Career paths are narrow, and the "pyramid" structure nicely depicts the path each person will take in the workplace. In today's workplace where positions are closely linked to salary and compensation, Yunyun's technical experts will one day face this gorgeous and painful transformation. Talents who can effectively integrate technology and management are real talents, and they are the elites in the workplace fiercely competing for excellent companies. This article summarizes my years of work experience and experience.
The big picture
When a good sniper becomes a general, the first problem to overcome is that he is too good at shooting and always wants to go into battle himself. Excellent technical ability has made us today, but in management positions, we can no longer blindly indulge in the continuous pursuit of technology. It is necessary to more clearly recognize that our tasks are no longer purely technical work, and the function of team management has elevated us to a more important position. Therefore, considering the success or failure of the entire collective from the perspective of the team as a whole is the basic requirement that managers should have. one of the qualities.
Of course, as IT practitioners, technical work will accompany us throughout our careers, we can still be a technical expert with a solid technical background, which helps to better communicate with the team members and better understand the team encounters difficulties and achievements. The excellent management ability can make the team unite, make unremitting efforts for the common goal, and achieve the final victory. Therefore, while having an overall view, technical capabilities and management capabilities complement each other and are indispensable.
The art of fusion
IT organizations tend to be complex and usually consist of technical experts in various fields, developers, third-party consultants, vendor implementers, etc. As a manager, you must understand the art of fusion—not only can control and coordinate resources of all parties, avoid resource waste, but also effectively organize everyone to move forward together, and provide an environment where everyone can fully play their respective roles.
Communication and Speech
Communication and presentations are probably the most sore spots for most technically educated managers. However, it is difficult to be a good manager without good communication and presentation skills. We are no longer engineers who spend a day coding with headphones in a small office partition, nor are we the system administrators responsible for maintaining equipment in the computer room. Management positions need to communicate with people, understand work progress, encourage team members, explain company management requirements, etc., all of which do not require good communication skills. At the same time, reporting to superiors, presenting work results, and interacting with customers or suppliers invariably requires excellent presentation skills.
In fact, to improve communication and presentation skills, you have to focus on two aspects: improving the ability to understand others and increasing the possibility of others to understand and identify with yourself. This requires constantly enriching your knowledge, communicating with people at all levels, and giving speeches in various conferences, so that you will be able to pass this threshold smoothly.
Honesty
recalls how much we hated management's "lies" and "promises" that were never fulfilled, so be sure to keep this in mind when you step into a management position. Don't promise what you can't do. If you promise, you must keep it. Give others expectations and then extinguish them. The blow is bigger than no expectations. A team managed by a manager without integrity has no combat effectiveness. How can you expect team members to do things that you can't do yourself?
Summary
management is a combination of multiple disciplines and multiple competencies. Therefore, moving from a technical position to a management position is a gradual process, not overnight. Only by constantly learning and accumulating at work, and constantly improving ourselves, can we become a truly qualified manager.
Author Zhou Bin, CTO of Coca-Cola Bottling Investment Group China.