Why the name

As you might know, one of the hardest tasks to do in life is naming stuff. I still remember the long discussions to get the name of my daughter, that project that I wanted to get a catchy name, or trying to fight the urge to call a variable temp (although a university mate used to name all dwarf-x being X an incremental number). And then I had to name this blog...

And yes, it was difficult, many good candidate names were discarded, but eventually I got rewarded with "If the team fits", the .me didn't happen until I tried to get the domain for it, and it was the perfect complement to it (thanks internet domain gods).

I realized it made total sense to end it with the .me as this is a blog about my experience and my way of seeing the path I've chosen. I'm definitely going to be biased and wrong about many things, but that's ok and you are free to correct me when you feel otherwise, that'll be a useful and interesting discussion.

If you are not used to English expressions, there are two "If the shoe fits"/"If the cap fits" (it depends on where in the world you grew up. If you, like me, grew up in Spain you are probably more used to "Si el río suena agua lleva" which roughly translates "if you hear the river, it does have water"). But in the end, these expressions mean that something is true even if you don't like it, and the reality is there to prove it to you. And I realized that's basically what the team is: your reality. Your team and what they do will show you and any others what your managing skills did (the big wins and the failures).

Because if there is one thing that a new manager needs to learn (there are many, but this one is really really important) is that your output is not yours anymore, it's your team's output.

And this is a difficult but essential lesson for any new manager, if you keep having your hands in the dirt you are not doing your job, but doing the job of one of your team member's job.

Coming to terms with it is a hard process:

You feel that you are not in control. A common misconception is that by becoming a manager you have direct control over many things, but it is really the opposite. You gain a bit of control over the big picture, at the cost of losing the one that you had on the details.

You don't have a direct and quantifiable effect. It takes time to sink this one. But once you do, you see the beauty of it.

You have to enable your team to reach the goal. And not, it is not about manipulating people into doing what you want, but rather empowering them to produce the best work they can do and make sure they are coordinated to row in sync and in the same direction.

And I'm definitely rowing toward the goals set for this name and blog idea, and I hope that you like the show.

Takeaways

• Naming is hard, take your time.
• Being a manager is about figuring out the great picture (or a middle-sized one) and translating that to your team
• You have to learn to not work directly but to help the team do it (there are a few exceptions, but it holds true for 99% of the situation)