Almost every technical person in software development has heard something like, “After the age of 30, the body is no better than the young people in their 20s, so you need to transition to management.” There is no problem in understanding this sentence. Indeed, the older I get, the more I can’t match my body when I was in my 20s. I don’t have enough physical strength, but I have enough experience to lead a young team to fight on the battlefield. However, the word “management” here is not only about managing people, I think it gives too much connotation, then I said slowly.
On the contrary, some people think that we can concentrate on technology all the time and do not worry too much. I don’t think that’s a good idea for most people. Why not? I think there are some issues that can’t be ignored:
- Most technical people work in very market-oriented industries, and only a very small number of technical people in research, scientific research or education need to be deep and focused on a particular business for years. Marketization of services is a constantly changing process, the need to constantly adapt, so it is very difficult to do a technical person in a relatively narrow business field, or a technical index to keep the same study for many years. In fact, most excellent technical personnel are experienced veterans, their mature mind, experience and business skills can be better demonstrated, which needs to be entrusted with management responsibilities.
- The climb of technical height is driven upward by constant curiosity, impulse, indomitability and sense of achievement. This is the driving force in the bone, and it is not driven by external force of material stimulation. Technical people who are not sensitive to the internal drive will never be good. The problem is that there is not one mountain of technology, but one mountain is higher than the other. When you reach the top of the mountain in your own domain, you are left with nothing but boredom, and looking at other peaks of the same height is as boring to you. At this point, you have to choose to re-examine yourself and find a new goal, so dabble in management, you can gain a broader vision, you can more accurately find another goal.
- Only reach the height of technology, ability to shoulder the responsibility of technical management. Some people who do technology have no success in technology and want to switch to management to try their luck. It doesn’t work, why do you, involves the content is too much, can only open an article, not tired described here, is simple, in one word, industry for many years I technically no, haven’t seen a decent on technical management, lean technology point of view and the lack of confidence, will be hard to control the excellent technical people. Therefore, there is a strong demand for excellent technicians in the field of technology management.
For all this argument, there are no management pitfalls for good technical people. Now for the prod:
Trap 1, easy to become the boss’s vassal
This is probably an inevitable experience for most good tech people, especially at startup companies. Because of being appreciated, the kind of technical people always have a strong sense of responsibility and belonging to the enterprise, easy to take charge of the treatment, often love for the family is infinite. So at the beginning of the road to management of the technical people are particularly easy to sandwiched between the boss and the grassroots, but grassroots cadres, the essential interests and grass-roots employees are consistent, there is no great pain of being squeezed. The technology manager closest to the boss is saddled with the most painful splints. The first problem I mentioned is the change of mentality and mood. How does it work in this state? Always under great operating pressure, in the fierce ideological struggle, most technical managers will fall to the boss side, unconditional execution of the boss’s orders and arrangements, so you are a sharp knife used by the boss, wounding countless, their own scars. If you don’t, you’ll always be pointed out for being in the wrong seat, beaten, hidden, and banned, a real palace drama.
So how to avoid this pain, my advice to you is: business is not a home, only a mutually beneficial playground. For you, only in the case of your interests and the interests of the enterprise, and maximize it, so that the enterprise and individuals will be lasting and long-term. Do something, do nothing. The boss plays an infinite profit-seeking beast in the enterprise, which is the fate of the boss, but blindly giving in to the original desire of the boss will destroy the enterprise; So the first thing technology managers have to do is navigate the beast (which may sound annoying to bosses), which is to let your boss know how far you are from achieving your goals if they are clear and strategic.
For example, the boss said, “I plan to finish 5 products this year and put them on the market. I ask everyone to work overtime. Let’s start 996. This is probably the most common one, and you’re probably already awkwardly making plans and bargaining with your team managers. This trend eventually leads to the boss finding himself not only failing to complete a full year of projects, but doing worse projects each year. Look at the grassroots level again, scold the mother, think this company is not opened by people, do things like tuo xiang, sales are all stupid, but also can sell the product out?
In fact, the problem lies in the technical manager, you did not do your duty. My advice to you is to always have two lethal weapons at your disposal: one is what is the main route of product development for the company? Another is the ability to co-ordinate research and development capabilities and resources. When the boss puts forward five annual product plans, first look at how far they deviate from the main course strategically, which requires obtaining more information and cultivating strategic vision. If the plan is too far away from the main course, argue with each other, slow down and discuss again, and get the latest in-depth discussion. Overall planning ability is you and the boss in the specific plan to make a game, with how much food, WE will go far, to do a project, into a project keynote. When this is done, you and your boss will be able to achieve a mutually beneficial goal and reasonably focus your goals and energy on more specific arrangements.
Trap two, the road of technology does not advance is backward
The most vacant outcome of outstanding technical people after the transformation of management is to keep up with The Times of technological development. When you see this, take a look at how long it’s been since you’ve touched an IDE or been on Github. There are many technical managers who have gone a long way, only to find that they are most concerned about their technical ability when they change jobs. Maybe your current enterprise really for your technical ability not so high demand, more need your coordination ability, management or business, but when you understand the stage of the enterprise is a game, you will understand the stage always has ended the moment, you always have to replace the stage, the next you can play well on the stage? In addition, when there is no technical drive, work can be boring and every day can feel like a waste of time.
The main factor leading to this problem is the fragmentation of management work, which brings out my understanding of the connotation of management, for example: Your interest in the technical personnel, use and promotion, your business understanding, requirements for the project, you constantly plan arrangement, you with the customer communication and service, with you business, personnel and other departmental support and coordination, you face the emergency disposal of a major incident, and so on, I see it as a technical management of the scope of work. These things are presented to you in fragments, it’s hard for you to have contiguous chunks of time, and you’re always dealing with variables amid anxiety and stress. If you take into account the development of technology, you need to have a block of time and a relatively peaceful mood, which is really difficult for you.
So I give you a suggestion: first of all, the state of mind must not give up, leisure time reading is the best way to adjust. Connect the fragmentation of the management process, give yourself time to create into pieces (this needs to fumble individuals consistently in experience), in the development of your management, there must be some very challenging technical requirements, don’t take on too much, find a right and proper identity involved, to help the team to solve the problem of a point. This difficulty will not take you too much time repeatedly, and will often bring a lot of necessary rapid learning and understanding of new knowledge, which is exactly what you are best at. You can break through the difficulty and leave it to the team to complete the development and encapsulation of the product. This not only improves your technical ability, but also brings strong support to the team and understands many subtle factors inside the team. At the same time, it also enables you to keep a sensitive state to new things, which can better influence the enterprise to find a more efficient research and development route.
Trap three, take money or take shares
It’s an interesting pitfall, and I’m sure a lot of the best tech people have been promised or given those initial shares. I also believe that most of the outstanding technical people are not the master of the stock market, do not understand the true meaning of shares. Hong Kong securities recently updated the regulation, can the same share different rights, your company’s board of directors or boss can give you such a big discount? I don’t think so. If you got the odd share, so to you will tell the share is investment, do not have the meaning of equity, that is, do not have shares in the company and you have how much executive force to hook up. If investment, prove that you are optimistic about this company, you also have spare money, take out a little to invest in the company when buying stocks, no problem. If give you is technology, but cannot realize share out bonus or appreciation realization the possibility, so be equal to quilt cover, do not too when a responsibility. The most reasonable time to own a stock is when the company intends to enter the stock market; Or your shares can be cashed in over a certain period of time; Or your company has consistently increased profits each year, and the board has been good to shareholders each year.
In fact, most cases are not so, are the boss with shares made of pie. I can’t get change, and the boss says so. You’re a shareholder when your efforts are needed, and members of the founding team have to do a lot more than your job description. When it comes to compensation, because you’re still a shareholder, the boss will say that the board won’t approve of the founding team being paid too much. Therefore, the negative impact of shares on you has to be considered. My advice: Talk to the boss the executive force that you manage in the enterprise and industry equal treatment can, as to share, believe me, do not remember too, especially original share, the person has destiny each, and wait really to do the company, your value also completely show when, the possibility that match share can be bigger, also have practical value to you more.
Trap 4. A lion with a flock of sheep
The biggest problem for good technical people in transition management is that they have too much expertise, which leads to three very bad traps:
First, their own brilliance, your aura under others eclipsed. The psychological implications for your subordinates are strong, and the more they worship you, the more they depend on you. The end result is that you are no longer a leader, but a firefighter, working your ass off and living a lackluster life. Therefore, we should know how to hide the light, give more responsibility and credit to those who contribute to the team, according to the team’s ability to solve problems, step by step to detect the upper limit of each person’s ability, and be patient with the members who need to be improved.
Secondly, there are also many people who do not care about specific things, so it can not be said that I affect the performance of the team, and my experience is able to estimate the progress of the project, this outcome is the person you admire most, will hurt you the most. Because you’re bound to give work to the people you admire the most, and you’ve always seen them as your avatar, and if you think you can solve anything, they can too. And the people you admire, in order not to affect your trust, will hide a lot of things you don’t know. So you won’t believe how things turned out. So my advice is to look at contributions rationally, give responsibility and credit to those who have contributed, and keep track of the details, from rough to thin, to see what specific things you can do to help appropriately.
Third, a lot of it is when you start to manage a team, you complain about the team ability how so bad, there is always that temptation to kick someone’s team members not to say that give up can give up, because it involves too many political problems, most results are you full of negative emotions, and company executives or incompatible. Therefore, to learn to tolerate, you have to always have a tolerant heart, there is nothing in the world that fully meets the heart, otherwise there is no need to find you, to use the time and opportunity to fully understand their ability, to consider how to let them improve, what is suitable for their work content, this is your key work. If some people really is not good attitude, also can not mention, decisive replacement, arrange them to only bear the post, when the salary and the job does not match, the natural boss will come out.
Said much better, I hope to be able to plan technology to management, or have turned to management of the outstanding you have a little bit of inspiration. Sincerely hope that you can go better and better on the road of technology management! The views may not apply to your situation, please bear with me!