Out of date and needing updates

I regularly joke that my job is “I just do meetings” and talk to people, but that seems to be the reality. I live by my calendar where free time, focus time, and lunch time are jealously guarded. However, I recently had to face the reality that my latest work machine is…not a dev machine. The terminal is raw, repo access exists in the training docs I wrote, and python is missing which prevented me from “quickly” writing a utility script to pull info from an API for a finance report.

One of the most striking realizations in the translation to management is how much less code you write or look at. To this day I miss putting headphones on, cranking music, and focussing on the problem in front of you. It is much rarer that I jump into a code review to understand the latest development versus relying on updates from my teams. There is a distinct shift from “If you want it done well, do it yourself” to guiding your teams to execute the vision you help define and trusting that their skills exceed your own. This shift can be a challenge for those that want to deep dive into the technical apsects of the solution, but is rewarding in other ways. I have found that I enjoy coordination, system design and architecture, working with poduct owners and customers to determine what is actually needed, and mentoring engineers. However, I could definitely use more patience on occasion, especially when working with teams that move at a “glacial pace” or “it is difficult, therefore it must be impossible.”

Two pieces of advice I still keep in mind:

Assume you are the best engineer in the world (which obviously I am not), how much can you get done? Can you achieve more if someone helps you? What if you have a team of experienced engineers that understand what needs to be done? What if you are working with juniors that are eager to learn and are ready to dive in?
What is your strategy? What is your company focussed on achieving? What is your org strategy? How do you communicate it to your teams?

Leadership, collaboration, and strategy. Great words, make them work. And as always, BUILD SOMETHING THAT MATTERS!