Stepping Up: Transitioning from Technical Roles to Management in IT
Chosen theme: Transitioning from Technical Roles to Management in IT. Welcome to a practical, human guide for engineers becoming leaders. If you are trading late-night debugging for one-on-ones, strategy, and team outcomes, you are in the right place. Subscribe to follow along, ask questions, and shape topics that help your management journey.
Communication That Builds Trust
Treat one-on-ones like the heartbeat of your leadership. Ask future-focused questions, review commitments, and surface roadblocks early. Keep notes, follow up, and close loops. How do you structure your one-on-ones today? Share your favorite questions so others can try them.
Communication That Builds Trust
Replace status noise with narrative clarity: purpose, progress, risks, and next steps. Use crisp language, emphasize outcomes, and link decisions to goals. If you want a lightweight template for weekly updates, subscribe and reply with your context; we will tailor examples for you.
The Delegation Ladder
Move work through stages: model, assign, coach, review, and finally trust with light touch. Share context, constraints, and success criteria up front to avoid rework later. What task are you delegating this week, and which step of the ladder fits best?
Saying No Without Burning Bridges
Great managers shield focus by declining or deferring with transparency. Offer alternatives, show trade-offs, and align on priorities. A respectful no today prevents chaos tomorrow. Comment with a request you are wrestling with, and we will craft a principled response together.
Protecting Focus in a Manager’s Schedule
Your calendar can either serve your team or swallow it. Batch meetings, timebox thinking, and reserve maker blocks for deep review. Share how you defend focus hours, and subscribe to get a weekly prompt that reinforces sustainable time habits.
People Leadership: Hiring, Feedback, and Growth
Look beyond tools to learning speed, collaboration, and ownership signals. Use structured interviews, work samples, and consistent rubrics. Ask candidates what they taught others recently. What question reveals true growth mindset for you? Share it to inspire better interviews.
People Leadership: Hiring, Feedback, and Growth
Timely, specific feedback changes futures. Anchor on observable behavior, explain impact, and co-create next steps. Praise in detail and coach with care. Practice aloud before tough conversations, and tell us which phrasing feels natural so we can refine it together.
Delivery Without Drama: Process That Serves People
Planning for Outcomes, Not Just Output
Anchor roadmaps to user and business outcomes. Break work into thin slices that deliver value and feedback early. Retrospectives should change something real. Comment with your planning horizon, and we will share a cadence that balances learning with delivery.
Making Peace With Imposter Feelings
Most new managers quietly worry they are not ready. Name it, normalize it, and build a support system. A mentor once told me, “Courage arrives one decision after the fear.” Share what fear you are naming this month, and we will cheer you on.
Burnout Prevention as a Leadership Skill
Set visible boundaries, take vacations, and avoid being the bottleneck hero. Delegate, rotate on-call, and normalize recovery after sprints. What boundary will you try this week? Declare it in the comments so others can hold you kindly accountable.
Mentors, Coaches, and Peer Circles
You do not need to figure everything out alone. Build a small circle that offers feedback, perspective, and encouragement. If you want a starter peer group, subscribe and reply with your time zone; we will help match you with fellow first-time managers.
Stakeholders, Strategy, and Managing Up
Invite engineering early into problem framing, surface technical opportunities, and co-create realistic bets. Disagree honestly, commit fully, and review outcomes together. Share a tough prioritization call you faced, and we will map an approach for your next planning cycle.
Stakeholders, Strategy, and Managing Up
Your manager wants no surprises and clear narratives. Offer options with trade-offs, ask for guidance when truly needed, and own the path forward. What update format works best in your org? Post it, and compare notes with other readers to refine your approach.