Middle Managers Matter

 

Being in this heart somewhat exaggerates my already prominant widow's peak...

In my critically revered post about my trip to .Net Oxford recently, I mentioned that I'd had inspiration for another blog post. So here we go! 

I also mentioned that I value putting different stuff in my head and shaking it up. This is kind of one of those things. 

A few hours before .NET Oxford, someone in my team asked me why I thought teams, or projects failed.

Obviously, this threw me a bit... I've never been part of a failing team, because every team I've been on has had me...so they were, by definition, awesome. 

But, staggering humility aside, I cobbled together an answer around how a lot of issues are rooted in team dynamics. 

Fast forward to .NET Oxford and I was introducing myself to someone. "I'm an Engineering Manager" I said. "Oh, are you still hands-on?", they enquired, "or do you just do management and architecture now?"

As is often the case in these situations, I felt on the backfoot. "Err", I began with confidence, "no, I just do the management bit...no architecture stuff either". I always feel sheepish having to explain to people that I'm "just a middle manager" - I add no other value. 

Now, let's be honest, I was probably triggered a little. I spent Q1 of this year really doubting my chosen career path, feeling like the industry doesn't value the skills I have, thinking life would have been much easier if I'd stayed hands-on. Or become a barista. 

So, I sat and enjoyed the talks, until my mind wandered a little, and I got to thinking about the earlier question...what really has gone wrong in the projects I've been part of? Or, put another way, what have the big problems been at the companies I've worked at? 

I doodled down the answers, which I'll now expand for you. So, in no particular order...what were the single biggest problems at each of my former employers? 

Lack of accountability - we had teams building things and nobody holding them accountable for their performance. Nobody commented on whether the teams were delivering quickly or slowly and the teams consequently became complacent.

Internal politics - different people in fast-growing organisation. All trying to do things their own way. All with their own set of priorities. Sometimes in conflict. Consequently work was thrashy and it was hard to commit to longer term roadmaps. 

Growing too quickly - building out new teams without a clear enough idea what they were needed for. Focusing on bringing in engineering headcount without first investing in Product. 

Technical shitshow - old tech. Manual processes. Fear of making changes. 

Failure to establish product-market fit - building solutions that are fundamentally not suited to the target market. 

So, there we go...probably a decade of experience summarised in 5 bullets. What's notable? Only one organisation where their problems were technical. All the others were straight up management issues. And let's not kid ourselves...the technical shitshow was a result of underinvestment in paying down technical debt, failure to prioritise platform projects and lack of appropriate governance. Or, to put it another way - even the technical problem is a management problem when you get right down to it. 

Now, I know what you're thinking - this is just my perspective and will likely be coloured by my skills and outlook. I'd counter, however, that as a keen problem solver I tend to follow the problems...I was technical once, afterall...but my skills have evolved as problems have led me to certain solutions...and the solutions to the biggest problems are just not that often technical. 

So, there we go. I feel a little validated...like maybe there is a point in Engineering Management (and maybe middle management in general) afterall. 

Engineering managers help to get the right PEOPLE in to the right head space. They hold them accountable and make sure they're always pushing forward. We make sure PROCESSES facilitate rapid delivery, stakeholder engagement and sustainable quality. And we work with PRODUCT teams to ensure focus remains on the delivery of value and customer satisfaction.

Every good team should have one!