One of the biggest shocks a software engineer can experience in their career is to go to sleep one day as a member of their team and wake up the next as a manager. In addition to having to manage people who were once peers, leading an engineering team requires a developer to cultivate an entirely new skill set and way of thinking.
Solving problems becomes less about figuring out code and more about figuring out people, and the definition of success broadens to include not just bugs squashed and code shipped but also the professional development and growth of team members. There are many skills newly minted managers can only acquire through experience, but that doesn’t mean learning to lead is strictly a process of trial and error.
First-time managers can gain an edge by learning from those who have been there and done that — and are still doing it. Built In recently spoke with four seasoned engineering managers and asked them a simple question: What is one piece of advice you wished you’d received when first starting out as an engineering manager?
Their answers are required reading for new managers, and even those who have led teams for some time may find comfort in knowing that their initial struggles with leadership were shared ones.
Preparing for the shift: “As an engineer, you are focused on solving problems and have tangible markers of progress. You can see the progress in developing a new feature, closing out a ticket or in solving a bug you know has been causing customers pain. When you transition into engineering management, there is a shift in what success looks like. Your focus is no longer on day-to-day engineering or making hands-on contributions to solving problems. Your focus is on empowering and enabling your team to solve problems, grow and improve, on allowing them to make the biggest impact possible.”
“I wish I had been told earlier to carve out time for myself to reflect and acknowledge the small wins. It can be easy to continue to charge forward, but moments of growth can occur by acknowledging the progress made along the journey. These moments of reflection can be individual, taking time to pause and acknowledge the impact you personally made, or communal, like bringing the entire team together a few times a year to acknowledge where we have been and where we’re going.”
Eden Shoshan is an engineering manager at Toast, whose point-of-sale platform is used by more than 40,000 restaurants.
Change your focus: “People will treat you differently, immediately. I was promoted to manage the same team that I was a member of and was suddenly managing people who, yesterday, were colleagues. Not only did the nature of these one-on-one relationships change overnight, but so did their expectations of me. I was asked for my opinions about issues that I wouldn’t have been asked about before. I was expected to have informed perspectives — and solutions.”
“I had already been a technical lead, responsible for the success of projects implemented by a team. Steering the wheel, why did this feel different? Over time, it became self-evident: I needed to reorient my focus from projects to people. An effective manager leads through others and provides context, clarity, culture and sets the conditions for success. They’re the catalyst who brings out the best in their team.”
“You don’t need all of the answers, and in most cases, your job is to guide your team to find the answers themselves, and to provide a safe space for them to learn and even fail. It’s a fun ride, and I haven’t looked back. But if someone had said these words to me all of those years ago, it might have saved me at least one or two sleepless nights!”
Lisa Ferrante-Walsh is senior director of software engineering at iZotope, a music technology company that designs software, hardware, plug-ins and apps for musicians, audio engineers and producers.
Asking questions is OK: “Admitting ‘I don’t know’ is my advice. As I made the transition earlier this year from scrum master to engineering manager, my manager sent me a link to a talk that David Marquet gave about his leadership experience based on his book called, ‘Turn the Ship Around!’ Marquet’s talk was especially poignant for me because I am not a software engineer and my imposter syndrome was having some of its best days as I moved into my new role, a time when it is natural to feel like you’re in over your head. You need to admit to yourself that you don’t know everything, learn to ask great questions and really listen to the answers.”
“I let my team know that I was not going to be telling them what to do. Instead, I would ask them how they intended to tackle their objectives. My goal was to convey that I valued their knowledge and skills. I believe that each of us has a superpower waiting to be tapped, and I encouraged them to act as decision-makers and advocate for their solutions and approaches within the team and across our organization. My team is now thriving with their newfound autonomy.”
Jessica Butler is an engineering manager at Vestmark, whose technology is used by advisors at wealth management organizations to more easily create tailored portfolios for clients.
Don’t lead from the weeds: “As an individual contributor you are focused on being the problem-solver, knowing the answers to things. As a manager, you realize that it is not your job to be that person, no matter how tempting it may be to always get into the weeds. One of the most important parts of your role is to surround yourself with a team of skilled people where there is mutual trust and respect and provide them with the autonomy to build the right things in the right way.”
“Most of your energy will be spent on being the glue that brings the different individuals on a team together in a way that gets the best out of everybody. This will involve the need to build effective relationships, provide constructive feedback, offer recognition, make decisions and motivate your team, all of which may be skills that you may never had to use in your previous role.”
Bobby McKeown is a senior engineering manager at Rapid7, whose products and services are designed to help security teams work more efficiently and effectively.
