What I now Look for in a Manager
Ten different companies, even more bosses, here are some of my top qualities and characteristics on what I believe defines a strong manager.
How does my manager react when I screw up?
Does she/he fly off the handle? Does he/she show visible stress due to the external optics of the fallout? or does he rush to my defense and bend over backwards to support me, regardless of the magnitude of my screw up.
How does my manager respond to my urgent personal situation?
Family emergency, bereavement, I’ve experienced both with different bosses. Their reactions range from them demanding the details so they can judge if my request for time off is justified, to unwavering support, privacy and discretion.
Does my manager focus on the right things?
Raise arguing, conducting timely performance reviews, budgeting for conferences and working on growing the team headcount are some of the key areas I feel my manager should focus on — so why is he/she deep in the weeds micro-managing my JSON schema for a new Microservice API I’m working on?
Is my manager doing all they can to foster the professional growth of juniors?
Junior software engineers, particularly with great mentorship will experience rapid professional growth in a short period of time. How is my manager fostering and planning for this eventuality? When it comes to compensation a junior will likely start out low on the compensation ladder and be at the next level quicker than you can blink. Is your manager aligned with leadership and HR on a retention plan to keep you? or has he/she been spending too time in the weeds nit-picking your technical decisions on scrum tasks and neglecting critical responsibilities.
Juniors also need a voice. When it comes to asking for more money or trying to signal a red flag juniors won’t often speak up. What is your manager doing to implement a feedback loop to ensure he’s gathering critical responses from the juniors on the team? This is especially important if your manager becomes a Director or Sr. Manager and has team leads between you and him — what is the over-aching feedback mechanism to ensure Juniors are heard?
Does your manager promote your team to leadership?
Your team works hard to deliver new platforms and ship new products but does anyone know that your team exists? Does your manager spend enough time with senior leadership and executives, showcasing and selling your team’s accomplishments? or is your manager more introverted and has a tendency to shy-away from building key relationships?
Does my work make a difference to customers?
Does my manager set objectives that make a difference to our customers? Does my team feel empowered to speak up and voice their opinion? Does my team feel empowered to alter the course of their mission?
These are questions I directly ask when interviewing for roles with potential employers.
Photo credit: Dan Benoni
