From programming to management Nikolay Stoitsev Engineering Manager @ Halo DX

How to become a manager? Sr. Software Engineer

How to become a manager? Sr. Software Engineer Expert

How to become a manager? Sr. Software Engineer Tech Lead Expert

How to become a manager? Sr. Software Engineer Tech Lead EM Expert

What do managers do?

● Leadership ● Run 1:1 ● Give Feedback ● Mentoring ● Coaching ● Motivation ● Performance Management ● Managing personal crisis ● Delegation ● Effective communication ● Servant leadership ● Conflict resolution ● Team structure ● Quality ● Onboarding ● Diversity and inclusion ● Hiring ● Delivery ● Agile, Project Management ● Vision ● Mission ● Strategy ● KPI ● Conflict Resolution ● Risk Management ● Stakeholder management ● Empathy ● Culture ● Alignment ● Promotions ● Budgeting ● Build vs Buy ● Managing up ● Release management ● Incident management ● Compensation ● Termination ● Team building

Onboarding Giving effective feedback Mentoring Coaching 1:1s Delegation Motivation Performance management Managing People

Leadership Culture & Values Vision & Mission Conflict Resolution Making Decisions Hiring Team Structure Processes Diversity and Inclusion Risk Management Managing Teams

Budgets PTOs Preparing offers Promotions Admin Work

And you need to be technical

It’s a different profession

Good Engineer Good Manager

Do you want to become a manager?

You don’t need to be a manager to grow Intern Software Engineer Software Engineer II Sr. Software Engineer Engineering Manager Staff Software Engineer Director Principle Engineer VP Individual Contributor (IC) Ladder

Simple Test https://medium.com/hackernoon/a-voight-kampff-test-for-identi fying-engineering-managers-bb8512c70857

Do you care more about people or technology? … EM IC Tech Lead

What is the career path of a manager?

Management Growth https://medium.com/swlh/a-hierarchy-model-for-leadership-development-cee911071e4a Leading yourself Leading a team Leading a large team Leading an organisation Leading the company

Manager Ladder EM EM Sr. EM Director VP CTO Director VP Sr. EM

Leading managers Growing managers Long-term strategy Org Structure Broad communication Skip level 1:1 Bigger Budget Planning Manager of Managers (MoM)

~100% MoM ~75% MoM ~25% MoM VP Eng Director of Eng Sr. Eng Manager ~0% MoM Eng Manager

Director of Engineering ● Leads multiple big teams ● Leads long term technical and business solutions across the teams ● Able to create high performing team of Sr EMs or EMs

Vice President of Engineering ● Leads teams across multiple domains each with their unique processes, priorities, and modes of operation ● Charts the future of the company ● The job is no longer the “what”

Chief Technical Officer ● Very different in every company ● Aligns the engineering organisation with the rest of the orgs ● Able to create high performing team of VPs ● Responsible for all things tech

Lessons Learned

0. It’s a new role with different skills

1. Be proactive about finding risks and managing them

2. Management is different in every org so make sure you know what it means in yours

3. Find good mentors

4. Build book knowledge

5. Regularly ask for feedback

How to start the journey early on

The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change - Camille Fournier

https://leadingsnowflakes.com/

Challenge your teammates Mentorship Effective Communication … you pick yours… Start Practicing

Thank you! Q&A Nikolay Stoitsev Engineering Manager at Halo DX Photos by Christina Morillo, Kelly L, Julia Larson, Andrea Piacquadio, RODNAE Productions, fauxels, S Migaj from Pexels