8 mistakes we do as first time engineering manager (Part 2)

Part 2

In the Part 1, we covered below mistakes that engineering manager do

1. Do not delegate

2. Spend more time on details rather than focusing on broader aspect

3. Strong opinions (compare to listening to other options)

In this part, we will cover remaining 5 mistakes.

4. Micro managing (rather than giving freedom with constraint)

Micro management is default behavior for most of first time manager. In that you, as manager, tries to control all or majority aspects of your team’s work. This includes tasks, techniques, team-member(s) they work with, and how your team member is utilizing their time.

In reality, no one likes being micromanaged. Your team will feel they are not trusted and it will bring team morale down. Also, as manager if you are micromanaging, you will be able to spend less time on strategy, vision and planning

Few tips to practice, if you are micromanaging.

1. Set objectives, expectation and goal. Tell your team member / individual, what result you are looking for and set constraint.

   1. Do not tell how to achieve or what path to take.

   2. Check on regular basis on progress without getting into details.

2. Help team member by advising them and in case if they are stuck help them to make decision by asking right questions.

I know both of above tips are abstract, we will cover those in details in future article.