From IC to manager, coda
Someone has to do it / I'm someone / Therefore...
Short one this week; I wanted to add a bit more to last week’s discussion around transitioning into management from an IC (individual contributor) role, and perhaps the most important part: are you actually happy in management? Are you actually good at it? It’s time for a gut check and some honesty with yourself.
Sidebar: don’t confuse the two
Before we get into these two questions in detail, I want to sound a note of caution: sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between the two. One one hand, you may be having challenges as a manager that are causing you to not enjoy the job, but once you resolve those issues, you realize that you actually find the role quite fulfilling indeed. On the other hand, you may be really enjoying your life as a manager, but not actually being very good at it. So it’s important to look at both questions independently.
Are you happy?
We’re going to start with the really tricky one—are you actually enjoying being a manager? That question may be easy for you to answer, but if you’re not happy in your role then it may not be clear where to go next.
First of all, don’t panic. People management is (as we discussed last week) a big change from hands-on technical work, and a period of adjustment is to be expected. Besides, there’s a whole new set of skills to learn, and that takes time. If you’re feeling discomfort but you’re still in the onboarding phase in your new role, have some patience and revisit the question in a few months.
Once you’re onboarded and have gotten your legs under you, maybe there are still some skills that are eluding you. Maybe you’re having trouble running effective 1:1 meetings with your employees, or maybe you’re not great at mediating conflicts between team members. You’ve been banging your head against a problem like this for months, and it’s not getting any better, and you’re doubting whether you’re really cut out for this leadership thing at all. I repeat: don’t panic. Take some time to figure out where your skills are lacking, and find resources—mentors, books, training courses—to help you improve. Once you’re not struggling with the same things every day, you may find that you’re actually happy with your job despite yourself.
If in the end you’re convinced that management is not for you, however, what you do next is going to depend highly on your current situation. If you were forced into the role because your company needed someone to be a manager, and lit on you, then a request to be returned to your previous position may fall on deaf ears. If that’s the case, I regret to inform you that you might be best served by looking outside the support organization in your company for an IC position on a related team, like sales engineering or customer success. If you’d rather remain a support engineer, then you may need to look outside the company for an IC support engineer role. If, on the other hand, you are part of a well-managed company that recognizes that good employees sometimes don’t thrive in people management roles, then you may be able to step down gracefully. Once you’ve given the role a fair shake, and made a good faith effort to improve your skills and find pleasure in the role, then there’s no shame in requesting to return to your previous position. Even if you’ve become a capable manager, you’ll never be a good manager if you can’t find satisfaction in your work.
Are you good at it?
Self-evaluations are, of course, notoriously difficult, so when asking yourself the question of whether you’re a good manager, you’re going to need to come at it indirectly. A few questions to consider: what would your employees say about your management style? Are you abreast of what everyone on your team is doing? How often do you feel you need to step in to handle team tasks yourself? Are you uncovering, and addressing, issues on your team promptly, or do things fester for some time? Do your employees feel comfortable bringing questions or problems to you? These are all indicators of your effectiveness as a manager. You’ll need to investigate and respond to these and other questions honestly, and not just assume the answer is ‘the answer that means I’m a good manager’. If you’re lucky enough to have a good manager yourself, or a mentor with whom you have a strong and open relationship, that’s another place to get an outside perspective on whether or not you’re doing your job well. And remember my warning above: just because you like being a manager doesn’t mean you’re actually good at it.
Now, the good news: unlike the previous case of being unhappy with your position in a management role, there is a clear path forward to getting good at management if you aren’t already. If, upon reflection, you recognize that you’re not actually very good at management and team leadership, don’t despair. Books, bookshelves, maybe even whole libraries have been written on the topic. Ask a mentor or a colleague you admire for coaching or reading suggestions, or do what I did and read all of the archives over at Ask a Manager. That will get you pointed in the right direction. Above all, don’t just give up and assume you’re just not good at management. You can learn what you need to learn, and your team deserves better than a mediocre manager.
As I pointed out above, these two questions are linked but separate. Don’t be too convinced that management isn’t the job for you until you’ve tried to improve your managerial skills. On the other side, don’t be too sure you’re a great manager just because you’re enjoying yourself! Figure out the answer to each question independently, and you’ll have a clear picture of where you stand and what you need to do next.
Thanks for reading Andy's Support Notes 💻💥📝!