Ask HN: How to be a manager? Any good sources for learning how to delegate?

Peopleware is excellent. I've given out half a dozen copies at this point. https://bookshop.org/p/books/peopleware-productive-projects-...

The biggest thing you need to do is change your mindset. It doesn't matter what you get done, it matters what your team gets done.

This doesn't need to be all that hard. Give a person a problem that needs taking care of, make sure they have whatever they need to get shit done, and let them go do it.

Two other notes, just because I strongly suspect you're going to run into them:

1. Onboarding is hard work. It takes time. You're not going to be able to delegate everything on day one. Start with one thing, then add another, then the next. In some cases, the only way to ensure someone has enough context it take the problem over is to pair on it for a while. This is time consuming, but its an investment.

2. Being a solo dev for a long time, you might have strong opinions about the right way to do things. Your team isn't going to want to do everything your way and can't read your mind. This is a good thing, the team's collective brain just got bigger. Embrace it.

I've also found just being human goes a shockingly long way. If you're honest, share information, and treat people with respect, it turns out they'll like working for you. This really shouldn't be a surprise, but the bar is quite low.

I recommend checking out the book E-myth revisited: https://a.co/d/5cWuuDP. I think you will find it helpful here.

A book I think is crucial is Creativity, Inc. (the Pixar book). The most important piece of its perspective, I think, is the idea that managers can screw things up in a bajillion ways, and that it takes consistent work and focus to create an environment where people WANT to bring up problems, WANT to bring in ideas, and WANT to do their best work.

Another valuable book is Moral Mazes -- it's a tough read, but the takeaway is that managers are almost universally insecure, like INSANELY insecure, because they don't really produce something tangible, they produce the feeling of stability and predictably and (most important) loyalty in THEIR managers, and how the heck do you measure that? They're always one misunderstanding or failure to anticipate a problem or to quell some fussing away from being fired, or shut out of promotion. They exist in a terrifying state of status uncertainty. If they're not careful -- like REALLY, REALLY, affirmatively, pro-actively careful -- they'll create an environment where the people under them, who have front-line knowledge to bring, will suppress problems and avoid difficult conversations because they'll know how upset their manager will get. This can be incredibly costly. A good manager has to be brave, not just for themselves, but for those under them who need bravery to speak up. And that manager needs to go to bat every single time someone under them is right -- even if it costs the manager their job.

Of course, few managers understand this advice or have the slightest spine to stand up for what they (internally think they) believe in. It's much more common to find managers who deal with "the wrong person" under them having a good point (and feeling embarassed, or worried that a superior will feel embarassed) by covering for it by getting angry.

Below is a link to a list of Youtube videos you can watch on leadership/management. If you go through them all, you'll pretty much know all that there is to know in theory - all that's left is to put them into practice. https://share.justbeepit.com/screenshot/647f77b9b37c52001425...

I hope this helps!

P.S. Aside from the videos, some of these videos were speeches given by thought leaders on the topic who have written books you may be interested to also check out.