Need for Techno Managers

Need for Techno managers in the software boom

The software industry and new software products coming out of India is booming now. It is even an understatement to say that it is booming. Thousands of new jobs are being created by this boom.

For the boom to be sustainable and grow even more to the next level, all the different product & engineering functions need the right people with the right skills.

We need techno managers at different levels to help fuel this growth.

Right qualities of a good Techno Manager

• You like bringing people to together towards achieving a common goal
• You are a problem solver and a solution provider no matter the type of problem. It can be about people, technology or process. Your personal life may reflect the same e.g. your friend discusses some choices that she wants to make, a relative seeks your advice on career path or someone calls you to fix a laptop etc.
• You have been there and done that. In terms of technical chops, you have put in your time as you grew through the ranks, to do all the things that you expect out of your team.
• No work is dirty work for you. You are willing to lend a shoulder or hand, no matter what work needs to get done. You consider everything as a step towards the goal.
• You can learn from your past and you can think ahead. As a techno manager, you are expected to learn from the past and not repeat mistakes. You also need to be able to project a roadmap to achieve for your team
• You are adept at balancing different priorities and constraints and able to optimize the results. If there are no constraints, then it is very easy, anyone can do it. In real life, there are constraints for everything, and those who are successful are able to take it in stride and find solutions
• You like to keep moving forward. By how much does not matter, but the direction towards goals and solutions is constantly pushed forward.

What is in it for you?

The skills that you develop as a techno manager will help you in your personal life as well, and vice-versa.

Soft skills

• You will find ways to make things happen by overcoming obstacles that are in your way
• Not taking people for granted. You need to nourish, encourage and build trusting relationships with your team, peers and stakeholders
• Communication is very important. You will have ample opportunities to hone your communication skills as you will have to build and make your case on many things about people, technology, process
• You need to sell the opportunity to candidates as well as internal employees which improves your selling capability
• You get to partner with different functions. You get to learn how to influence without authority in these work relationships
• You get to learn conflict resolution and finding workable paths out of seemingly impossible situations

Hard skills

• As a techno manager, you are involved in multiple technical discussions across the team. You get to see the bigger picture.?
• You will also have ample opportunity to dig deeper as there will be some deadlock in technical discussions or multiple ways to go forward. You can dive deeper into these ones and work with the team to find a way forward

Apprehensions & possible solutions

Fear our missing out on technology

The technology scene has been changing quite rapidly recently. It is likely to change in future as well. Hence, you might have the fear of missing out and becoming a technological dinosaur.?

Managing this apprehension

• Stay technical. Do some MOOC courses to stay abreast of technology, reading blogs, attending webinars or reading books
• Get deeper into a few projects (as per your schedule) to stay connected to technology
• In a counter intuitive way, leadership skills per se is not affected by new technology. Lots of what you learn and hone over the years will stay relevant. Although people's expectations do change over time, it changes over decades and hence slower than technology.?

Being an introvert is a not handicap for leadership

Some think that leadership and management is only for extroverts. You cannot be further from the truth on this one. If you survey CEOs of many top companies and classify them into extroverts and introverts. You will be surprised to see a very healthy distribution amongst the two. Ref - https://c-suitenetwork.com/advisors/successful-introverted-ceos/

When I graduated from college, I was also of the same opinion. Later, I read a book (Odyssey) by John Sculley on his journey from Pepsi to Apple. The myth that I had in my mind that leaders had to be only extroverts went away after reading that book.

You need to be born with Leadership qualities

Some think that leadership qualities need to be inherent and cannot be learnt. Some may set the bar very high and feel that they may not measure up.?

The same book by John Sculley touches upon this aspect also. He talked about the fact that leadership skills can be learnt. Even the best keynotes are rehearsed multiple times by CEOs and it is not that it just naturally flows for everyone.?

For every aspect of leadership, there are degrees/courses that you can pursue, books that you can read, consult your leadership team, learn from other managers, learn from your team etc. Bottom line is that it can be learnt.

Give it a try

If you are in two minds whether it will work or not. Best course of action is to try it out. How much of design can you do without writing code? Similarly, how much thinking on the pros/cons can you do without actually doing it?

I love Yogi Berra's quote

When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It

This was an instruction he gave to someone who wanted to reach his house, as both the roads at the fork took them to his house. He also meant that eventually you will find success whichever path you take when you are at a fork.

Try it out for a year or two. In the worst case, if you decide that leading is not your cup of tea, I can guarantee that you would have picked up some perspective and skills that will help you in any role you choose.

Summary

I talked about the very important need for good Techno Managers during the software boom in India. Discussed few of the apprehensions that some have about management. I also discussed that some of these apprehensions may not be true, and that any gaps can be addressed by learning.?

Finally, if you have interest in leadership and are not sure if you will be successful, the only way to tell is to give it a try.

I hope this will help someone who is thinking of whether to take the plunge into leadership. If you like being a Dhoni in your team, give it a shot.