How I became a manager

Hello there! This is my first post on this blog, and while there is a bit of me in the about page, I think the best way to start is by talking on how I became a manager.

TL;DR: Luck

As with many things in life, you get handed opportunities and it is a matter of taking them or not. And so I was offered to join a super small startup (so small there were only 4 people in the office when I joined). But I didn't join to become a manager, the position was Team Lead with some perspective on being the CTO, on a superinteresting project which featured my platonic language of the moment: Clojure!

The initial job was mostly technical, get to know the product, the two vendors building the product and from there start figuring out the next steps, although it was clear there would be some hiring otherwise we would need to move from Team Lead to something else.

So there you go, my curiosity about functional languages got me into a manager position. But as many others I suffered at first, when the team is small you get to code and work on all the interesting stuff, but soon it all started to change. I was part of many meetings (not all needed, but I was requested to be there), trying to hire, meeting potential investors, doing PM, QA, emotional support, installing printers, making sure the network was working properly... you probably get the idea of wearing many hats.

But that's not how you get to be a manager, actually I was doing anything but managing people at that moment. Well it was part of it, but it was the part I was always postponing: there were always an urgent task needed!!

At this point I was feeling miserable and started looking for a job back into my comfortable development space. I remember explaining my current work situation to the CTO of another startup where I was interviewing and his comment was "Ah, you are one of those managers". That kind of hit me:

What kind of manager was I?

I reached out for help and was lucky to get a business coach. By our weekly talks he showed me a lot of things I was not doing properly and also to accept this new job. I learned to stop trying to code and left that for Friday afternoon, where I could take a rest and keep my mind free of interruptions. To prioritize, to listen, and so many other things.

So now I was a supermanager, right? Well... no! I still was doing lot of things wrong, having to navigate a complex environment and deal with much more of what I was capable of, but once I understood the basics, even if I couldn't do all that I wanted, I started to appreciate the job and its potential. And I kept at it for 3 years. Why did I leave? Well, that's a story for another post.

Takeaways

• It's good to get out of your comfort zone every now and then
• But reach out for professional help, especially if you feel like failing/not your thing
• Seek feedback