Elevating Your Career: Navigating the Path to Tech Leadership

Mastering the Art of Tech Leadership

Being a manager in the technology field is one of the most challenging and rewarding tasks. A good tech leader must skillfully master people, processes, and technology. But how do you transition from being a top-notch engineer to an effective manager?

From Code to People: A Challenging Transition

Before stepping into management, a senior engineer's focus is often on technology. Some progress to tech lead roles or become technical project managers, learning about processes along the way. However, managing people adds a layer of complexity that technology alone doesn't prepare you for. As the saying goes, "Code is easy; people are hard."

Unlike coding, where mistakes can be fixed with a simple "git revert," people management doesn't have a rollback function. Once a decision is made, it's almost impossible to undo. This is like working on a production system without a testing environment—no rollbacks, no version control.

The Human Factor: Emotions, Values, and Perspectives

People management is compounded by human emotions, values, and differing perspectives. A manager must be consistent and inclusive, even on tough days, practicing stoicism while maintaining optimism. They need to inspire the team through difficult times and remind them that "there are always more solutions to problems."

While an individual contributor's failure might affect only their project, a manager's failure, such as firing the wrong person or demoralizing the team, has far-reaching consequences. This creates a dilemma: without a safe environment for failure, it's hard to grow as a manager, yet the cost of failure is intolerable for the business.

Learning and Growing as a Manager

Because the cost of failure is so high, organizations often prefer candidates who have already navigated these challenges, paying a premium for experienced leaders. This paradox makes it difficult for aspiring managers to grow into executive roles. Despite this, I've seen many success stories and would like to share some tips to help you advance your career.

1. Work for Someone You Admire

If you have a good manager or leader, consider yourself fortunate. Observe their working style, leadership approach, and how they handle difficult situations. Work hard for them in exchange for their insights. Most leaders are open to sharing their experiences with dedicated mentees, as growing future leaders is part of their role.

2. Collaborate Closely with HR

Learning from others' mistakes is cheaper than making your own. I've seen managers cross lines by asking inappropriate questions during interviews or creating hostile environments. These failures can be avoided by consulting with HR. If you become a manager, HR should be your best ally—listen to them carefully.

3. Invest in Continuous Learning

Reading books is an economical yet high-return investment for managers. Just as you learned technology through textbooks and papers, treat management as a new skill. Resources like HBR articles, forums, and online courses are valuable. If your company offers career or executive coaches, take advantage of them.

4. Adapt to Modern Management Trends

With current technology layoffs, management hierarchies are shifting. Modern practices advocate for flatter organizations, often with no more than four layers from the CEO to individual contributors. This trend enhances efficiency but poses challenges for new managers, as managing larger teams is exponentially more difficult.

However, you can turn this disadvantage into an advantage by building trust and rapport with peers and managers, along with having domain knowledge. As an insider, your relationships and tribal knowledge are the competitive advantage, providing a natural edge in earning higher-level roles.

5. Embrace Reflection

I keep a Google Doc where I jot down insights and learnings from regular reflection. Giving feedback to oneself is tough but necessary. I force myself to write down hard-to-swallow, honest feedback. Over time, this document has grown into a 100+ page treasure, serving as both a measure of my growth and a diary of my managerial journey.

When facing tough decisions, I revisit my notes to avoid past mistakes. Reflecting daily on decisions and conversations helps in self-improvement. Honest, heart-to-heart feedback is crucial for growth.

A Journey Worth Taking

Management is not for everyone, but for those who dare to challenge themselves, it offers a path of continuous growth and resilience. I dedicate this article to those who gave me the opportunity to manage, provided unfiltered feedback, tolerated my imperfections, and supported my leadership journey. Thank you for helping me improve and lead.