You dont need to be a manager to have to manage people… we all do it, all the time.

What is this?

Here you can find my notes on some of the things I have found relevant for my role as a people manager. I don’t claim to cover everything important, and really.. a life time wouldn’t give anyone enough experience to cover everything - but even if it did, the knowledge probably wouldn’t be relevant anymore.

The ideas I share here are not a “silver bullet” - use your own judgment - some highly depend on context.

Some Context

What kind of manager/leader do you want to be remembered by? How you answer this question will actually tell you what you should know and do as a leader.

I know I want to be remembered for being:

  • Empathetic
  • Prepared
  • Caring
  • Direct

I could add more things to this list, but realistically, no one can focus on more than a few at a time.. and 90% or more of my energy goes into these 4.

Important things

Know:

Show up and truly care about the work and people around you.

Do:

  • Be a step ahead and know when you will be needed and be there.
  • Be dependable - deliver on your promises.
  • Biweekly 1:1 with direct reports - check-in personally and professionaly.
  • Actively listen and try to leave every interaction on a positive tone.

Know:

How you deliver is as important as delivering.

Do:

  • When delivering something (e.g. a message, a presentation, a feature) - what do you want from your audience now? what do you want after 1 day? what do you want in a month after you deliver this? (do you want them to refer to this? do you want them to look forward to another one?.. what do you want as the outcome of this delivery?)
  • Truly care about the people involved on your delivery - they are your partners
  • Dont be shy to share credit - this will boost everyone

Know:

Assume the best, prepare for the worst.

Do:

  • Someone not replying timely? A team member away too frequently? Leadership doesnt seem to be aligned? You got a cryptic message from someone? - do not get anxious; assume/hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Know:

Processes

Do:

  • Map the processess - create diagrams, ask people to share processess they went through. These processess could be about: TDD - Technical Design Documents, OR - Operational Readiness, engaging with vendors, how to hire, how to fire, budget management, different types of requests, how to engage with other teams, etc.

Know:

Company layout/hierarchy/people

Do:

  • Map the teams and how they interact - what are the company teams? how are the interactions between them? product with engineering, operations with engineering, etc
  • Map who does what in each team - who are the key people in: operations teams? platform teams? SRE? DevOps? Developers? Testers? Product? Business? Delivery? etc. - recommend Maltego to organize this info.

Know:

Knowing people in different teams is one of the best ways to be prepared

Do:

  • Reach out and create connections with people from other teams.
  • Learn who does what and why - Again, Maltego.

Know:

What are the KTLO activies and techdebt your team is reponsible for? How much “new” work can you bring in?

Do:

  • Map out the KTLO activities - what software/library/pipeline/everythingelse is you team responsible for maintaining? How often do you need to update them? How much time updating them?
  • Look into repos and ask around how much techdebt your team owns - this should tell you how much time is left for new work.

Know:

You are a force/output multiplier

Do:

  • Provide opportunities for people to grow.
  • Provide support - personal or technical - specially to you team members.

Know:

It takes very little to destroy reputations

Do:

  • Actively work with security teams to make sure everything you can secure is secured and maitainable the best way possible.
  • Try to be prepared for changes and always embrace them the best way possible - management is literally about managing changes (if everything was static - management wouldnt exist).
  • Be more proactive than reactive - reachout, build a strong internal network of people, lead, help lead, follow, and participate positively.

Know:

At work: company/clients first, team second, myself third.

Do:

  • Always put the company/client and the companie’s/client’s interest first. What is the best thing to do for the company/client on the long/short term? What is more important, long or short term?
  • Team second means that after looking after the company/client, you should look after the team.
  • Yourself third - after considering the companie’s/client’s and team’s needs.. of what is left, what is the best thing for you? What can you do for yourself?
  • Correct mistakes as soon as possible - Bad new hire? Bad language used? Something toxic? - correct it ASAP.

Know:

Your team (up and down) must have your back

Do:

  • You must have their back - cheer for them, empower them, shield them from external bs
  • They must respect you as a leader - I recommend leading by example (back to: empathy, prepared, caring and direct)
  • They must care about you and see value in what you do - why do you exist in this position? How do you contribute to the success of the company, the team and the individuals in your team?

Know:

Diversity will bring the best ideas

Do:

  • Foster diverse teams and working groups (different backgrounds, experiences, etc - e.g. a cross functional team)

Know:

Sometimes.. there is nothing you can do.

Sources

Many of the above notes are from: “Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track” by Will Larson (Author), my own notes, random blog posts and from asking others what they think…

What else?

I’m sure I haven’t covered everything. I will be updating this page as the ideas and perceptions I have evolve.