(If you wound up here first, I'd recommend starting with my Professional README for context!)
If I happen to be managing you, there are some things that you'd probably like to know about me, beyond the general ways in which I work. This document is my guess at what they are, but should only ever be considered a starting point (or a way to hold me accountable). It will never be a substitute for getting to know each other and figuring out how we'll work together.
First off, I'm not convinced that having "managers" is right for every company (especially at very early stages), but as you grow, good ones can help you scale. If we DO exist, however, I am of the opinion that good management is an ethical responsibility. If you try to quantify the suffering that bad management causes in the world, I think it's up there as one of the major sources.
As a team lead of any variety, I see it as my responsibility to:
- Get to know team members well, and talk openly and often about how things are going
- Help the team collaborate effectively, and, where appropriate, reach consensus
- Hold the team accountable to the decisions and standards we've come up with together
- Continually re-evaluate the way we do things
If I'm in a formal "manager" role, with employees reporting directly to me, I think it's important to also:
- Provide the support my reports need to grow and to do their best possible work
- Set expectations for outcomes, not micromanage tasks
- Oversee the selection process for new team members
- Buffer the team from stresses imposed by the environment (although not block visibility into those stresses)
- Bear accountability for our plans and performance within the company (and sometimes beyond)
In any professional relationship (including a management relationship), I think we should:
- Put effort towards empathizing with each other. We may disagree or get frustrated, but we should always seek to know each other's reasoning.
- Have open, frequent communication. Be capable of alternating between being a student, peer, and teacher regardless of titles.
- Offer feedback at all times, but make it actionable. Feedback loops are how we improve and grow, but we shouldn't spend time dwelling on the past or casting blame. Feedback is only useful if it is forward-looking.
In exchange for the support and heat shielding that I intend to provide to you, I'd ask the following:
- Take the initiative in problem solving. Seek solutions of your own rather than waiting to implement a solution given to you.
- Build small feedback cycles into your work. Run experiments as often as possible and allow the results to change your plans.
- Seek the greatest areas of risk in your tasks and address them first. We can gravitate to working on sub-problems we already know how to do, but that can cause us to spend time on a macro task that ends up being insurmountable.
- Don't ever assume that the way we do something is sacred. If you see a better way to do ANYTHING, we should talk about it.
- Give the team's decisions a chance. You may disagree with the way we decide to go, and sometimes you'll have to ride it out for a while. It's not forever, though. When a decision doesn't go your way, let's schedule a time to revisit once we've accumulated some results.
While I'm bound to make some mistakes, I know that I should never do the following:
- Act like I can do your job better than you
- Take the credit for your work
- Ignore your opinions
- Give you embarrassing feedback in front of others
I expect you to call me out if I do anything terrible like this!