from management. In many cases (or at least at my company) you can keep coding for a while, or indefinitely depending on the size of your team and nature of your work. If you want to go deeper on the management track, yes, you’ll have less time to code, but you won’t have to do this all at once, and it’s not a one way door.

You may find that you enjoy the impact you’re having through your team and want to go deeper - in that case, yes, you’ll code less, but it will be replaced with new kind of work - that you may enjoy more than you thought.

Or perhaps, after some time, you decide it is not for you and you want to get close to the metal again. Management doesn’t have to be a one way door and the skills you’ve developed in the mean time will make you more effective as a developer, should you choose to go back.

You don’t have to have it all figured out on day 1

Stuff a manager is responsible for: code quality, delegation, managing process and team rituals, meeting with the team regularly, career growth, performance management, vision setting, strategy, stakeholder management, and other stuff I’m forgetting about right now. These are new skills for a new role that need to be developed. The good news is you don’t have to be an expert on day 1 to be a good manager.

I see new managers minted from technical leads who happen to also be organized and care about outcomes. If that is you, you’re probably managing your work, supporting team members, engaging with stakeholders to make sure you’re working on the right stuff, and communicating well. You can start here as a manager by continuing the work you were doing as a lead, and adding 1:1s with team mates.

The good news is you have some time to grow + be effective in those other areas

You’ll grow as a person

I’ve had more opportunity to be wrong as a manager than any other time in my career. It is a new role and when you’re learning new skills, you have to be humbled a bunch (at least in the beginning) - and this role has been no exception. I’ve also grown more than any other time in my career in this role.

Don’t give up

Sometimes the work feels like a slog. There’s a bunch of things you won’t want to do that you’ll need to do in order for your team to succeed. Some weeks will end without you feeling like you accomplished anything. Stick with it - give it a good 2-3 years to get your bearings, feel a few of the longer feedback loops. You can always go back to being a developer, but you may find yourself enjoying the new view.