Being a manager doesn’t just come with more responsibilities. It comes with feelings of anxiety and doubt about what your job actually is. The feedback loops are slower. The wins are less obvious. And instead of shipping code, you now navigate ambiguity, enable people, and defend team focus. You need to trust your gut, maintain high standards, dive into difficult conversations, and persist. Here are 7 lessons on what it really takes to lead well.
1. Act like a business owner
Think big picture. Use all of your resources and agency. Focus on the customer. Engineering is your speciality, not your bounding box.
2. Commit and deliver
Stay true to your word and keep your promises. Everyone has good days and bad. Consistent effort will pay off in the long run. Discipline is more important than motivation.
3. Excellent managers are first excellent engineers
Achieving a top percentile level of proficiency takes time and hard work. There are no shortcuts. Team members look to leaders for support, technical expertise, and direction.
4. Leadership is a verb
We are as we do. There are many actions of leadership one can take without ever having an official title of recognition or permission from anyone.
5. Give the team what they need to succeed
Whether you are training them, aligning them, helping them choose more meaningful goals, or removing noise, the leader must identify and serve their team’s biggest needs to succeed.
6. Luck is where opportunity meets preparedness
Maximise your readiness, then maximise your opportunity surface area. It may be that your current environment can’t sustain your future growth.
7. Bonus: Have a long-term vision and plan for your career with specific goals
Structure will help guide you when times are tough and remind you what you are working towards. Work on it with your manager, coach, spouse or mentor.
Edited by Alex Howes and Nikki Smith from OfferZen with foreword by Nikki Smith, with my huge thanks and appreciation. Originally appeared in the OfferZen newsletter.
