For individual contributors, the job is all about the craft. Consider the toymaker with his wood glue and brass ornamentation, the architect with her pencils and parallel gliders, the author with his cloudward gaze and weatherbeaten keyboard, or the software engineer with her noise-cancelling headphones and GitHub Pro subscription.
The goal for these individuals — quality output — all seems so simple. But what happens when an individual contributor becomes a people manager?
In the tech world, the isolated bliss of code work and experimentation is cracked open to reveal a complicated matrix of hierarchies, staff development, bureaucratic expectations and — perhaps most importantly — all-too-human direct reports.
For the talented software engineer, the question is simple: How can someone so focused on personal artistry in the digital world successfully swing their attention to the flesh-and-blood needs of others in the physical world? Few things are more different than people and code, after all.
To learn more about this challenging transition, Built In Boston sat down with STR Vice President of Systems Development Susan Woodmansee and Interactions Senior Director of Engineering Srinivasa Chakravadhanula. We learned that, despite the stark differences between code work and people management, there just might be a strategic algorithm to help light the way forward.
STR at a Glance
What was the single biggest challenge you faced during the transition from individual contributor to engineering manager?
Most engineering managers are selected based on their excellent engineering skills, so shifting to focus on people — rather than engineering output — can be a challenge.
I typically recommend that new team leads start by spending about 20 percent of their time on the new role, whether that’s planning meetings, doing design reviews or having one-on-one feedback discussions. It’s important to realize that we don’t expect the new manager to be able to do their same workload in 80 percent of their time, so that means handing off 20 percent of their work to someone else. And while it’s tempting to hand off the simplest or least interesting work, assigning challenging tasks to the team is a great way to motivate and grow your engineering staff.
It can also be difficult to go from being really good at something — like engineering — to being maybe just OK or even downright lousy at a new thing like management. Different roles require different skills. Remember that constantly challenging yourself and putting yourself in a growth mindset is really important to having a successful career long term. We all need training and practice to become good at something, and engineering management is no exception.
While it’s tempting to hand off the simplest or least interesting work, assigning challenging tasks to the team is a great way to motivate and grow your engineering staff.”
How did you overcome this challenge, and how has it shaped your approach to management?
Regarding delegating, I continually ask myself, “Who else can do this task?” Even if it won’t be quite as fast or done quite as well as I can do it, realizing that most of what I can do can also be accomplished by someone else has helped me to focus on where I can uniquely add value. It is also useful to realize where I’m a bottleneck, and at the same time identify where cross-training others and building in redundancy can help my team scale up.
Regarding developing new management skills, I talked with other managers about how they approached the role, read some books and took some formal training. This approach built habits of mentorship — being a mentor and also having a mentor — and lifelong learning to challenge myself and keep my skills up to date.
What's the most important piece of advice you’d give to someone who is transitioning into their first engineering manager role?
Transitioning to management is not a one-way path. It’s important to try out new roles and explore opportunities throughout your career. Maybe you’ll love being a manager, maybe not. Either way, you can grow. You might become a better individual contributor and mentor by realizing how hard the manager’s role can be and partnering with your managers in the future.
You also might find a calling as an engineering manager and be the person who inspires and trains the next generation of engineers and managers. Just because you stepped into management doesn’t mean you have to completely step away from technical work or be a manager for the rest of your career. Treat the transition as a learning opportunity and promise yourself you’ll evaluate how it’s going after a year or two.
Interactions At a Glance
What was the single biggest challenge you faced during the transition from individual contributor to engineering manager?
As an individual contributor, my ownership was limited to just my work. As an engineering manager, my work involves creating an environment for a great team of individual contributors to be successful.
This is a paradigm shift because “my work” now means “our team’s work” and “team success” is “my success.” This shift in thinking was initially difficult because my boundaries as an individual contributor were much smaller than my current ones.
How did you overcome this challenge, and how has it shaped your approach to management?
It started with changing the way I think. During the first few weeks, I focused on actions that I need to change for my role.
In terms of technology, I became an enabler rather than a contributor. My role now is centered on coordinating with the team to come up with solutions such as tech stack recommendations, architecture design and other activities. While I might have my own ideas, I now listen to and question all the great ideas from the team and reach a conclusion about which is in the best interest of the product.
When it comes to people, I tried to create an environment where the team can perform at their best. I also tried to motivate the team to work for the objective or product deliverable. One specific thing that I focused on was to take tools and utilities built by one developer and reuse them with other developers wherever possible. This collaboration resulted in tremendous time-saving as a team.
Eventually, my approach changed. I think management is giving up personal control on technical components and code and trusting the team to move forward.
Management is giving up personal control on technical components and code and trusting the team to move forward.”
What’s the most important piece of advice you’d give to someone who is transitioning into their first engineering manager role?
Begin delegating immediately. As an individual contributor, I was so used to doing things by myself. However, this is not the best approach in an engineering manager role. To be successful as an engineering manager, you should start delegating tasks and guiding others to accomplish them effectively.
