Should I switch from an IC to a Manager?

You are a Senior Software Engineer or a Tech Lead on the path to an architect. You have around 8-12 years of experience and this is the most common question that comes to your mind at that point in life.

Should I continue as an Individual Contributor (IC) or switch to become a manager?

This is very natural and something I myself debated with a few years ago.

The answer: Well, that is not so easy to conclude. It depends on each individual, their mindset, people skills, communication skills and more. What works or worked for me may not work for you. But, I will attempt to answer this question giving my example and generalising it with common attributes that may help you as well.

I had ~12 years experience and was working as a tech lead for the team on the path to become an architect. In that time, my then manager left the company and we were suddenly without a manager. I had to step up and lead the team technically and dabble in people management lightly. Our senior leadership decided that since this was going so well they will not recruit a new manager but let me manage with the support of another experienced manager. I did my job, kept the team motivated and executed on the deliverables well. After this, my itch for switching to manager started and has sustained. Finally, I did make the switch to manager few years back and have not looked back.

In general, I would say the skills or the temperament required to switch to a people manager role are -

1. Can you step back and let your team do the complex technical work needed?

2. Do you get satisfaction and fulfilment from coaching and helping your team members reach their career milestones?

3. Are you capable of delegating tasks to others and be respectful at the same time?

4. Can you defend and celebrate your team when needed?

5. Can you make your success to be your team success?

If you said yes to all of the above, then you have the right mindset to think of a switch. You may or may not be ready today but you are certainly on the path for sure! Think about it more, talk to your trusted peers to see how they perceive you, check in your company if you get any support to switch to a manager role or see if you can get a mentor or a coach to help you in that journey.

#career #careerpath #PradeepKaushik #coach #manager

If you need to talk on this or gain insights from my experience, please feel free to connect with me at https://pradeepkaushik.com/connect for a discussion.