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Things I've learned in my 10 years as an engineering manager

jampa.dev

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Re: Things I've learned in my 10 years as an engineering manager

#11

Post by mulmboy »

satisfice wrote: post #10

Why do people espouse goals like “not to be needed?” I never understood that. It sounds like LinkedIn virtue signaling. It’s a capitalist talking point along the lines of “I seek to be good and inexpensive capital for my corporate masters.” My goal is to help my team succeed in such a way as to keep my job or else get a better one. Being “not needed” hardly serves that goal. Look around you. We are in a world that is…

Because it's a good heuristic for a functional and resilient team. People don't usually means it literally, more like "if I disappeared it should be pretty painless for the team to continue along for a month or so and to find and onboard a replacement".

Re: Things I've learned in my 10 years as an engineering manager

#12

Post by Keirmot »

satisfice wrote: post #10

Why do people espouse goals like “not to be needed?” I never understood that. It sounds like LinkedIn virtue signaling. It’s a capitalist talking point along the lines of “I seek to be good and inexpensive capital for my corporate masters.” My goal is to help my team succeed in such a way as to keep my job or else get a better one. Being “not needed” hardly serves that goal. Look around you. We are in a world that is…

The way I read it is not to be needed for normal functionality of the team, not to "not be needed" at all. Akin to a ship's captain - for the most part a ship works without a captain just fine, but that doesn't make the captain's job redundant, it's just he's needed for specific occasions, otherwise, he's just making sure the crew works as a well oiled machine.

Re: Things I've learned in my 10 years as an engineering manager

#13

Post by Rainbooow »

satisfice wrote: post #10

Why do people espouse goals like “not to be needed?” I never understood that. It sounds like LinkedIn virtue signaling. It’s a capitalist talking point along the lines of “I seek to be good and inexpensive capital for my corporate masters.” My goal is to help my team succeed in such a way as to keep my job or else get a better one. Being “not needed” hardly serves that goal. Look around you. We are in a world that is…

I think the points made at mostly for a front-line manager though, not so much for a middle manager.

Re: Things I've learned in my 10 years as an engineering manager

#14

Post by skirge »

satisfice wrote: post #10

Why do people espouse goals like “not to be needed?” I never understood that. It sounds like LinkedIn virtue signaling. It’s a capitalist talking point along the lines of “I seek to be good and inexpensive capital for my corporate masters.” My goal is to help my team succeed in such a way as to keep my job or else get a better one. Being “not needed” hardly serves that goal. Look around you. We are in a world that is…

cause it means: I lead them so good that I do nothing and still get my salary.

Re: Things I've learned in my 10 years as an engineering manager

#15

Post by mcapodici »

skirge wrote: post #14
satisfice wrote: post #10

Why do people espouse goals like “not to be needed?” I never understood that. It sounds like LinkedIn virtue signaling. It’s a capitalist talking point along the lines of “I seek to be good and inexpensive capital for my corporate masters.” My goal is to help my team succeed in such a way as to keep my job or else get a better one. Being “not needed” hardly serves that goal. Look around you. We are in a world that is…

cause it means: I lead them so good that I do nothing and still get my salary.

the coder's equivalent is not get paged (or bug reports). the system run's itself with no dramas, so I get to work on improving it.

Re: Things I've learned in my 10 years as an engineering manager

#16

Post by vasco »

> People above you have limited time to focus on your specific issues. You can’t info dump on them. If they take a misguided action based on what you tell them, it will be your fault

This bit is useful to everyone, and many people never learn it and get jaded about work itself! They paint themselves into a dilbert strip without realizing. And then of course there's also bad bosses, but any work advice is like relationship advice, it really depends on the specific people involved.

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