The Manager’s Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change
by Camille Fournier
Ch 1: Management 101
- The experience of being managed is the foundation on which you build your own management philosophy.
- 1-to-1 meetings create a human connection between you and your manager, and provide a regular opportunity for speaking privately.
- Great managers notice when your normal energy level changes, and cares enough to ask you about it.
- The feedback from a manager should be somewhat public if it’s praise, and private if it’s criticism.
- Good managers know that delivering feedback quickly is more valuable than waiting for a convenient time to say something.
- Praising in public publicizes the laudable efforts, and reinforces what positive behavior looks like.
- A manager should show you the larger picture of how your work fits into the team’s goals, and help you find purpose in that.
- Managers can’t guarantee promotions, but good ones know what the system is looking for and can help you build those achievements and skills.
- To be a CTO one day, find the best managers and mentors you can, and watch them work; also build a strong network of peers.
- Developing a sense of ownership and authority for your own experiences at work is a big step in owning your career and workplace happiness.
- If you are managed, spend time thinking about what you want, and then work with your manager to get what you want.
- As you become more senior, your manager expects you to bring solutions, not problems.
- There is a difference between a strong manager and a manager that you like as a friend, or even one you respect as an engineer.