Fantasy'vs.'Reality:'When'That'Promo6on'Isn’t'What'You'Imagined'

It'Would'Be

You$got$the$promo,on!$You’re$leading$a$team!

In#words#of#Dr.#Phil,#How’s&that&working&for&you?

Or#maybe#you’re#not#a#manager#yet.#

Perhaps(you’re(a(valued(programmer(who’s(worked(his(way(up(the(ladder,(and(you(have(your(eye(set(on(doing(more(than(pounding(out(code(all(day,(as(much(as(you(love(that(job.

When%I%imagined%my%transi0on%from%lead%programmer%to%team%lead,%I%had%all%sorts%of%fantasies%about%how%my%daily%work%would%change%and%how%I%would%suddenly%become%incredibly%significant%to%the%company.

Man,%was%I%wrong.%

Promo%on'Fantasy

With%very%li+le%hand/on%management%experience,%I%developed%the%most%lovely%misconcep9ons%about%becoming%a%manager.%Do%these%sound%familiar?

• My$promo)on$would$be$announced$ceremoniously$and$embraced$by$everyone.

• I’d$s)ll$be$a$programmer$and$just$add$in$a"few$addi)onal$responsibili)es.

• My$pay$raise$would$make$me$part$of$the$company’s$inner$circle.$

• I’d$have$the$pick$of$the$best$jobs$coming$through$the$project$pipeline.

• I$would$have$so#much#more$control$of$my$>me.

• I’d$be$the$in$the$captain’s$chair$when$it$came$to$decision?making.

• My$team$would$boldly$(and$automa>cally!)$follow$me$into$baCle,$ready$to$vanquish$the$next$project.$

A"management"posi-on"can"also"sneak"up"on"you"when"you"least"expect"it."One"day,"you’re"working"solo"or"with"a"partner"to"build"a"-ny"consultancy,"and"when"you"pick"your"head"up"a"couple"of"years"later,"you’ve"taken"on"two"or"three"addi-onal"staff"who"are"looking"to"you"for"direc-on.

My#advice?#Be#smart.#Don’t#be#ambushed#by#your#own#success.

Promo%on'Reality

When%I%finally%got%my%actual,%bona%fide%manager’s%7tle,%I%was%in%the%bathroom.%(I’m%pre=y%sure%my%manager%was%just%really%excited%for%me%and%couldn’t%wait%to%give%me%the%news.)

No#fanfare,#no#applause.

Just%a%pat%on%the%back%and%a%whole%new%workload%that%I%wasn’t%en5rely%equipped%to%handle%at%that%point.

Here’s&what&my&first&few&months&as&a&manager&were&really&like:

• There&was&open&resentment&from&employees&on&my&team&who&thought&they&were&be5er&qualified.

• I&had&lots&of&freedom<<to&make&lots&of&new,&very&public&mistakes.

• I&created&confusion&when&I&commi5ed&to&delivery&dates&without&consulAng&my&team&first.

• With&each&new&project&that&crossed&my&desk,&I&was&convinced&that&this%&me,%I%was%going%to%do%everything%right.&

• I&allowed&myself&to&be&interrupted&for&any&reason&at&any&=me&in&the&name&of&being&available&for&the&team.

• I&refused&to&delegate,&and&I&took&on&coding&repair&jobs&that&kept&me&at&work&nights&and&weekends.&Let’s&just&say&I&missed&a&lot&of&family&=me.

• I&was&overwhelmed.&All.&The.&Time.&

A"er%several%rounds%of%workload%adjustments%and%s4ll%feeling%stressed,%I%got%to%the%core%of%my%anxiety.%I"kept"trying"to"be"a"manager"without"le4ng"go"of"my"programmer"iden7ty.

Like%most%coders,%I%prided%myself%on%being%an%uber8brain%who%could%design%my%team%out%of%any%problem%with%finesse.%However,%a?er%becoming%a%manager,%I%saw%my%coding%skills%slipping%away%at%the%same%@me%as%I%was%feeling%completely%inept%about%my%new%responsibili@es.

It#was#terrifying.#

I"struggled"along"for"quite"a"while,"finding"few"role"models"or"advice"other"than,"“You’ll"find"your"own"style.”"

Real%Solu)ons

I"finally"got"to"the"point"where"I"couldn’t"pedal"any"faster."I"was"burned"out"and"on"the"edge"of"collapse.

So#I#went#to#my#boss#with#a#radical#proposal:#Let#me#drop#all#of#my#coding#responsibili9es#and#focus#on#managing#produc9on.#A=er#three#months,#if#my#team#isn’t#more#produc9ve,#then#I#will#go#back#to#partB9me#coding.

He#was#skep)cal#and#resistant,#to#say#the#least.#My#job#descrip)on#called#for#25<30%#of#my#)me#to#be#dedicated#to#coding,#but#he#finally#relented.

It#Got#Be(er

At#the#end#of#three#months,#the#results#were#clear.#Less#coding#meant#a#be8er#team.

My#team#had#more#on-.me#shipments.#Customers#were#happier.#Morale#was#up.#And#incredibly,#produc.on#was#the#same#or#be;er#because#I#wasn’t#doing#a#half-assed#job#of#delega.on.

Other&departments&heard&about&the&results,&and&soon&I&was&asked&to&lead&a&brand5new&team&who&would&be&using&brand5new&technology.&I&even&had&other&managers&coming&to&my&office&in&tears&to&ask&my&how&I&was&able&to&do&it&all.

Sanity'for'the'win!

Save%Yourself:%Survival%for%a%New%Manager

Even%with%all%of%the%best%advice%and%inten2ons,%you%will%probably%reach%that%point%where%you’re%drowning%in%projects%and%trying%to%hold%on%to%your%coding%skills.

When%you%get%to%that%place,%do%yourself%a%favor.%Don’t%cling%9ghter%to%the%idea%that%you%and%your%fabulous%geekified%brain%can%do%it%all.

Let$go.

Accept&the&fact&that&your&coding&skills&will&erode,&but&as&they&diminish&(slightly),&you&will&gain&perspec;ve.&A>er&a&few&months&of&seeing&produc;on&from&a&new&perspec;ve,&you&will&have&amazing&moments&facilita;ng&some&serious&wins.&

Will$you$lose$contact$with$coding$forever?$Not$a$chance.

So#ware(programming(is(full(of(circumstances(where(glitches,(bugs(or(an(impending(deadline(require(all(hands(on(deck.(And(you(can(hop(into(pair(programming(with(your(employees(if(they(need(a(li=le(guidance.

It#completely#normal#to#feel#shaky#and#lost#as#you#make#your#way#through#the#first#few#months#in#a#new#management#decision.#But#when#you#find#yourself#taking#on#more#work#to#prove#your#supercoder#status,#step#away#from#the#computer…#and#think#about#what#you#can#turn#over#to#your#team.#

Become&a&Be(er&Technical&Manager

I"get"paid"to"coach"newly"minted"technical"managers."My"clients"quickly"feel"drama:cally"more"confident"and"capable"and"start"seeing"be=er"performance"from"themselves"and"their"team"within"weeks.

I"am"taking"the"same"insigh-ul,"ac2onable"lessons"I"teach"in"my"coaching"and"pu8ng"them"out"as"a"free"newsle<er."

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