Welcome to the first article in the Now I’m a Manager series! 🎉 This series is designed to provide you with practical advice for your first steps as a manager, helping you create space for strategic work instead of constantly firefighting.
Why write this series? Because I’ve been there. I remember the overwhelming feeling of transitioning from an individual contributor to a manager. You’re expected to deliver results, support your team, and communicate effectively, all while figuring out your new role. Books and resources are often too broad or too detailed to help in those early days. What worked for me? Seeking guidance from mentors and focusing on what truly matters.
Why start with unblocking yourself? Think about the safety instructions on an airplane: you always put your own oxygen mask on first before helping others. If you’re drowning in tasks and unclear expectations, you can’t support your team effectively. Let’s explore how to clear your plate so you can focus on making a real impact.
1. Set up expectations with your manager
The first and most important step is understanding what success looks like in your role. If your manager hasn’t clearly communicated their expectations, make it a priority to have that conversation.
For instance:
- If they emphasize metrics, they might be data driven. Ask which metrics are important and why we track them. Ask why metrics are more important than other things you consider important.
- If they expect you to handle everything—quality, delivery, reporting, and more—don’t hesitate to ask for help prioritizing. Be clear about what’s feasible and what’s too much. It’s often your responsibility to explain and demonstrate why something is not feasible.
- If they value team growth, invest time in one-on-one conversations to understand your team members’ aspirations. This could be a separate article, but in short, understanding what really motivates teammates can help you distribute workload in a way that’s win-win for everyone.
Also, try to understand the why behind these expectations. By doing so, you gain insight into your company’s culture and your manager’s mindset. You can ask:
- “Why is this specific metric important for you?”
- “Why do you think we should focus on growing the team at the moment? How does it contribute to company strategy?”
- And many more.
Setting expectations early not only clarifies your goals but also opens the door for ongoing dialogue with your manager, an essential relationship as you navigate your new role.
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2. Focus first on what matters the most
With your manager’s expectations in mind, it’s time to prioritize. Here’s where the rocks, gravel, and sand analogy comes in handy:
Imagine a jar. Fill it with the big rocks (your most important tasks) first, then gravel (medium-priority tasks), and finally sand (minor, operational tasks). If you start with sand, there’s no room for the rocks.
Examples:
- Building a new team? Focus on hiring the right people.
- Inherited a struggling team? Spend time identifying and solving the root cause of the issues.
- Strong engineering team but weak stakeholder relationships? Fix those relationships and explain to your team why they’re critical.
For prioritization, I recommend starting with the Eisenhower Matrix: a simple tool that divides tasks into four quadrants by urgency and importance. Write your tasks on pieces of paper and place them in the respective quadrant. It’s a low-effort approach that delivers great results. But if you’re not a paper person, explore digital tools until you find what works for you.
3. Delegate
I’ll admit it: I was shy about delegation at first. I felt like it was “cheating” or avoiding my responsibilities. Classic impostor syndrome! But over time, I realized that delegation is a key skill for great managers. It allows you to think strategically and brings greater value to the team.
Why delegate?
- Frees up your time: Focus on high-impact activities.
- Helps your team grow: Delegation can be a learning opportunity for others.
- Overall quality can increase: Often you find that people can do tasks in a better way than you, which may increase overall quality and inspire you.
What to delegate?
- Easily explainable tasks: These are quick wins for someone else to take on.
- Repetitive or routine tasks: Free up your time for strategic work.
- Tasks that others can learn from: Provide growth opportunities for your team members.
- Tasks where someone has better skills or context than you: Recognize and leverage their strengths.
Examples:
- Meeting facilitation: Let aspiring managers in your team handle stand-ups or retrospectives. It’s great practice for them and allows you to focus on bringing a broader perspective.
- Technical tasks: Over time, your technical depth may fade, and these tasks are better handled by engineers who can use them as learning opportunities.
- Onboarding new team members: At Mews, we use a buddy system where a team member is assigned to guide new hires. This approach deepens relationships and enhances knowledge sharing.
How to delegate effectively?
- Provide enough context and explain the why behind the task. When people understand the purpose, they often deliver even better results.
- Define clear success criteria and agree on deadlines. As a developer, I once assumed I had months to complete a task, only to find out my manager expected it to be done in weeks. Avoid such misalignments by being explicit.
- Offer support and guidance along the way, especially for larger tasks. Follow up with mutual feedback to ensure the outcome meets expectations.
Summary
As a new manager, unblocking yourself is essential for shifting from survival mode to a more strategic mindset. Align with your manager to set clear expectations, focus on what truly matters, and embrace delegation as a tool for growth—for both you and your team.
This is just the beginning. In the next article, we’ll explore how to unblock your team, empowering them to operate more efficiently and independently. Stay tuned and remember: the best managers don’t do everything—they create the space for great things to happen. 💡
To read more about career progression from individual contributor to engineering manager, check out a previous blog post. If you want to learn more about Gaining a sense of accomplishment as a manager, you can check out this article from Josef Starýchfojtů (CPTO at Mews).
