How To Be The Amazing Boss You Never Had
Here is some advice for new managers, team leads, tech leads or anyone who has any direct reports, in any industry but specifically in tech and mostly dev teams
If you’re too lazy to read, I made a video with pretty much the same content:
1. Don’t be a dick.
Your devs don’t work for you, man… or woman. You work for them. If you’re moving into a management role because you get excited by the idea of people working for you, stop it.
This isn’t about you anymore. It’s about your team now. Like becoming a parent, it’s now all of a sudden all about the people you manage. And there is a practical reason for that. Their success means your success. You need them to win. So, you have to make sure everything you do is to serve that purpose, and to help them do their job. Period. Don’t be a dick, you’re not above it.
2. It’ll get ugly, and that’s Ok
You are about to get into a lot more arguments. People who end up in leadership positions usually have strong personalities, that’s how they end up as leaders. They are fairly opinionated and confident, generally. As a manager/Lead, you will be interacting more and more with other leaders who also have their own management styles. So, leadership meetings and discussions end up being kind of difficult because everybody in that room has somewhat of a big personality. Your peers are now suddenly a lot more alpha. Be open minded and get comfortable speaking your mind in difficult management situations. Even if it takes time for you to get there. Have an opinion, build your point of view, and speak it. That’s why you’re there. Just make sure you are not full of shit.
3. Show up
Show up early. Leave late (Leaders eat last). When you decide to move into leadership you now have some self imposed responsibilities. They come with the territory.
You can only expect of your reports, what you, yourself, are willing to put in. Not one bit more.
This one is a big one and no one actually tells you about it, but if you want the respect of your team you have to earn it. Show up early, and stay late. You are there to set an example. You can only expect of your reports, what you, yourself, are willing to put in. Not one bit more. Be available as much as possible. Set an example for your team members that ownership is not just a cute word or idea. It’s a practical skill you demonstrate every single day.
4. One-on-One’s matter. A lot.
Make time for your team. Individually. Meet with them regularly and often. And, don’t you dare reschedule or cancel unless you absolutely have to. They are depending on you and they want to impress you. Let them. This is such a big one.
If you do this, you become the one boss they’ll always remember. All you gotta do is ask ‘How are you’. You’d be amazed how much they’ll share. Make it as formal or informal as they want. Some people like meetings, some like coffee, others like lunch. Notice what they respond to best and adjust. The more personal you get, the better (as long as they feel comfortable). They don’t have to like you to work with you, but they do have to like you to follow your lead. This is my own quote, didn’t steal it from anywhere. We don’t have to like each other to work together, but I do have to like you to follow your lead.
They don’t have to like you to work with you, but they do have to like you to follow your lead.
5. Do your homework
Stay technical. Stay informed. Do your homework. Along the lines of ownership, you need to stay on top of your craft. Whatever it is your team does. In our case we’re talking about programmers, make sure as a leader you have a solid idea about what going on in your industry and what’s hot these days. It’s soooooo easy to fall behind and become out of touch (certainly has happened to me many times). Resist it. Take time to read hackernews or JSWeekly or whatever else it is you read. It goes a long way. It is our craft after all.
6. Let go of ‘some’ things
On the contrary, I’ve seen technical managers put too much stress on themselves about knowing absolutely everything. You don’t have to know everything. You are going to suck at a lot of things, and guess what, this is the worst part, far less experienced developers are going to be better than you at certain things. And it sucks. But it’s ok. Trust me. Don’t get nervous or frustrated. And don’t even think about reacting emotionally to it. It’s the name of the game, yo. Embrace everyone’s skills. Encourage them and make sure they know that you know that they are good. It’s not a competition.
7. Be grateful
You are moving into this role because someone decided that you are pleasant enough to work with that they can trust you with direct reports. You are probably good at what you do and know how to be a good communicator. So, they gave you the job to lead. It’s a privilege. Don’t take it for granted. Few people get this opportunity and if you are one of them now. Put it to good use.
And that’s it! These are my basic leadership guidelines. If you do these, you are 90% there. BUT… they are worth nothing, unless you try them and get your hands dirty. You have to do it and learn from your own experiences too. Find your management style and then slowly add your own flavor to it. If you ever want to talk about your challenges just hit me up.
Now let’s go get it. Good luck!
