Lead from the Podium: 6 Essential Concepts New Technical Managers Miss
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The document discusses 6 essential concepts for new technical managers to understand as they transition from being individual programmers to managing a team. It emphasizes that as a manager, your role is to lead from the "podium" as a conductor directs an orchestra, not to get involved in the individual work of your team members. You must focus on communication, coordination, and troubleshooting rather than production. Some key responsibilities include maintaining awareness of the entire project status, understanding team capabilities, providing realistic timelines, and taking responsibility for failures rather than blaming others. Throughout, it draws comparisons to an orchestra conductor to illustrate the manager's role in enabling the team's success through leadership rather than hands-on work.
Lead from the Podium: 6 Essential Concepts New Technical Managers Miss
- 3. One$week,$you're$in$your$cubicle$cranking$out$ masterful$code... and$the$next,$you're$managing$a$whole$team$that$has$to$navigate$ innova6ve$solu6ons,$coordinate$input$from$different$departments,$ then$an6cipate$and$eliminate$poten6al$showstoppers.
- 5. Grasp&the&difference&now,&and& you'll&save&yourself&months&of& frustra9on,&fric9on,&and&fumbling.
- 6. Here's&the&biggest& realiza/on&that& most&new& managers&miss:& you're'not'a' produc.on'unit' anymore.
- 7. Star%ng(now,(you're(a(leader.(An( encourager.(A(troubleshooter.(A(BS9 caller.(Most(of(all,(you're( communica%on(hub.
- 8. Your%daily%focus%is%no%longer% the%perfec4on%and%elegance%of% your%code,%it's%the%crea4on%of% something%much%larger%using% the%coordinated%work%of%many% other%people.
- 10. Think&of&it&this&way.&When&you& a2end&a&night&at&the& symphony,&you&don't&go&to&see& the&conductor&wave&her&arms& around&in&an&expressive&and& inspiring&way.&You&expect&to& look&past&her&the&en?re&night,& seeing&only&the&orchestra&as& she&keeps&the&whole&group& together,&keeping&?me&and& leading&the&musicians&through& each&crucial&part&of&the&piece.
- 12. If#the#tuba#player#screws#up11even#in# rehearsal11the#last#thing#she's#going#to#do#is# march#over,#wrestle#the#tuba#away#from#him# and#play#the#part#herself.#That's#just#a#formula# for#disaster.#
- 14. It's%not%the%conductor's%job%to% play%every%instrument%be7er% than%the%musicians.%They%don't% need%her%to%stand%over%their% shoulder%every%moment%in%the% prac:ce%room.%And%they%don't% need%a%lecture%insis:ng%that% there's%only%one%right%way%to% play%the%piece.
- 15. Everyone,)from)the) concertmaster)to)the)triangle) player,)completely)understands) that)they)need)her)leadership) at#the#podium)to)keep)the) en8re)ensemble)together.)They) are)relying)on)her)to)know)the) en8re)piece)inside)and)out)and) have)a)good)connec8on)with) each)musician.)This)allows)her) to)call)out)the)best)in)them) during)the)performance.
- 16. It#is#just#as#impera-ve# that#new#technical# managers#stay#at#their# podium.#Most#fancy# leadership#books#are# full#of#inspira-onal# phrases,#but#they#pass# over#this#essen-al#fact.
- 17. You$and$everyone$else$on$your$team$needs$to$ be$secure$in$the$knowledge$that$the$while$ programmers$are$responsible$for$their$cra9$ and$their$individual$output,$you$are$in$ command$of$the$en;re$process.
- 18. Even%if%your%company%hasn't%specifically% communicated%this%to%you,%they're%very%clear% on%your%responsibili9es%for%them.%I'm%here%to% help%you%understand%those%priori9es<<and%own% them.
- 21. 1.#Keep$your$eye$on$the$en,re$project. Yes,%coding%is%your%specialty,%but%unless%you%keep%track%of%how% every%programmer's%output%is%coming%together%into%the%product,% you'll%miss%an%issue%that%can%derail%yourself,%your%team,%other% departments%and%the%delivery%date.
- 22. 2.#Know%the%demands%of%the%project%and%the% players'%capabili7es. This%means%reading%between%the%lines%of%team%comments%like,%"This% is%easy,"%or%"This%can't%be%done."%A%solid%manager%knows%what% elements%of%the%project%are%triggering%these%statements.%
- 23. He#can#also#an*cipate#hidden# complexity#in#a#seemingly# simple#project#or#determine# how#he's#going#to#have#to# direct#the#team#around#hidden# landmines. another(op*on:(h,p:// upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/3/33/ MediaWikidatabaseschema1(19%28r1027 98%29.svg
- 24. 3.#Call$BS$on$idealism$and$shortsightedness. Occasionally,+a+conductor+has+to+be+brave+enough+to+hurt+the+tuba+ player's+feelings+in+order+to+have+the+en8re+performance+come+off+ well.+Likewise,+managers+have+to+step+in+with+a+dose+of+reality+when+ programmers+insist+that+a+project+will+"only+take+an+hour",+and+you+ have+that+gut+feeling+that+even+an+allAnight+session+won't+get+it+ done.+
- 25. Remember&that&programmers&are&overly& op1mis1c&about&their&abili1es,&so&build&a& realis1c&cushion&into&the&1meline&for&them99 and&yourself.
- 26. 4.#Don't&take&the&tuba&away&from&the&tuba& player. Just%don't.%I%know,%you're%an%expert%at%the%work%that%you're%now% managing.%That%makes%it%almost%impossible%to%avoid%the%tempta=on% to%jump%in%and%do%it%yourself.%But%let%me%tell%you,%this%is%the%most% =meAsucking,%teamAkilling%mistake%that%most%new%tech%managers% make.%
- 27. It's%so%destruc,ve%and%prevalent%that%I'm% dedica,ng%an%en,re%lesson%to%it%soon.%But%for% now,%just%trust%me.%S,ck%to%your%job%and%let% the%programmers%s,ck%to%theirs.
- 28. 5.#Realize'that'communica/on00not' produc/on00is'your'priority. A"manager's"value"is"cra0ing"rela1onships"on"his"team"that"allow" him"to"mo1vate,"direct,"persuade,"and"correct"the"people"on"his" team."This"is"the"most"important"aspect"of"management"and"the" core"of"your"job."But"a0er"being"in"produc1on"mode"for"years,"this" kind"of""work""can"feel"like"you're"not""doing""anything."
- 29. When%you're%feeling%this%way,%start%tracking% the%number%of%conversa9ons%you%have%with% your%team%members,%and%then%see%how%your% sense%of%your%own%produc9on%improves.% Communica)on*UPWARDS*and* OUTWARDS*is*just*as*important*as* INWARDS.
- 30. 6.#Take%the%blame%when%failure%hits. While&it's&natural&to&want&to&shi0&responsibility&to&someone&else& when&the&deadline&was&missed&or&a&key&func9on&of&the&so0ware& bombed,&but&pulling&the&blame&card&just&looks&immature.&Face&the& pain,&learn&the&lessons&and&move&on.&&Learn&to&say&"My&Team& Screwed&up"&publicly,&and&then&hold&people&accountable&privately.
- 32. The$most$essen*al$realiza*on$you$need$to$ make44one$that$you'll$have$to$reinforce$ repeatedly$in$your$first$months$in$leadership44 is$that$you're$no$longer$a$maker.
- 34. 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." Sign%up%to%become%a%be/er%manager%here%>>