What should first time managers know?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9336166

by joedunn • 11 years ago

24 12 11 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I'm putting together a course for first-time managers of software development. two questions:

1. if you've ever made the transition from primarily coding to managing, what do you wish you had known when you started? what were your biggest questions when you started the job?

2. as developers, what are the top two or three things you wish new managers could be taught (be nice, now)?

OK, that's three questions. thanks in advance. Joe

mazlix• 11 years ago

I've had a development background and then became Producer at a small indie game studio.

I was always wondering

1) What exactly I should be doing while development is happening? (Hint: QA/generating issue-reports) And am I micromanaging too much?

luckydude2• 11 years ago

Really smart people can be quite dense about money. If you want to make people happy and pay them less money here is what you do:

Give them the highest salary you think is reasonable and no benefits. No 401K match, no health insurance, no company presents like ipads or what have you.

Here is why:

We pay pretty well but it is spread out over all of the above. You might have a base salary of $150K but then we pay for 100% of your $35K/year health insurance with a top rated PPO (that's for a family of 4, we cover everyone 100%), we throw another $33K into your 401K, and we bonus you another $45K.

Total comp: $266K. What the engineer will think he makes: $150K.

If I wanted to maximize profits, rather than look out for the best interests of my people, I could pay that engineer $200K (with no benefits) and he would think he makes more. Most people seem to be like that, the year end stuff doesn't count when they think about how much they make.

JSeymourATL• 11 years ago

1) Don't underestimate the Human Connection factor. You've got to learn how to take your peoples emotional temperature and deal with it. Recommend Stuart Diamond's Getting More >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOZo6Lx70ok

2) In dealing with individuals Competencies & Skills, wish I found the FYI Book much earlier: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0974589233/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie...

joedunn2• 11 years ago

the FYI book rents for $60 on amazon and sells for over $100. looks great though. thx.

joedunn2• 11 years ago

...and $3.60 on thriftbooks. Win to thriftbooks...

Beached• 11 years ago

When I made the switch to Engineer to Management, the hardest but most useful skill I learned was to let people fail. This may sound odd, but as a manager your job isn't "To Do", its "To Delegate(manage)". Everyone fails at some point, and remember that your a manager, you shouldn't be coding, spinning up servers, or anything else like that. Your job is to hire competent people that work well together and with you.

When I talk with our techs about their tasks and work loads, ALWAYS say what do you need from me. I make it clear that I expect the deliverable to be done right and on time. It is their responsibility to speak out and say I am having problems with X, or I am unable to complete Y because of Z. A managers job is to get your employee's the resources they need, or to find a suitable alternative if that's not possible. My job is NOT to jump in the trenches and start coding unless its to prevent the companies certain demise or to save my employee's sanity during an unexpected surge of work.

This was my hardest challenge when a manager, and in hind sight, what I wish past managers would have known. My best manager knew this and is where I learned this from.

luckydude2• 11 years ago

I worked with a guy who got promoted to manager at Sun and the first thing he did (while we were all laughing at the idea of the idea of him as a manager) was to walk into our office and say "Hey, dude, you are working for me now. It's gonna be fun. What stuff do you need to get more shit done, I'll get you that."

We all stopped laughing because we all needed stuff. He got us that stuff. Great guy.

JacobAldridge• 11 years ago

I definitely recommend reading and learning from pg's Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule - http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html

I'm definitely a Maker type of person (I score 22% Fast / 78% Slow on this Pace Indicator I use [1], which is similar) so a mid-afternoon team meeting can ruin my day.

[1] http://www.inside80performance.com/

MalcolmDiggs• 11 years ago

I received some advice when I first started managing folks, that has proven very valuable to me:

"If someone does a job 70% as well as you would do it yourself, you should approve their work."

It's sometimes referred to as the 70% rule.

gadders• 11 years ago

I saw a good quote re (1) the other day. "It's not a promotion, it's a career change."

I'd recommend treating it as such.

bluerail• 11 years ago

Just list down the things you didn't liked about your Managers and don't do that..

helen842000• 11 years ago

Remove obstacles for your team (don't be the obstacle) Let your team know you have their back - defend them from ridiculous requests and protect them from burn-out.

A good manager can step away from their team for a few days without things falling apart.

The hardest thing to learn is to address problems early - nip it in the bud. Learn to delegate and plan for / foresee future problems before they impact your team.

What should first time managers know?

Related Stories