The transition from programmer to Team Lead or Software Manager can be a difficult one. One week, you're in your cubicle cranking out masterful code... and the next, you're managing a whole team that has to navigate innovative solutions, coordinate input from different departments, then anticipate and eliminate potential showstoppers.

1. Lead%from%the%Podium:%6%Essen4al%
Concepts%New%Technical%Managers%
Miss

2. The$transi+on$from$programmer$to$Team$Lead$
or$So4ware$Manager$can$be$a$difficult$one.

3. One$week,$you're$in$your$cubicle$cranking$out$
masterful$code...
and$the$next,$you're$managing$a$whole$team$that$has$to$navigate$
innova6ve$solu6ons,$coordinate$input$from$different$departments,$
then$an6cipate$and$eliminate$poten6al$showstoppers.

4. Stepping(away(from(your(iden2ty(as(a(superior(
coder(into(a(role(in(management(requires(a(
whole(new(perspec2ve(on(your(work.

5. Grasp&the&difference&now,&and&
you'll&save&yourself&months&of&
frustra9on,&fric9on,&and&fumbling.

6. Here's&the&biggest&
realiza/on&that&
most&new&
managers&miss:&
you're'not'a'
produc.on'unit'
anymore.

7. Star%ng(now,(you're(a(leader.(An(
encourager.(A(troubleshooter.(A(BS9
caller.(Most(of(all,(you're(
communica%on(hub.

8. Your%daily%focus%is%no%longer%
the%perfec4on%and%elegance%of%
your%code,%it's%the%crea4on%of%
something%much%larger%using%
the%coordinated%work%of%many%
other%people.

9. In#other#words,#it's#all#about#
communica5on#and#responsibility.

10. Think&of&it&this&way.&When&you&
a2end&a&night&at&the&
symphony,&you&don't&go&to&see&
the&conductor&wave&her&arms&
around&in&an&expressive&and&
inspiring&way.&You&expect&to&
look&past&her&the&en?re&night,&
seeing&only&the&orchestra&as&
she&keeps&the&whole&group&
together,&keeping&?me&and&
leading&the&musicians&through&
each&crucial&part&of&the&piece.

11. She's&not&making&the&music,&but&she&
makes&the&en3re&performance&
possible.

12. If#the#tuba#player#screws#up11even#in#
rehearsal11the#last#thing#she's#going#to#do#is#
march#over,#wrestle#the#tuba#away#from#him#
and#play#the#part#herself.#That's#just#a#formula#
for#disaster.#

13. Because'the'moment'she'forgets'her'role'and'
steps'off'the'podium'to'wade'into'the'
orchestra,'the'en7re'show'starts'to'run'off'the'
rails.

14. It's%not%the%conductor's%job%to%
play%every%instrument%be7er%
than%the%musicians.%They%don't%
need%her%to%stand%over%their%
shoulder%every%moment%in%the%
prac:ce%room.%And%they%don't%
need%a%lecture%insis:ng%that%
there's%only%one%right%way%to%
play%the%piece.

15. Everyone,)from)the)
concertmaster)to)the)triangle)
player,)completely)understands)
that)they)need)her)leadership)
at#the#podium)to)keep)the)
en8re)ensemble)together.)They)
are)relying)on)her)to)know)the)
en8re)piece)inside)and)out)and)
have)a)good)connec8on)with)
each)musician.)This)allows)her)
to)call)out)the)best)in)them)
during)the)performance.

16. It#is#just#as#impera-ve#
that#new#technical#
managers#stay#at#their#
podium.#Most#fancy#
leadership#books#are#
full#of#inspira-onal#
phrases,#but#they#pass#
over#this#essen-al#fact.

17. You$and$everyone$else$on$your$team$needs$to$
be$secure$in$the$knowledge$that$the$while$
programmers$are$responsible$for$their$cra9$
and$their$individual$output,$you$are$in$
command$of$the$en;re$process.

18. Even%if%your%company%hasn't%specifically%
communicated%this%to%you,%they're%very%clear%
on%your%responsibili9es%for%them.%I'm%here%to%
help%you%understand%those%priori9es<<and%own%
them.

19. Here$are$a$few$essen*al$lead-from-the-
podium$concepts$that$every$new$tech$
manager$should$learn$and$develop.

20. 6"Leadership"Concepts"Most"New"Technical"
Managers"Miss

21. 1.#Keep$your$eye$on$the$en,re$project.
Yes,%coding%is%your%specialty,%but%unless%you%keep%track%of%how%
every%programmer's%output%is%coming%together%into%the%product,%
you'll%miss%an%issue%that%can%derail%yourself,%your%team,%other%
departments%and%the%delivery%date.

22. 2.#Know%the%demands%of%the%project%and%the%
players'%capabili7es.
This%means%reading%between%the%lines%of%team%comments%like,%"This%
is%easy,"%or%"This%can't%be%done."%A%solid%manager%knows%what%
elements%of%the%project%are%triggering%these%statements.%

23. He#can#also#an*cipate#hidden#
complexity#in#a#seemingly#
simple#project#or#determine#
how#he's#going#to#have#to#
direct#the#team#around#hidden#
landmines.
another(op*on:(h,p://
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
commons/3/33/
MediaWikidatabaseschema1(19%28r1027
98%29.svg

24. 3.#Call$BS$on$idealism$and$shortsightedness.
Occasionally,+a+conductor+has+to+be+brave+enough+to+hurt+the+tuba+
player's+feelings+in+order+to+have+the+en8re+performance+come+off+
well.+Likewise,+managers+have+to+step+in+with+a+dose+of+reality+when+
programmers+insist+that+a+project+will+"only+take+an+hour",+and+you+
have+that+gut+feeling+that+even+an+allAnight+session+won't+get+it+
done.+

25. Remember&that&programmers&are&overly&
op1mis1c&about&their&abili1es,&so&build&a&
realis1c&cushion&into&the&1meline&for&them99
and&yourself.

26. 4.#Don't&take&the&tuba&away&from&the&tuba&
player.
Just%don't.%I%know,%you're%an%expert%at%the%work%that%you're%now%
managing.%That%makes%it%almost%impossible%to%avoid%the%tempta=on%
to%jump%in%and%do%it%yourself.%But%let%me%tell%you,%this%is%the%most%
=meAsucking,%teamAkilling%mistake%that%most%new%tech%managers%
make.%

27. It's%so%destruc,ve%and%prevalent%that%I'm%
dedica,ng%an%en,re%lesson%to%it%soon.%But%for%
now,%just%trust%me.%S,ck%to%your%job%and%let%
the%programmers%s,ck%to%theirs.

28. 5.#Realize'that'communica/on00not'
produc/on00is'your'priority.
A"manager's"value"is"cra0ing"rela1onships"on"his"team"that"allow"
him"to"mo1vate,"direct,"persuade,"and"correct"the"people"on"his"
team."This"is"the"most"important"aspect"of"management"and"the"
core"of"your"job."But"a0er"being"in"produc1on"mode"for"years,"this"
kind"of""work""can"feel"like"you're"not""doing""anything."

29. When%you're%feeling%this%way,%start%tracking%
the%number%of%conversa9ons%you%have%with%
your%team%members,%and%then%see%how%your%
sense%of%your%own%produc9on%improves.%
Communica)on*UPWARDS*and*
OUTWARDS*is*just*as*important*as*
INWARDS.

30. 6.#Take%the%blame%when%failure%hits.
While&it's&natural&to&want&to&shi0&responsibility&to&someone&else&
when&the&deadline&was&missed&or&a&key&func9on&of&the&so0ware&
bombed,&but&pulling&the&blame&card&just&looks&immature.&Face&the&
pain,&learn&the&lessons&and&move&on.&&Learn&to&say&"My&Team&
Screwed&up"&publicly,&and&then&hold&people&accountable&privately.

31. Making'the'shi,'from'a'respected'programmer'
to'an'effec5ve'manager'is'a'tough'one,'and'
not'all'of'the'best'prac5ces'are'obvious.

32. The$most$essen*al$realiza*on$you$need$to$
make44one$that$you'll$have$to$reinforce$
repeatedly$in$your$first$months$in$leadership44
is$that$you're$no$longer$a$maker.

33. You're'a'conductor.'

34. Become&a&Be(er&Technical&Manager
I"get"paid"to"coach"newly"minted"technical"managers."My"clients"
quickly"feel"drama:cally"more"confident"and"capable"and"start"
seeing"be=er"performance"from"themselves"and"their"team"within"
weeks.
I"am"taking"the"same"insigh-ul,"ac2onable"lessons"I"teach"in"my"
coaching"and"pu8ng"them"out"as"a"free"newsle<er."
Sign%up%to%become%a%be/er%manager%here%>>