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Ask HN: I just got my first team lead. What should I do?

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Ask HN: I just got my first team lead. What should I do?

#1

Post by endymi0n »

Dear Community,

Lucky me (29, Software Engineer from Berlin, Germany) recently got a new job as a Lead Architect for a startup.

Now I'd say I'm not a bad engineer, but I've never been much of a "people person" or a natural leader. Although my colleagues treat me with a lot of respect, I still feel a little awkward. I'm a total newcomer to the "business" of managing, regularly keeping up with people and doing hiring/firing decisions, but I think I'm worst at delegating. Since the company is still pretty small, there's no choice for me than to get my hands dirty on coding and sysadmin stuff as well. Unfortunately, I'd rather do it all myself than entrusting and encouraging others with it, so I'm kind of playing my old role. Also, I'm having a hard time being a good listener, since I'm always coming up with my own ideas and notice that I'm mostly talking about myself which doesn't exactly make me more likeable, but it's hard to stop.

Reading "How to win friends and influence people" already helped me a lot with my people's skills, but I'm still struggling to get it all into practice.

Have you ever been in a similar situation? Do you know of any great resources, tips, tricks, hacks, communities or seminars short of doing an MBA (which I definitely wouldn't do due to time constraints and the bullshit factor)?

I'd really appreciate your help, especially from the engineer-turned-manager folks!

Best,

Dom

Re: Ask HN: I just got my first team lead. What should I do?

#2

Post by kls »

I think I'm worst at delegating

I'm having a hard time being a good listener

Wow that is a description of me 10 years ago to the T. I was always the guy that people turn to and the guy that pulled the project out. It can and does go to ones head. Be very careful to not become arrogant, I really wish someone gave me that advice 10 years ago.

As for your case specifically, the delegation is going to be the hardest one and the one that you have to cross the chasm on. Given your nature (I know from experience) it will be hard but you just have to trust in your people. Hire people that you believe are smarter than you, this will help in delegation because you will perceive their opinions higher than your own. Also try to remember, you design systems the way you do because it worked for you, they will design it their different way because they are drawing on what worked for them, look at it as an opportunity to learn a different way of doing things. Many times when people like you and I enter this type of role we believe that we are the authority, it can make working with our personality type unbearable when you are a subordinate. Instead take it as an opportunity to learn. Help them make their solutions better, not make your solutions better. Just because you are the lead does not mean you are the best at every situation, be humble and try to be an eternal student, that is the best advice I can give you.

Re: Ask HN: I just got my first team lead. What should I do?

#3

Post by felideon »

You might want to simply look into reading some leadership books. Leadership 101[1] is one you can read in probably an afternoon, to get you started. From there John Maxwell as a few more books on Leadership as well.

As I haven't been in a team lead position myself, I'm not sure if any of these books can help you learn how to delegate as that seems something that would take time and practice.

I have however, worked under a few engineer-become-leaders that are simply horrible leaders, and I -wish- they would read a book like this some day and have it click. Your success as a leader can possibly be measured with how successful you are at raising leaders under your wing.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Leadership-101-John-C-Maxwell/dp/15964...

Re: Ask HN: I just got my first team lead. What should I do?

#4

Post by scottm01 »

Shortly before I started managing engineers I read "Managing Humans" (I'd already been following http://www.randsinrepose.com/) and found it helpful. One of the best resources I found was (luckily) my own boss. Find others in a similar (or higher) position and talk with them regularly, openly, and candidly about any challenges you're facing.

I wish I had better advice, but what you'll find is that being a good manager/team lead is at least as hard as your old job (and probably harder). Continuing to do your old job alongside it, while probably a good idea for your own job satisfaction/sanity, will only make it harder.

Random bits of advice I find helpful:

* Your primary job is to shield your direct reports from management BS (false priorities, unrealistic deadlines, company drama); while this is less of a problem at a small startup, don't ignore it. Your secondary job is to make your direct reports look good; promote what they're doing and make sure what they're doing is aligned with the company's goals.

* Schedule 1:1 meetings. See Rands' advice on how to structure and run them, but basically keep them short, informal, and regular. Start with a softball and use it as a time for your direct reports to warn you about any upcoming problems that may be bubbling. Avoid the temptation for status reports, one larger team meeting instead, etc. Sit down with each individual direct report and get to know them better.

* Set clear goals and priorities for everyone.

* Avoid the temptation to micro-manage. You may eventually find you have an employee who has to be micromanaged, but most people hate it and will find it counter-productive. While this sounds obvious, it's hard for someone who likely got to their new management position because they were the best at the job they're now managing. Let people make mistakes and then let them recover from them.

Re: Ask HN: I just got my first team lead. What should I do?

#5

Post by bmelton »

The first thing you need to do is learn the capabilities of your team.

Who are the best programmers? Who are the best programmers for the given types of problems you have to solve? Who are the most creative thinkers? Who is good at meeting deadlines?

If somebody is bad at meeting deadlines, why?

One of the best programmers I've ever worked with was always missing deadlines. Turns out, it was only because he was really bad at estimating time. Once I learned that, and started handling some of his estimates for him, he was the best programmer on paper too.

As for managing, I try not to micro-manage, but it's easier to get a sense of who does and doesn't need it once you understand, from a manager's perspective, who is capable of what, and to what degree of consistency.

For the actual management, most of the time, I would just periodically see if anybody needed any assistance, and let them know that I was always happy to help where needed.

Re: Ask HN: I just got my first team lead. What should I do?

#8

Post by endymi0n »

bmelton wrote: post #5

The first thing you need to do is learn the capabilities of your team. Who are the best programmers? Who are the best programmers for the given types of problems you have to solve? Who are the most creative thinkers? Who is good at meeting deadlines? If somebody is bad at meeting deadlines, why? One of the best programmers I've ever worked with was always missing deadlines. Turns out, it was only because he was reall…

Great advice, thanks! On a sidenote, that guy:

"One of the best programmers I've ever worked with was always missing deadlines. Turns out, it was only because he was really bad at estimating time. Once I learned that, and started handling some of his estimates for him, he was the best programmer on paper too."

...was most probably me =D

Re: Ask HN: I just got my first team lead. What should I do?

#10

Post by hluska »

endymi0n wrote: post #9
damoncali wrote: post #6

I'm having a hard time being a good listener Fix this first. It's a prerequisite for leadership.

Hard but honest... any specific advice on how to do it?

I hate to say it, my friend, but learning to listen is largely about changing your attitude towards the people around you. It is very difficult to listen when you perceive that you're miles above everyone around you. Consequently, the first step is to learn to see how wonderful, competent and intelligent every single person around you is. If the people who surround you are (in actuality) neither competent, intelligent or even remotely wonderful, run (don't walk) away and find new people!!! :)

Once you have built a genuine interest in the people around you, good listening skills naturally develop. When you're interested in the people around you, you will hang on their words, ask probing questions and reflect back what you heard to make sure that you understood it.

If you can't engender a natural interest in the people you surround yourself with, you can fake an interest. To do so, I recommend getting in the habit of repeating back things that you hear, nodding in agreement when the person says something you agree with, not interrupting when they say something you disagree with, and asking probing questions when you don't understand/agree with something.

Have you ever considered Toastmasters? It sounds silly to join a public speaking group to become a better listener, but I can't tell you how much Toastmasters helped me!

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