I recently became a team lead at the company I work for, a role I had been aspiring for some time. It's ironic because as an engineer, I never imagined myself managing others. I always strove to be a 10x engineer and dedicated myself to that goal.
Until it didn't make sense anymore.
Life can be full of surprises, and I'm continually amazed at how my outlook on the future and my personal growth have evolved. While I still have a passion for tackling complex problems and immersing myself in finding solutions, I'm finding myself drawn more toward the idea of having a multiplier effect on my team's outcome, focusing on improving purpose, people, and processes.
I've always believed that people are the heart of any organization. Early in my career, I learned that the quality of your relationships with your colleagues can make or break your work experience. When you genuinely enjoy working with your teammates, everything becomes more manageable. You feel more motivated to start each day, you're more likely to speak up and contribute ideas, and you're more likely to solve problems collaboratively. Ultimately, you're more likely to have a fulfilling and enjoyable experience at work.
I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that, as software engineers, we're often privileged to have the ability to switch jobs frequently. However, I've left previous teams not because of the work itself, but because I didn't share the same values as my colleagues. If I have the opportunity, I will not waste my life working with someone that doesn't share my values.
The idea of becoming a manager came to me during a difficult time when I was feeling burnt out and depressed. I knew I needed a change, so I stepped out of my comfort zone and pursued a role where I could make a meaningful impact by helping people. For the first time in a long time, I felt excited about the future.
Despite the challenges that come with any new role, I'm eager to learn and grow. I know that I have much to learn as a manager, but I'm motivated to do so, and caring about people makes 50% of the job easier.
What has been working for me?
As a new manager, I've been experimenting with different approaches to support and manage my team. I've found that being proactive and organized can make a big difference.
One thing that's been particularly effective is creating individual pages for each of my team members in Notion.
Here, I document everything I know about them. From personal and professional interests to their performance and other relevant details.
This approach is essential in ensuring that I don't forget anything when preparing for our 1-1 meetings or any other conversation. It's important to show your team members that you care about them, and remembering details from previous conversations is a great way to demonstrate this.
To ensure that our 1-1 meetings are productive, I take a few minutes the day before to prepare an agenda with topics I want to discuss. Typically, I cover topics related to their growth, how I can better support them in their work, any blockers they are facing, feedback, and a general reflection on how things are going. These meetings are critical in defining expectations, having honest conversations, and building trust.
After each 1-1 meeting, I take some time to jot down notes on what we discussed. This helps me to follow up on any topics in the future. Whether it's an ill parent, a sick pet, or a book they're interested in reading, I make sure to keep track of these details to show my team members that I'm invested in their lives both inside and outside of work.
In addition to creating private pages for each team member, I’ve also created a shared Notion page with each report.
I use this page to maintain a history of our 1-1 meetings and prepare for upcoming meetings. It's also a place where we can collectively track progress toward their career goals, identify areas for improvement, and create a growth plan.
Another useful feature of this shared page is the Brag document, where they can highlight their accomplishments and celebrate successes.
We've also included a book recommendation section, which encourages them to continue learning and growing. As part of our commitment to personal and professional development, we have a learning budget each team member can use to invest in their growth.
To wrap things up, I'd like to share some book recommendations that have been keeping me busy lately.
- The making of a manager
- Managing humans
- An Elegant Puzzle- Systems of Engineering Management
- The manager's path
- Radical Candor
- The unicorn project
- Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team
- Become an effective software engineering manager
This is just the first of many posts where I'll be sharing my insights and learnings from my new role. My goal is to offer an honest perspective on what's worked for me so that you can apply it to your own situation if it aligns with your own point of view.
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Top comments (2)
As someone who fell into management in a similar fashion as you, I appreciate you sharing your experience, it's important for engineers to understand there are growth options beyond code that can be pursued.
Also, thank you for sharing your book recommendations, I'll be checking out the 5 I didn't already own.
Indeed and I'm glad that you could relate to my journey.
I hope you find these books helpful!