Switching to engineering management? here is what to expect after a decade of engineering leadership

I was offered a management role as an engineer. The idea of doing everything as a tech lead but additionally taking on ‘people management’ sounded exciting, to put it bluntly.

This is typical — an engineer grows into a tech lead and sooner or later they get offered a choice of management. Because the choice was offered and not actively pursued, there was no clear frame of mind on why I would enjoy the role.

Managers grow and priorities change

Project delivery, mentorship, authority, the sphere of influence, autonomy, people growth gives me pride and happiness even today. However, 8 years later, the reasons I love the role are much more subtle. I came across this article which talks about a study that illustrate the priorities of managers by their age. The general trend is that the longer someone is in management their priorities tend more towards people they manage more than the projects.

Here are few things that I have noticed.

The magnitude of responsibility

An engineering organization costs millions each year. Think of it this way, you are given millions of someone else’s money to invest and maximize returns. Doesn’t that make you nervous and excited? Every action of yours also has a positive or negative impact on so many people.

Being conscious about these two points bring in a huge sense of responsibility that I enjoy.

Backing Ideas: finding the needle from a haystack

Ideas are cheap, some good, some bad. Often, I get to see an idea without the right environment & support to flourish. Identifying these potential gems and giving them a helping hand is part of the role.

Some of these ideas succeed well beyond your wildest imaginations. That experience of backing a success story in its early stages and is purely magical.

Observing changes over time in people’s abilities

I am not talking about ‘mentoring’. As a manger, you are always observing the strengths and gaps of people in your teams. Over multiple years, few individuals really outshine their own self from a few years ago. These transformations can be significant and at times awe inspiring.

Hopefully this gives anyone wanting to try management an idea of what to expect down the road.