How can new technology managers drive organizational change?

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Technical managers need to constantly work hard to improve the team's situation, such as improving R&D efficiency, helping members grow, or optimizing the organizational structure, etc. It can be said that promoting change is one of the important missions of the role of "technical manager".

The challenges around change are always complex, and how to influence teams in different contexts and issues can be a daunting task. In practice, I find it helpful to look at problems from a more practical perspective.

#Technical Manager’s Toolbox

Although companies and technical teams vary, in most cases technical managers have the authority to determine how the team performs its work and how team members are evaluated. This means they have three important tools for change: system processes , behaviors and rewards .

Technical managers can improve the team's R&D efficiency by improving internal processes (System); influence members' actions through their own behavior (Behavior); and use reward mechanisms (Reward) to motivate members to behave correctly.

They are helpful in dealing with different challenges. Technical managers understand what levers they can pull, and they will have clearer goals and clearer directions when taking action. So, in the field of software development, how to implement changes in system processes, behaviors and rewards?

01 System process level

Systems and processes are the most common and most discussed practices. Every team has many formal and informal work processes. Technical managers can optimize processes to improve expected results.

Although we all know that optimizing the process is very effective, it is not simple in practice. I have failed and seen many failed process improvement initiatives. From this, I summarized four system optimization principles:

Start with the problem, not the solution

When you have a hammer, every problem becomes a nail. As their careers develop, technical managers will continue to encounter problems, solve them, and learn many effective solutions. Therefore, experience is important, but it is more important to first understand whether other members agree that the problem exists.

Reach a consensus on the problem and propose a solution

As team leaders, technical managers have the obligation to help the R&D team find solutions. The ideal situation is to work with the team to find the answer, but given the natural authority of the "manager" in the organization, your considerations and opinions will become particularly important.

A useful principle is that consensus is not "everyone agrees" but "everyone feels their voice is heard and taken seriously" . A technical manager's job is to listen to all perspectives and come up with a solution that takes all ideas into consideration.

Think comprehensively and solve in a targeted manner

While it's important to evaluate ideas for improvements against current problems, technical managers should consider the impact on the entire system when deciding how to improve. Most strategies used by technical teams depend on the team situation and other overlapping systems. Blindly following "best practices" without understanding the relevant context is likely to lead to poor results.

Change is painful

"Even if everyone works together, change is still painful."

Team processes are like habits. Change or shaping requires repeated overcoming, adaptation and readjustment; especially in the early stages of change, the pain will be more obvious. Too often we see great changes fail because they are not implemented long enough and the team reverts to the old way of working before they realize any of the benefits of the change.

02 Behavioral level

In addition to taking action on team processes/systems, technical managers can shape team behavior by leveraging the team's most valuable resource: attention. Leaders’ behaviors are observed and emulated by their teams, so technical managers can use this attention to communicate to their teams the right way to work and collaborate.

This is a subtle, subtle approach that can be applied in many situations. For example, in team meetings, issues raised by technical managers will be considered important; in projects, their areas of concern will receive more attention.

Scenario 1: Technology upgrade

If a team needs to optimize a technical area (such as testing or architecture), technical managers can create space for dialogue by focusing questions and discussions to move the team in the desired direction.

Scenario 2: Process optimization

When teams are improving processes, technical managers can help move the organization in the right direction by keeping an eye on the process and alerting the team of needed changes . As with any habit-forming practice, regular reminders and small nudges will help establish new behaviors.

Scenario 3: Regular synchronization

In all regular meetings, such as daily stand-ups or iteration retrospectives, technical managers can ask questions about key areas that need attention and guide the team's attention . For example, if the R&D team is constantly reminded that "quality > speed", then eventually this principle will be reflected in the organization's behavior and results.

03 Reward level

Influencing the team by offering rewards is probably the most obvious and direct way. After all, technical managers are responsible for recruiting team members and have the authority to decide job promotions and project staffing; they can also influence the way the team works by placing members in specific positions.

When people think of "rewards," they usually think of something big and obvious, such as a new member, a career promotion, or a material reward. But there’s one thing that’s often overlooked: technical managers can inject momentum into their teams through small feedback loops.

Most people enjoy receiving feedback, but are less willing to actively contribute it. One of my top tips is to actively observe people at work and consciously give feedback. For example, when participating in project synchronization meetings, carefully take notes and provide feedback to everyone; when reading technical documents, express opinions and views on the content and document format; proactively praise members who raise questions in team chats and give positive feedback. Feedback etc.

The key to this is how to leverage rewards and motivate your team in unique and inclusive ways without creating interpersonal problems due to personal favoritism.

As a technical manager, the more you observe your team members and pay more attention to areas of improvement and success, the easier it will be to change the way members work and thereby improve the team's collaboration model.

LigaAI Summary

As with any complex system, the above three approaches often overlap and influence each other. Technical managers can combine processes, behaviors, and rewards to drive changes that can have a significant impact on their teams.

Looking at these choices through a broad, macro perspective will help you decide how to adjust your own managerial behavior to increase your team's influence; thereby making organizational change easier.

(The original author is Francisco Trindade, and the content has been translated and organized by LigaAI.)

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