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Moving from Developer to Manager

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by tink 1 view

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It's a huge change to move from a Development position into a Management position. I'm curious how you transition someone from a purely technical role into a lead/management role. If you've made this transition successfully, I'd love to hear from you: What were the key points to your success? Looking back, what would you have done differently? Do you miss the hands-on coding that you once excelled at? Do you find technology changing so fast that you feel out-of-date with your technical skills? How do you cope with any of this? What kind of training or mentorship should be available to help some transistion from a technical role into a management role?

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by diabetic

The move into a managerial slot can be one of the most difficult challenges you face -- but it can be done.

As I moved from support technician to support manager some of the key things that helped me (this is my second career so I've already mademost of the easy mistakes) were:

-- Remember that respect is earned, not granted.
-- Being a manager does not mean less work, it means more work.
-- Integrity, integrity, integrity.
-- Hone your listening skills.
-- Identify a mentor/coach.
-- Snap decisions are usually wrong decisions.
-- Technology moves fast -- the best way to keep up is to be a mentor and coach to those who work for you. You'll also earn more respect if you SHOW people how to do something, rather than just TELL someone how to do something.
-- Communicate both up and down. By that I mean, make a point of overcommunicating with your manager. Get you manager to look over your work by running drafts of important documents by him/her, discussing any "moves" you want to make before you make them. Discuss things with your team.
-- You are the manager, not the GOD! There is a difference.

by diabetic

-- Remember all of the bad bosses you have had and think about what made them bad and try to avoid that behavior.
-- Remember all the great bosses you have had, and think about what made them great, then try and emulate that behavior.
-- Remember that the day you accept the title, you are no longer "friends" with your ex-peers. They will be your harshest critics.
-- Don't lie to the people who work for you. Ever!
-- Don't avoid people problems in the hope they will go away. If Joe or Sallyhas a performance or quality problem, get with them as soon as you are certain that the problem is real -- not to chew them out, but to help them grow past the issue. That's what you would want your manager to do.
-- Learn to take great notes in meetings. they WILL save your nether regions at least once.

Hope this helps. Having written all that, the short answer is simple: make sure you can look yourself in the mirror every morning.

Humbly submitted,
diabetic

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