Managers are responsible for results and retention1. There is a tendency to focus on the former, this is often how they are judged in the short run. However, the former is not sustainably possible without the latter. They accomplish both by growing and coordinating their team. The best managers are those known for their powers of persuasion, negotiation, good-will, and large reservoirs of trust2.
What do they do?
Managers hold people accountable that “everything that needs to get done, does get done” 3.
Ongoing
Growing their team
To grow the team, the manager must engage in effective technical recruiting. A reasonable alternative to hiring experienced developers is growing junior developers within your teams4.
Developing their team
Leveling up their teams skill sets and responsibility is a high-leverage activity for managers. Creating and maintaining and engineering career ladder allows the team to have clear pathways for progression. Managers help with the progression through feedback, mentorship, and coaching.
Organizing their team
Team composition, internal coordination, and cross-team coordination are the major ways they lead their team. Managers are the conduit of information between teams and throughout an organization and therefore inter-team communication is a fundamental part of their role. Charity Majors puts it as3
I sometimes imagine managers as the nervous system of the company body, carrying around messages from one limb to another to coordinate actions.
Responsible for the SDLC
Managing the business
One-on-Ones
Time Specific
Yearly roadmap planning
Annual Planning Management By Objectives (MBO)
- Quarterly checkins
Performance Reviews
Management Skills
Time Management
- Defending your calendar: block out time for “real” work so that you are not perpetually in meetings5.
- Calendar Tips
Asking for things
Managing people besides your direct reports
Contractors
Resource for Learning Management
Books
High Output Management Armonstrong’s Handbook for Human Resource Management Practice