Pat Kua Profile picture
Mar 7 31 tweets 12 min read
I'm doing some research on supporting Manager of Managers, hence forwards on #MoM Currently split into two different themes - 1) Similar, but moar (sic)! and 2) Very different
Let's talk about #MoM theme 1. Firstly, context switching. If you move from IC -> EM, you inevitably have more meetings. As you move from EM -> #MoM, this amplifies. You're now having meetings across different teams (often working on different topics), but to mention inter-dept
If you don't like context switching, you're going to hate being a #MoM
Another topic for #MoM theme 1 is dealing with emergencies. In a perfect world, you would have perfect EMs running perfect teams, everything running smoothly... but we don't live in a perfect world
One reason #MoMs ask for estimates is to get a sense of how wildly out different expectations across a business is going to be. It might not be a problem if a team overruns, but if all teams overrun their time/budget estimates a lot, that's going to make for tough conversations
If you have ten teams, each with a 10% likelihood overrun, then statistically, you'll have a 65% chance that one of them will... which means you will have to deal with an emergency.
#Hypergrowth companies typically mean less experienced #EMs leading teams. Growth opportunity, yay! Mistakes, ouch! All leading to more emergencies, surprises and, yes, you're right, context switching
As an #EM you have to deal with the emergencies that affect your team. As a #MoM, you are accountable for all emergencies in all of your teams 😱
I always hear the question, "How technical does an #EM need to be?" As a #MoM, it's unlikely you're going to be making deep technical choices, though you still need to ask good questions and understand what your team is working on.
Given that #MoMs must be able to work through others, relationship-building and communication skills are the tools you'll be using more and more. These are all about influence
Sidenote, if you want to improve your #Communication skills, check out "Communicate Like a CTO" techlead.academy/p/communication If you want to build influencing skills, join me @TheLeadDev #NewYork for a workshop
Back to #MoM theme 1... feedback loops. As an IC, most feedback loops are minutes to days. As an #EM, this maybe moves up from hours to a couple of weeks. As a #MoM, you better have some patience as your feedback loops are suuuuper long.
Remember you need to work through other people like your directs. You might be talking about a change. You have to discuss this with your #EMs (takes time). They will then need time to talk with their team (even more time). Gathering input in a personal way is going to take time
Of course, you can also do large scale announcements like via email or slack, but you'll still need to test how they land (feedback!) which will take time to get back to you (if at all)
Last topic for #MoM theme 1 I want to cover is your support. As an #EM, particularly a new one, your #MoM should be training, coaching and guiding you with feedback. When you hit #MoM, you should have mastered management fundamentals, which means... you're typically on your own
Your manager will trust you know when to flag for help, or know how to navigate your org to already get it. As a #MoM expect little to no support 😔
Let's move on to #MoM theme 2, the things that are very different. I won't cover all of them, but here are a few...
First difference: Managing Managers is different from Managing ICs because you share a lot of the same skill and responsibility
That can be super scary for some #MoMs because some of your reports will actually be better than you at some management aspects 😱
Just like being a great Manager doesn't mean you're necessarily the best IC, being a #MoM doesn't automatically you've got the best management skills in all areas.
Everyone has their Strengths (cue one of my fav books: gallup.com/cliftonstrengt…) but also means you have gaps.
This also means that others will lead/manage differently and you *will* have to adapt your leadership style
From a personal note, it's a great chance to also learn from your team
#MoM difference #2 is that sometimes you may have "risen" through as the most expert person. As a #MoM it's unlikely you're going to be the expert.
You might be leading teams from different disciplines (which you don't have the background), or simply don't have enough detailed context to contribute to a specific solution.
Dealing with this means swallowing your pride and stay curious. Think about using probes to do deep dives in areas you're uncomfortable with to be able to evaluate risk, build rapport with ICs and understand their world better.
Asking good questions becomes an essential skill
The final #MoM difference I want to cover is the difference between working "in the system" versus working "on the system" As a #MoM, you'll typically have more decision making power around team structures, roles, processes that teams need to work within.
#EMs are often more about executing well within a system, but as a #MoM you have to sense if your system is encouraging the right/wrong behaviours and if it's addressing everything that is important
Listening to feedback from #EMs is key, but so is looking for the work or responsibilities that "fall between teams"
That's my set of ramblings for #MoMs today. If you're a #MoM (Senior EM, Director, VP, etc) let me know your thoughts. What is 1) Similar, but moar! or 2) Very different?

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Feb 2, 2021
I've heard the phrase, "We don't need a tech lead", from a number of engineers in my career. My response to this 👇
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A question I hear a lot from engineering manager is, "How should I measure my software teams?" My initial answer, "I think you're asking the wrong question." Why? 👇
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I had an interesting question for the talk I did today for @agilesgorg about my view on developer productivity like BlueOptima. I hadn't heard of it before but doing some reading now and 😱. Here's a quick thread with some initial thoughts
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Leaders and managers need to think really, really, really hard about the metrics they use and the obtuse ways that people will game them. Also... engineers have an astounding talent for gaming the system, so beware... but back to the tool
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