From managing code dependencies to managing people

As engineers, we easily default to the idea that becoming experts in our field is the only reasonable way of progressing with our careers. But who will oversee that our career is developing in the right direction? Who makes sure that, may a tension arise within the team, it is resolved in the quickest and most effective way possible? Could that person... could that be you?

Join me as I walk you through my decision to try the Engineering Management career path, and the fresh feedback of my first 6 months in. We will explore the myth (or reality?) of "the manager who codes", how different (or similar?) the role is to a "regular" Software Engineer, and see what skills from your previous role you will need to have, and which new ones you'll need to build up.

Come find out if the cliches about playing golf and spending all day on emails and spreadsheets are true or not! 👩‍💻👨‍💻

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This talk was presented for the first time at Droidcon Turin 2019
https://it.droidcon.com/2019/it/talks/460-from-managing-code-dependencies-to-managing-people

The Keynote file is available here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1SK_lUanqhGKOUddT-oa7ZG9lyEFskTtt

Transcript

1. @rotxed From managing code dependencies to managing people Sebastiano Gottardo
2. What this talk is My first 6 10 months into this new role Learnings and tips that I found very useful A sense of what being a people manager is really like Highlighting a potential manager inside of you about
3. How to become a better leader A foolproof framework for deciding what to do in your career Pictures of people playing golf dressed in expensive suits In fact, there are 0 pictures for both What this talk is about NOT
4. History
6. A dangerous recipe ! (" # $) ! + % & = ' ' Tensions between team members Complete lack of help from upper management Two people walked away
7. What did I do? Facilitated meetings Talked with individuals Kept management and HR in the loop “You have a way with people, did you know that?”
8. People? Leadership? Where? Team lead Grow the team from 2 to 8-10 Fresh start
9. What is a Lead
10. [People | Tech] Lead People lead Tech lead Team growth, development and stability Platform growth, development and stability Plans the team dynamics according to the company’s needs Translates company’s needs into technical roadmaps Is accountable for everything team-related Is accountable for everything platform-related
11. [People & Tech] Lead It Depends™ ) ↳ Align on expectations * Read about it! + bit.ly/people-vs-tech-lead People Lead
12. People Lead bit.ly/microsoft-EM
13. People Lead bit.ly/microsoft-EM
14. A simple test 1. What do you care more about, people or technology? 2. What is your definition of lead? 3. What are your thoughts on shipping towards a deadline? 4. Two teammates are arguing over a technical decision, what do you do? bit.ly/identifying-ems
15. Leading a team
16. Leading a team Creating a new team from scratch Joining an existing team
17. Starting from scratch % - . Leader… of yourself! Syncing with other teams Coding is inversely proportional to the team’s growth ,! Hiring, hiring, hiring
18. Starting from scratch Hire people based on affinity Not overwhelming (but still stressful) ↳ Prepare the ground for who’s coming
19. Leading an existing team You didn’t choose the people Existing dynamics Being accepted as their new leader
20. Bonding with teammates even before starting Meet the team during the interview process Go to meetups or events Being accepted as a leader
21. Bonding with teammates even before starting Building trust Share your story Listen to their needs, try to act upon them Being accepted as a leader
22. Bonding with teammates even before starting Building trust Being “one of the team” Don’t tell them what to do Decide together how to tackle problems Being accepted as a leader
23. You are not there to boss them around, you’re there to facilitate their growth
24. Leadership style “I don’t know” Rely on the team Be fair and transparent Ask questions more than giving answers
25. Hard conversations Part of the job Adhering to your principles “How should I solve this problem?”
26. The manager who codes
27. bit.ly/wrong-question Instead of asking “How much code should I write?” ask “Where can I write code?”
28. A manager who DOESN’T code Less likely to develop empathy towards direct reports Less likely to be trusted by direct reports Loses touch with what happens in “the trenches” Is probably not interested that much in that technology
29. Didn’t want to stop coding ! 30% time on hands-on operations / Adapt to the team’s current needs 0 A manager who codes is not a myth, it’s just difficult to get right! “Never gonna give you up”
30. Constraints You must not block the team ↳ Your priorities shift ↳ You mostly won’t have uninterrupted working sessions You’re not a tech lead, but you still want to know how people are doing
31. The “Foundation” team 1 Not cross-functional (Android only) Horizontal scope over the entire codebase Not time sensitive Doesn’t block other teams
32. It can only last so long Reviewing PRs 2 Fixing small bugs 3 Side projects 4
33. Responsibilities a.k.a. what the @#^%$ do you do all day?!
34. Leading the team at Blinkist Hiring , Team wellbeing (1:1s, events, rituals) 5 Career growth 6 Salaries 7 Strategic planning 8
35. Career growth How did I become a senior? Mentoring Facilitating the goal setting process
36. A regular day … Yes, there are meetings 9 … No, not many emails : … Sure, plenty of documenting ; … Uhm, a few presentations every once in a while, yeah -
37. Conclusions
38. References Radical Candor — bit.ly/radical-candor-book Managing humans — bit.ly/managing-humans-goodreads The Engineer/Manager Pendulum — bit.ly/em-pendulum The pendulum or the ladder — bit.ly/em-pendulum-ladder
40. Thank you! @rotxed