Getting Comfortable With What Drives Success as a Manager

Recent events reminded me of a struggle I faced when I learned how to switch from an Engineer/IC to a Manager and Business Owner mindset 8-9 years ago.

As an Engineer, a successful output is the direct result of my work. Some examples:

• code that works, is well documented and performs exactly what we want it to,

• technical specs that provide the right solution and that myself or the team can easily implement,

• documentation that others can read, apply, and get unblocked quickly.

As a Manager, a successful output isn’t the direct result of my work. E.g., strategy documents and business plans lack the certainty of tech specs. “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

Business results are hard to predict or forecast, especially in organizations driven by innovation. What makes a Manager work successful are:

• the conversations that happened during the process of producing strategy and business plans,

• the systems and connections created while having those conversations,

• the shared understanding and context developed by getting people in the same room,

• the changes in direction, decisions, and behavior implemented afterward.

These things that have the highest leverage and multiply the team’s output don’t usually make much sense from an IC point of view. It can be a real struggle as a new Manager. Why work on a business plan if it’ll never be accurate? Why waste my time in meetings while I could be doing something else that seemed more concrete?

This unpredictability makes the Manager job hard. As a new Manager, I tended to go back to doing the IC job that I was very good at. It prevented my team from growing and fully owning the work. They were relying on me too much, as I did their job instead of mine. I was constantly stressed and tired. Worse, this situation wasn’t scalable.

I had to learn to do the Manager job. I learned that as a Manager, I could be successful just by getting the right people in the same room and facilitating a necessary conversation. As an IC, my success was defined by what I contribute to the discussion in the room. The two roles are critical and different, but everyone has to do their part for the organization to grow and scale.

By embracing my new Manager hat and focusing on these activities that didn’t look like productive work in my previous IC eyes, I set up the organization and myself for success.