This is an pretty great article.
Wish I would've read it years ago... thanks for the share
How to be a Manager – A step-by-step guide to leading a team
51–60 of 235 posts
Re: How to be a Manager – A step-by-step guide to leading a team
#52Being "a Manager" is the wrong first step to leading a team. Management is an activity we should all be undertaking, not a role.
Re: How to be a Manager – A step-by-step guide to leading a team
#53Going beyond an article, 'Peopleware' is a fantastic book for engineering folks transitioning to management - it's not new but the fundamentals stand the test of time.
It's the book I started out with 15 years ago and I have suggested to many others.
Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams (3rd Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321934113/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_j-...
Re: How to be a Manager – A step-by-step guide to leading a team
#54This is an pretty great article. Wish I would've read it years ago... thanks for the share
I said the same thing to myself when I wrote it... I was thinking back a few companies ago and wishing I understood this stuff. Glad you liked it!
Re: How to be a Manager – A step-by-step guide to leading a team
#55Being "a Manager" is the wrong first step to leading a team. Management is an activity we should all be undertaking, not a role.
I agree that a more flat landscape in teams is best. I like "Why good leaders make you feel safe | Simon Sinek"
:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmyZMtPVodo
Good management is really about good leadership - and that does have a point person to look to. they inspire and motivate everyone else on the team. This is a much more bottom up / equitable than most mainstream practices promote.
Re: How to be a Manager – A step-by-step guide to leading a team
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
You make great points and I'll edit now to make it more clear that the goal of the ground rules is to be communicating, and the goal of the writeup is to show a bunch of examples gathered from many teams in many industries. Can you refresh the repo page now and see if it is more helpful and clear? Thank you! For example, the item about 9-5 core hours actually comes from a bank that has tellers, call center operators,…
9-5 core hours is bullshit. The whole point of core hours is to be a window of time where you can guarantee a meeting can be scheduled with people across time zones. This doesn't mean you have 8 hours of core hours. That's literally insane.
Not to mention you can’t adjust your hours at all to avoid rush hour or cooperate with a spouse in day care management. 9-5 is necessary for banks, but not for software developers. Having a few core hours is necessary, but if it’s 8, you can no longer call them “core”.
Re: How to be a Manager – A step-by-step guide to leading a team
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thank you! If you have ideas, I'd like to hear. To keep ground rules at front of mind, each teammate is responsible and self-directed. * I have a teammate who likes to write the core rules on the whiteboard before each meeting, and point to them when he starts the meeting, and each time a participant needs reminding. This is amazingly effective with a good sense of humor. * I have a teammate who uses chat private mes…
I'd have some sign language for anybody who tried enforcing "sign language ground rules." > * I have a teammate who likes to write the core rules on the whiteboard before each meeting, and point to them when he starts the meeting, and each time a participant needs reminding. Are you working with school children or professionals?
The whole point of K-12 education is to produce obidient factory workers. It isn’t a coincidence that some office cultures might evolve in similar ways.
Re: How to be a Manager – A step-by-step guide to leading a team
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thank you! If you have ideas, I'd like to hear. To keep ground rules at front of mind, each teammate is responsible and self-directed. * I have a teammate who likes to write the core rules on the whiteboard before each meeting, and point to them when he starts the meeting, and each time a participant needs reminding. This is amazingly effective with a good sense of humor. * I have a teammate who uses chat private mes…
I'd have some sign language for anybody who tried enforcing "sign language ground rules." > * I have a teammate who likes to write the core rules on the whiteboard before each meeting, and point to them when he starts the meeting, and each time a participant needs reminding. Are you working with school children or professionals?
> I'd have some sign language for anybody who tried enforcing "sign language ground rules." Are you working with school children or professionals?
For example the Executive Director was deaf, a significant number of client staff were hard of hearing, and there were 100K school students, including special needs students, and many recent immigrants who were starting to learn English.
All online materials were provided in accessible formats, and all public presentations had a sign language interpreter. A typical classroom meeting, district meeting, or videoconference, could have 20-80 participants.
I can point you to the National Association for the Deaf (NAD) which is an excellent advocacy group. NAD works to improve accessibility, equal access, and equal opportunities. Sign language in the workplace can be a big help to some people.
Re: How to be a Manager – A step-by-step guide to leading a team
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
9-5 core hours is bullshit. The whole point of core hours is to be a window of time where you can guarantee a meeting can be scheduled with people across time zones. This doesn't mean you have 8 hours of core hours. That's literally insane.
Not to mention you can’t adjust your hours at all to avoid rush hour or cooperate with a spouse in day care management. 9-5 is necessary for banks, but not for software developers. Having a few core hours is necessary, but if it’s 8, you can no longer call them “core”.
> if it’s 8, you can no longer call them “core”
You are lucky if you think 10-12 hour work days don't exist in software development. You might also be forgetting about flex schedules, core hours may include the entire working day and may be a signal that substituting 9-10am for 5-6pm is not acceptable because you were hired to do a job that depends on your presence when others are also there. There are multiple legitimate reasons that core hours exist in 8 hour blocks in some places.
And that's all moot since the specific hours in this discussion are unrelated to the point @jph was making, which he already stated kindly and clearly.
Re: How to be a Manager – A step-by-step guide to leading a team
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
Being a leader and being a (people) manager are very, very different things. So, of course this isn't a guide on how to be a leader.
A good manager is absolutely a good leader, and v/v. In my experience, there is no role that, if done properly, isn't equal measure both. They are sub-set skills of any position to which people report. Be it middle manager (important to execute, important to give meaning and direction within that area) or C-level (CEO can't afford to be a non-manager).
I would disagree here. In my opinion, a good leader has to be a good people person (and ergo likely a good manager - not always though), by definition. A good manager, or people person does not always make a good leader though. In my limited experience, I would think that a leader would demonstrate an ability to expand boundaries more so. My use of good can be substituted with effective.