When moving from Technical to Managerial role

We see a number of IT professionals switching from Tech to Managerial role at milestones of career. Organizations are also more open to people with technical expertise when it comes to Managerial role. Such techies are bridging the gap between business needs and technology solutions. With or without MBA degree, such opportunities come eventually after certain level of exposure and expertise. Before you accept such an opportunity as a promotional outcome, you should be clear whether the context and expectations are in sync with your aptitude. 

-As a communication champion 

If you move up from a Tech Lead to Engineering Manager role, you need to have strong communication skills. It is not just about oral and written communication or presentation skills, now you need to focus on the success of your team. As an Engineering Manager you need to work with cross functional teams like Operations, Business, Data Science, Engineering, QA ,UX. This requires collaboration and mentoring to meet business objectives. In short, your focus changes from technical to people management and from operational or tactical to more strategic role. You will be spending 70-80% of the time in communicating with internal and external stakeholders. 

If you are an introvert ,this role will not be a good choice as it demands ability of recognizing and understanding the challenges faced by others, relieving stress and facilitating communication. 

Passion for technical details

If you think spending a lot of time on technical problem is best suited , managerial role is not for you. You will not be getting sufficient time to work on your coding skills even or in pursuing IT certifications or to get into technical details of each and every project. Spending a lot of time on technical details will hold you back as a manager as the role involves investing time on strategic work, relationship building and people management. 

2.As a motivator

You need to keep the teams motivated to get best results. Read about Maslow's Theory of Hierarchy of Needs or Hertzberg' s Motivators and Hygiene Factors. Even Goal setting or expectancy theory works well in our corporate set up. Meet your team members regularly. One on one meetings are best for understanding their interests and motivators.

3.As a credible activist 

For a manager, image building is very important. What others think of you does matter at this stage. Your conduct should be such that enforces strong internal value system, discipline, integrity and trust. You must nurture good terms with internal and external stakeholders. If you think this is not your cup of tea being a techie who spends most of the time on laptop alone, reconsider your managerial role option.

 4.As a paradox navigator

Paradox exists in every walk of life. These days navigating paradox in business world is considered one of the key skills in management. Business paradoxes include:

-Long term and short term goals

-Internal and external stakeholders 

-Operational and People focus

-Team and individual goals

-Top/Down and Bottom /Up

Navigate these paradox by encouraging both convergent and divergent approaches. Balancing the effects of contradictions is not an easy task and requires dealing with various perspectives which might require training and experience.

4.In coping with ambiguity 

If you have a history of getting properly communicated goals and you get anxious when things are not clearly defined ,managerial role will give you tough time in reading between the lines, dealing with multi- channel customers and competing interests.

Devika Anand