How big is your team?

“Your new role sounds exciting?” – he said to me.

“It is. I am quite looking forward to it.” – I replied.

“How big is your team?” – he asked

“It is an individual contributor role.” – I replied

“You are moving into an IC (individual contributor) role?” – he asked incredulously.

“Yeah.” – I acknowledged.

“But you manage a team of 60 people.” – he looked at me in disbelief.

“Why would you consider moving into an IC role? What will people say?” – he continued

Ok, let’s get ‘what will people say out of the way’. We can never, ever fully control what people will say. Some will judge your choices; some will question them; some will look down upon them. But they are our choices to make with the support of our family & friends.

Now going back to the conversation above. The context was that I was moving from an HR Head role for a 10,000+ employee company to an individual contributor role in the Global Talent Management COE of the same organization. He wasn’t my first friend or well-wisher who was surprised at my willingness to move from managing a large team to becoming an IC.

Perhaps because we are conditioned to think that the size of the team we directly/ formally manage is an indication of our progression in the corporate ladder. Because we judge roles purely by their size and not the opportunity to make impact or learn. And to them I was moving back or regressing or perhaps I would be viewed as being a poor manager.

It was the biggest punt that I had taken in my career till then and the one that paid off the most. I took the role because it excited me; I would have the opportunity to work with 60 different countries and get experience in an area I had limited exposure in and was keen to learn.

First things first; there is no shame in moving from a people manager role to an individual contributor role. In many large enterprises; the highly strategic (& visible) roles are IC roles – roles that require deep skill leverage. We are in an era of flatter organizations; global virtual teams and assignment workers. Smaller teams and project teams will be the new reality!

Here are some questions I am often asked about this particular transition from being a people manager for a large team to becoming an individual contributor:

? Was it difficult to go back to a role that was predominantly ‘doing?’ – I am a pretty hands – on leader and even as an HR Head, I independently worked on many programs from scratch so it wasn’t difficult. The bonus of course was that I was spending most of my time on work that I was passionate and developing expertise in my craft.

? If you had to do everything yourself; you would have struggled for time (a natural corollary to the first one?) – No. It came as a surprise to me as well. As a leader, I put a premium on investing time in my team – in relationships, in their well-being and to be available for them when they need help or getting stuck. Without some of these rhythms; I actually had more free time than before which I used to learn new skills.

? Did you miss leading people? To some extent but my role required me to work in and also lead virtual project teams. My IC role actually helped me learn new organizational skills including how to influence people from multiple counties & cultures; people I had no authority over but needed to align.

? Was it difficult to come back to a people manager role? No. My next role was the HR Head role for another company. In fact, the diverse experiences that I gathered over the 3 odd years in the global assignment helped position me for the new role.

I also renewed my empathy for individual contributor roles; I learned to manage my time better and I contributed to the organization - just in a very different way!

I had reasonable success in my IC role but I have met many people in my career who have contributed hugely to the success of their teams/ organizations without a managerial position. They have influence and followership in their companies. Because to exhibit leadership; you don’t need the position of a manger. 

Maybe it is time for us to stop asking “How big is your team?”....