I made the transition from engineer to managing a team of around 12 at Groupon. So I made the transition with a smaller team than you are - forgive me if some of this isn't as useful for your situation. What worked for me: - One on Ones. Nothing I've done has had as much of an impact as weekly one-on-one meetings with everybody on my team. I tend to follow the format outlined on Rands In Repose: http://randsinrepose.…
That is a very salient point. Managing a team of multiple people of different backgrounds, experience levels, quirks, communication styles, pet peeves, etc. is an exercise in adaptation.
As a Director, there are certain things you need your team to adapt to in order to keep your team on track with your strategy and process. How you go about getting them to do that is all about you adapting to them to get them excited, help them overcome hurdles, break down communication barriers, and build your relationship so they know you have their backs and you know you can rely on them.
It sounds easy in principle, but it is incredibly difficult in reality, particularly for those who may be stronger on the technical side than the communication side.
And P.S., you won't always be successful, so start planning for when (not if) you will fail in that regard. That means making sure your team knows that you are always open to their candid feedback so you can do a better job of supporting them.
On a final note, I'm quite partial to this illustration that nicely sums up your role in relation to your team [1]. In another sense, some see an org chart with them at the top and their team beneath them. I see it as an inverse pyramid with the leader at the bottom supporting each and every one of their team members because your success is wholly dependent on their success at that level.
[1] http://www.modernservantleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/0...
