Managing a software engineering team is obviously different than an IC, but both have the same potential for feelings of endorphin rushes and mindless/meaningless work. Manager roles may more often have less defined goals than IC, but in either role I’ve always made up my own goals anyways. I think at the core the difference we are talking about is those that function best with little oversight/direction vs those that function best with a predetermined set of steps.
As an IC I was told “go make a thing that does this”, and as a manager I was told “lead a team that makes a thing that does this”, and that’s about it. I thrive in this environment.
I got the same endorphin rush as an IC when I demoed my MVP as I did as a manager when I pushed to get a high performer on my team a raise[0].
As a manager you make your own goals more often than not, but if you do it right it’s similar to how the blog post talks about beating a PR in swimming. My manager PRs are focused on 1) people’s growth, 2) team building, 3) performance improvements, 4) people’s fulfillment in work[1].
Outside of that I also have the metrics I send up the chain, which sometimes hit over longer periods as mentioned, but those aren’t where I get my enjoyment from work.
I think good manager should be focusing a good amount of their time on growing every individual in their team, as well as the overall team with it. Maybe the problem is that this isn’t ever actual taught to new managers in any impactful way. Maybe the problem is that management takes a completely different skill set, but both can be equally as enjoyable.
[0] the best part was after I told her and as she was walking back to her desk she said “I can’t wait to tell my husband I make more than him now”.
[1] as a manager, team member fulfillment sometimes means hyping up something that wasn’t actually that important, or having them brief things to leadership they wouldn’t normally because it would mean something to them, or giving everyone a chance to succeed, etc.. knowing what makes someone happy and making a point to reward them for hard work is the point.
As an IC I was told “go make a thing that does this”, and as a manager I was told “lead a team that makes a thing that does this”, and that’s about it. I thrive in this environment.
I got the same endorphin rush as an IC when I demoed my MVP as I did as a manager when I pushed to get a high performer on my team a raise[0].
As a manager you make your own goals more often than not, but if you do it right it’s similar to how the blog post talks about beating a PR in swimming. My manager PRs are focused on 1) people’s growth, 2) team building, 3) performance improvements, 4) people’s fulfillment in work[1].
Outside of that I also have the metrics I send up the chain, which sometimes hit over longer periods as mentioned, but those aren’t where I get my enjoyment from work.
I think good manager should be focusing a good amount of their time on growing every individual in their team, as well as the overall team with it. Maybe the problem is that this isn’t ever actual taught to new managers in any impactful way. Maybe the problem is that management takes a completely different skill set, but both can be equally as enjoyable.
[0] the best part was after I told her and as she was walking back to her desk she said “I can’t wait to tell my husband I make more than him now”.
[1] as a manager, team member fulfillment sometimes means hyping up something that wasn’t actually that important, or having them brief things to leadership they wouldn’t normally because it would mean something to them, or giving everyone a chance to succeed, etc.. knowing what makes someone happy and making a point to reward them for hard work is the point.