My journey into management

Looking back, I've always had a peripheral interest in management. The idea of dealing with "people" problems and being a leader was something I always silently aspired to. "Silently" because I didn't consider becoming a manager a realistic goal for me. I say this because growing up I was so shy, and as a young professional early in my career I also found it difficult to interact with experienced colleagues and anyone senior. This was surely a blocker to becoming a manager.

The first time I was offered the opportunity to become a manager, I was about 2 years into my tenure as a Software Engineer. The team was in crisis mode because my first manager had moved to another team, and the Engineer who replaced him (my line manager at the time) really despised his new role and wanted to go back to an IC role after a few months. This left a vacuum that needed to be filled. As the most tenured engineer on the team at the time, I was called up.

At first, I was flattered. Being asked to become a manager felt like a big time promotion! I would be important, I would be respected and I could tell people what to do! I did however have enough sense to reach out to trusted colleagues and friends who all told me it was probably too early. Through this I learnt that being a manager at my organisation was considered a lateral move, not a promotion. That becoming a manager almost certainly stalls your technical growth, and with a 2 year tenure, I didn't have a strong enough technical foundation yet.

I was disappointed at coming to the conclusion that I was probably not ready. I also feared rejecting the offer would affect my career, as if I would have a mark against my name for not stepping up when my organisation really needed it. Safe to say, looking back I know it was absolutely the correct decision at the time.

Fast forward another 2 years, I was promoted to Senior Engineer. That's when the career framework deems you technically proficient enough to make a choice to change track into management. So I expressed an interest, and was recommended to read some books and get a mentor. I did these things diligently, but without hands-on experience I didn't feel like I was truly learning. It's also not feasible to "trial" being anyone's line manager. Looking back, I'm not sure if this period of time really added to my preparation. It did however make me aware of some good books and resources, even though I couldn't fully comprehend their meaning at the time.

Fast forward yet another 2 years, I felt I was plateuing as an Engineer. There weren't many large projects around like in the earlier years in the company, and everything felt quite familiar. I had ambitions to move to a different continent to experience change and growth. Then one day I was working from home and saw a mysterious meeting in my calendar with my manager and skip manager. There had been some rumours about reorgs swirling at the time, and my manager had vaguely asked me about thoughts on management in our most recent 1:1. So I had a feeling what the meeting was going to be about.

In the meeting, my skip manager explained that we were forming a new team in the company, and my manager was to be tasked with leading that new team. I was asked whether I would be up for making the switch to management. I was told:

• The timelines are not clear yet, but the transition would happen over the next few months.

• Don't worry, I (skip manager) and your manager will be here to support you.

• As this is an org-driven change, this is a low stakes way into management. If you want to switch back to IC life, we can easily do that and hire in another manager.

All my instincts pointed to accepting the offer. I knew it would affect my goals to relocate, and tie me to the company for that much longer, but I knew deep down that it was the right thing for me.

🤝

Fast forward 1 week. Another mysterious meeting appears in my calendar. Timelines have become concrete. This is what I was told:

• The switch to management would officially happen the coming Monday. It was Tuesday.

• Also, both my old manager and skip manager would be away for two weeks.

I walked in on the Monday. Same office, same lift lobby. Sat at the same desk. I had no idea what to do with myself. Welcome to management!