Ask HN: Going from Developer to Manager. What should I know or learn? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Going from Developer to Manager. What should I know or learn?

#21

Post by kabdib » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 3:51 PM UTC

everdev wrote: post #7

As you transition to management don't stop coding. You might not have time at work, but make time (20hrs/month) after work or weekends to learn the basics of a new skill relevant to your work. IMO, developers get annoyed at having to report to someone who doesn't understand at least the basics of what they're working on our who can't provide recommendations in a pinch. The respect you'll have with your developers mak…

Don't stop coding BUT don't take on engineering responsibilities that will diminish your value as a manager.

All too often I see the developer to manager transition treated as if management were merely an additional responsibility. The new manager keeps trying to write code, works late hours doing both jobs. The result is usually a bunch of not very good code, usually late, and a bunch of unhappy direct reports who can't schedule time to talk to their boss (and are wondering why their reviews are never on time).

The worst managers I've had have had 6-7 reports and tried to hold onto a coding job as well. This does not work. Keep your engineering skills up, but don't expect to write code for a living.

Re: Ask HN: Going from Developer to Manager. What should I know or learn?

#22

Post by siddhant » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 3:53 PM UTC

I’ve been working on collecting a list of interviews that answer exactly this question.

Here’s a link - https://devtomanager.com . Hope you find it helpful!

Re: Ask HN: Going from Developer to Manager. What should I know or learn?

#23

Post by matt_morgan » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 3:56 PM UTC

That the chief function of management is making it more possible for your staff to succeed in their jobs. Supporting your staff in a way that makes your department help the business meet its goals is your primary measure of success now.

Re: Ask HN: Going from Developer to Manager. What should I know or learn?

#24

Post by johnkchow » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 3:58 PM UTC

The hardest part during the transition is to give up doing what you love and excel at (coding) and instead doing something foreign and way more nebulous. But every time you feel that urge to go back to writing code, you need to remind yourself that as a manager, your primary goal is to have a multiplicative effect in the organization, and that starts with not only improving your team’s productivity, but coaching each and every member on your team to have great judgement and make the right decisions that balances the technical and business needs. And to have your team make the right decisions, you as the manager need to equip them with as much business context as possible and empower them to run as fast as they can.

I highly recommend reading High Output Management by Andy Grove. It’s written decades ago for the chip business, but it’s personally one of the most impactful books and really cemented for me the ideas I’ve laid out above.

I wish you luck! It’s not an easy process, but with work it can be incredibly rewarding to see people succeed and grow under your watch.

Re: Ask HN: Going from Developer to Manager. What should I know or learn?

#25

Post by paulie_a » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 4:00 PM UTC

davismwfl wrote: post #5

Most important thing to me, learn the difference between leadership and management. A long time ago I was mentored by some great leaders who taught me the difference, and also taught me when to manage situations or specific people. Management isn't a bad word, but applied the way it is most places it should be. My goal with teams is to inspire them to make good choices, show them the right paths and help them succeed…

I honestly don't believe flat organizations exist. They claim to be but there is always an informal heirachy. Which is trickier to navigate then just having a bit of structure. No need to go overboard but at least formalize what exists but unsaid.

Re: Ask HN: Going from Developer to Manager. What should I know or learn?

#26

Post by trestletech » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 4:01 PM UTC

The biggest piece of advice I'd give is to focus on practicing leadership in your current role. Develop a reputation as the person who ensures that work gets done properly, leads out in process improvements for the team, and demonstrates good judgment. Once you've done that, it will be a no-brainer to give you more leadership and/or management opportunities. Note that none of these practices require that you get a promotion first nor that you be the strongest programmer in the room.

I went through a similar transition years ago and I've started working on writing up some of my advice here. It's still quite incomplete, but might give you some ideas: https://app.tettra.co/teams/rstudio/pages/technical-leadersh... In particular, I'd say the "Technical Team Lead" role is what I'd target as your next step.

Aside: if any of this advice resonates with you, we are hiring and I'd love to chat about helping you go through this transition with us.

Re: Ask HN: Going from Developer to Manager. What should I know or learn?

#27

Post by andersthue » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 4:01 PM UTC

I would recommend these two books that will give you the people and communication skills that is paramount to suceed as a manager.

It is those books I have learned most from and helped me the most.

Leadership and Self Deception And Crucial Comversations

Re: Ask HN: Going from Developer to Manager. What should I know or learn?

#28

Post by tmaly » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 4:04 PM UTC

I have taken on a role of a programming manager of my team over the last two years. I still have some programming responsibilities, but I do about 95% management work now.

Pg had that essay about maker time and manager time that is spot on. Transitioning to a manager role is a different skill set.

I would highly recommend the following two books

The Coaching Habit by Stanier

and

Extreme Ownership by Willink and Babin ( audio version is amazing )

Re: Ask HN: Going from Developer to Manager. What should I know or learn?

#29

Post by kingkool68 » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 4:05 PM UTC

iamNumber4 wrote: post #4

Learn to delegate through stewardship. Set clear expectations for outcomes. Your job is to remove obstacles to allow others to do their job, and direct traffic so the right people are working on the right things. Don’t micromanage. 90% of the job is setting expectations so you can convey that to your team, and up the chain of where things are. So... you’ll need to develop ways to gather daily progress reports and mon…

Shouldn't it be called “What’s NOT working Wednesday”?

Re: Ask HN: Going from Developer to Manager. What should I know or learn?

#30

Post by mystickphoenix » Fri, Jan 04, 2019, 4:05 PM UTC

As a developer, I'd love to see more managers read and try to follow the advice that makes sense for their company/position from Michael Lopp, aka Rands: http://randsinrepose.com

From my perspective, it's a how-to guide for managing information workers, keeping them happy, and keeping yourself sane.