Lead%from%the%Podium:%6%Essen4al%Concepts%New%Technical%Managers%

Miss

The$transi+on$from$programmer$to$Team$Lead$or$So4ware$Manager$can$be$a$difficult$one.

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.

Stepping(away(from(your(iden2ty(as(a(superior(coder(into(a(role(in(management(requires(a(

whole(new(perspec2ve(on(your(work.

Grasp&the&difference&now,&and&you'll&save&yourself&months&of&

frustra9on,&fric9on,&and&fumbling.

Here's&the&biggest&realiza/on&that&

most&new&managers&miss:&you're'not'a'

produc.on'unit'anymore.

Star%ng(now,(you're(a(leader.(An(encourager.(A(troubleshooter.(A(BS9

caller.(Most(of(all,(you're(communica%on(hub.

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.

In#other#words,#it's#all#about#communica5on#and#responsibility.

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.

She's&not&making&the&music,&but&she&makes&the&en3re&performance&

possible.

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.#

Because'the'moment'she'forgets'her'role'and'steps'off'the'podium'to'wade'into'the'

orchestra,'the'en7re'show'starts'to'run'off'the'rails.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Here$are$a$few$essen*al$lead-from-the-podium$concepts$that$every$new$tech$manager$should$learn$and$develop.

6"Leadership"Concepts"Most"New"Technical"Managers"Miss

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.

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.%

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%28r102798%29.svg

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.+

Remember&that&programmers&are&overly&op1mis1c&about&their&abili1es,&so&build&a&

realis1c&cushion&into&the&1meline&for&them99and&yourself.

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.%

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.

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."

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.

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.

Making'the'shi,'from'a'respected'programmer'to'an'effec5ve'manager'is'a'tough'one,'and'not'all'of'the'best'prac5ces'are'obvious.

The$most$essen*al$realiza*on$you$need$to$make44one$that$you'll$have$to$reinforce$

repeatedly$in$your$first$months$in$leadership44is$that$you're$no$longer$a$maker.

You're'a'conductor.'

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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