PASS Summit: Journey to Management with Chris Yates

Along with presenting the keynote at SQL Saturday Oregon this weekend, I will be taking the SQL Train up to PASS Summit for the next week’s conference.  I will be on the WIT panel, as well as presenting with Chris Yates in a Professional Power Hour: Journey to Management on how to transition from a technical role to management.  As much as I enjoy the technical aspect of my career, it was a careful navigation for me to ensure that my neurodiverse self was fulfilled as I moved up the ladder to my current Director position at Silk.

If you’re going to be attending Summit, consider coming to spend the hour with us and here’s some tips on transitioning from technical to leadership in your career in an effective way:

1. Develop People Skills: Management is largely about people, so it’s critical to develop soft skills such as communication, empathy, and leadership. Learning how to motivate, support, and guide a team is essential.

2. Understand the Business: As a manager, you’ll need to understand the business aspects of your company. This means grasping the bigger picture of how your team’s work fits into the overall goals of the organization.

3. Learn to Delegate: You can’t do all the technical work yourself. Learn to trust your team and delegate tasks effectively, ensuring you’re overseeing progress without micromanaging.

4. Build Your Network: Create relationships within and outside of your company. Networking can provide support, advice, and opportunities for both you and your team.

5. Seek Mentorship and Become a Mentor to Others: Look for a mentor who has successfully made the transition to management. They can provide invaluable insights and guidance.  Also identify those you can mentor who you can sponsor and support as they make their own way in the professional world.

6. Enhance Your Strategic Thinking: Shift your mindset from thinking about the technical details to thinking about strategy. Consider how decisions affect the team and company in the long term.  Ensure you never leave behind your knowledge of the technical arena, especially if this is an area you can provide significant value.

7. Take Leadership Training: Consider formal training or courses in leadership and management. Many of the skills required for effective management can be learned and honed over time.  There’s a very different mindset on how we see challenges and face difficulties in the technical world and its extremely important to acquire the skills that will make you successful in this new role.

8. Be Patient with Yourself: Transitioning to management is a learning process, and it will take time to adjust to your new role. Be patient with yourself and open to continuous learning.  Also be kind to yourself when you make a mistake-  accept that the mistake happened, learn from it and evolve to be better.

9. Stay Technically Engaged: While you don’t need to be involved in the day-to-day technical work, I make sure to have some kind of technical projects to keep the techie part of my mind engaged and satisfied.  Also, make sure to stay informed about technological advancements, which are often necessary and can help you make better decisions and maintain the respect of your team.

10. Balance Technical and Managerial Responsibilities: Find a way to balance your new managerial duties with technical oversight. You want to ensure that the technical quality doesn’t drop while also fulfilling your management role effectively.

11.  Set an Example:  Try to always do your best and have great work ethic, but don’t work so many hours that no one can live up to your expectation or assume you are only there to live to work.  Productivity and drive do not always equal working so many hours that you don’t have a life.

Remember that moving into management is not just a promotion but a career change. It’s about developing a whole new set of skills and taking on a different type of responsibility. It’s also important to regularly seek feedback from your team and peers to continually improve in your role and to not get too stuck inside your own head!