Most programmers tangled thing: I do not want to do the technical back

Because of my work, I often have prospective manager or a new manager before and after the opportunity and turn manage chat, and often ask them this question: "? Experience to lead this transition from engineer to the team, what is your greatest feeling is" I get the answer is often the case below.

• Some people may look of frustration to me: "Management of thing too complex, no time to write code, more and more guilty ......"
• Someone told me earnestly: "The biggest challenge is managing to do, to give up technology, particularly difficult."
• I looked up and someone will ask: "Management and technology in the end how to balance?"
• Some would pretending to be easy laugh: "Suddenly do not write code, I feel the guy did not eat, ha ha."
• Some people will be full of worries: "Management is too trivial, feeling more and more away from technology, and now particularly worried about personal development."
• Some people even told me angrily:. "Management is a violation of human things, their technology is getting worse, but have to lead the technical team."

Such as the top of all that, if I tell you, I interviewed hundreds of new technical manager, about two-thirds of people have similar concerns and feedback, you would feel? If you happen to be going through this phase, you transition to this role, what is the greatest feeling? How do you perceive a "conflict" between technology and management? Will, like the above statement or worried, or angry? Finally no choice but to say: "do not understand anyway, to put in more time to take into account the technology and management of it!"

However, the "do both" does not really solve the problem. To solve these problems, we need to take a look at where the real source of the problem, and can address the problem. Recall those worries listed above, which they have in common?

It can be roughly classified into the following three cases.

1. Prior to turn over the management do not look into management. Technicians often immersed in the technical details of the code or some of them, thinking for career development of overall bias passive. Most technology managers are up leadership "to push" management positions, and before that for how to manage and do not understand. No exaggeration to say that many new technical managers, managing almost a whole new thing. In the face of new things, because they can not feel fear or anxiety control the inevitable. So from time to time we will emerge an idea: in case do not how to do? Where in retreat?

2. Just started doing management, we can not rely on management "settle down." In the eyes of the new manager of technology, management does not make their own peace of mind, not to rely on yourself, the heart is still home over the years accumulated technological capabilities. And if management is not yet tamed wild horses, though sometimes I feel very fresh very exciting, but in the end can not be convinced to ride well, so we can not rely on. Not a new thing in the face of control and wanted this mentality is human.

3. Technology is considered their "home base." Technology as a capital for their survival in the past work has been well documented, so it is trustworthy. This is called "success path dependence", everyone is probably the case. For things to pay attention to accurate and reliable technical people, in particular. So, when confronted with the uncomfortable questions, or want to return to their "home base" - go back and do the technical work.

The above three points put together, the mentality of just vividly reflect the new manager at this time: "The suffering was" "suffer loss." Of course, there is no derogatory meaning and criticism, just describe a tangle of mood.

"Hesitate" from the "Analects of Confucius", the original is "The unreached are also suffering from it may not; vested, the risk of loss," translated into the vernacular is "the time has not been, and are not worried; obtained after, and fear of losing. " The new manager of the state, from the security point of view settle down on their own point of view, can be described as the state is at a kind of "hunger gap" of.

• Management do not touch the doorway, a lot of things do not know how to proceed, they would often make themselves overwhelmed by the situation, they feel anxious;
• Before already mastered technical capacity, as more and spend less time on it, the feeling of being away from their own, feel lost.

Thus, "was suffering from" anxiety and "suffer loss" loss intertwined How can people not worry about it!

Fortunately, since it has been aware of the "root cause", we have a way to get rid of trouble. Here are three prescriptions, each will ease the annoyance, three-pronged approach, it should be refreshing it!

The first prescription specifically for the "suffering loss" to open.

It was ten years as a technology management, technology and record industry did VP and CTO of the so-called "come", I can responsibly say, do technical management, and will not give up technology, but technology can not give up, give up technology is doing well technology management. You're just a certain extent, it gave up coding it.

Well, no time code, how can we not give up technology? We will discuss in detail in the next section how technology managers to maintain technological capability this topic. Do a Discussion about now.

First, the technology to a higher perspective to look at.

Do technology when the technology to do is the greatest goal. But after doing the management, we need technology as a means to look and see what it can do for the goal. Obviously this does not mean that you do not need to be concerned about technology, but the level of concern is different: how to realize from research to study how to use it, and you begin to need the help of everyone's technical ability to do more things.

This works like a computer assembly, we are now DIY computer, already do not care about the internal operation of the logic board, memory, CPU's, but still be very clear what their function is, what kind of interfaces, as well as from what dimension, with What indicators to measure the pros and cons of each component, you have to clear the entire machine, which component may be a performance bottleneck, and so on. Therefore, the transfer of technology management does not mean do not care about technology, but to achieve from about technology, to care more goals and the overall result.

Secondly, a different way of learning to master the technology.

Personally write the code is certainly a good way of learning technology, but as a manager, you need to grasp the more technical, and quickly determine how to mix use, so you have to have a more efficient way to learn the job. Here we introduce three well-established practice.

1. Build your learning mechanism. You can think about what kind of learning mechanism established within the team, can help you use the power of technology to improve the team's judgment, combined with their own situation to create.

2. Ask the Expert. When one area to understand the situation, with the help of your platform, looking for the most powerful Expert advice were you can find. The reason they can become expert in one area, all have deep accumulation, and can give a simple key opinion farsighted precise language, a few words will make you have a sobering feeling.

3. To create. For a knowledge-based workers, and we create the success of the harvest, more often than himself buried think much more efficient. You can see how to create a mechanism established in the team.

For the technology to quickly enhance the vision, the above three ways, than to read or write more efficient code, you can choose their own way. Specific practices and recommendations, we introduce later in the corresponding sections.

Finally, with regard to "suffer loss" Another approach: If you really love technology, good at solving problems with technology ideas and programs, you can consider doing "technical" managers, so that "technology Fan children" be your management style.

Do management mainly to see the results and effectiveness of the means and not as obvious for some people with good managers, and some managers are particularly strong execution, some managers particularly strong ability to integrate resources, etc., are not the same, you can It has its own unique style. There are around such success stories, some technology managers have a team with hundreds of people, have done technology VP, or a "technology geeks range of children," it would not be his good management obstacles. In short, if the technology itself is to your advantage, you can also combine their interests and strengths, causing it to hit his management style.

Above, that we opened the first prescription: no matter from which perspective, you did not give up technology, but for a way to learn and use technology. So, you will not lose anything, do not need to "suffer loss."

The second prescription specifically for 'suffering was "out.

Here the "suffering was" actually "not suffer" - fear not. So how can we not worry do not manage it?

First, make the management of personal growth and personal development, it will not fail.

Because management is a general practice, as long as you continuously practice, practice, your skills will be more and more, and finally you will be qualified for a scale or a functional teams. We usually called "incompetent", just say no match, not to say you can not do full management. Furthermore, the management is very personalized work, you can use your own good way to go to achieve management objectives.

Second, the technology for new managers, even if "doing good" is not no "turning back."

When managers just go from job engineer positions, from technical close, if you try down that management is not really what you want, then go back and continue to do engineer, almost no threshold. So, if you do not know the moment is appropriate to manage, it is better to try to go all out for some time, you in fact there is plenty of time to slowly make this decision, there is no need to worry about.

Finally, the ability of management to do the accumulation can do migrate to the "technology leader" in this role.

You do not have to worry about the manager's experience will be wasted, or could have been done to worry about technical time was delayed. Because, even if you go back to do the engineers, but also need to practice to do a senior engineer or architect, you need to try to be responsible for a complete technical direction, this time, do you exercise overall management vision, capacity planning, results-oriented awareness, project management, communication skills, etc., will come in handy.

So, we opened a second prescription is: you must have income, will have to make huge gains in the management process. Since it will be able to "get", you do not need to "suffer too."

The third prescription a little fierce, called "reality check."

If you put "reduce coding time" is called to give up technology, I have to tell you a hard truth: Whether you do it or not management, that things are inevitable - do technical management, we need to use a higher perspective on technology; continue to do engineers need to use a higher perspective on technology. Therefore, for most people, technology, encoding time will increasingly be diverted to other work, it is difficult to avoid.

As the saying goes: "People are poor is Fanben" When people encounter difficulties and setbacks, wanted to return to old ways, this is human nature. However, managers have to face a reality that even go back to continue to do technology, is no longer a practice that had - that you no longer listen to the command arrangements can listen and do all that is needed to perform first-line engineers, and work "up-dimensional" is inevitable. On the one hand, each person's heart has a growing appeal; on the other hand, the company and team you also need to undertake more complex and challenging task, you can not shrink in their own little world of front-line engineers.

So, whether it is to do technical management, or do the technical architect, opened a "technology-liter dimensional" road are inevitable. Even if managers do not do technology, to do a technical leader or architect, but also the perspective of work to do following the upgrade.

• Starting from the target to look at technology. Only targeted, in order to choose the best technical solution, make the most rational technical decision.

• From the perspective of the assessment to look at technology. When an engineer, put a good technical solution design, implementation out just fine, but after doing the architect, you need a very clear technical solutions by which to assess the dimensions of its good or bad. And, when a technical problem exposed, too quickly determine what are the implications, the loss of the border where, how urgent, in order to decide whether or not to put down the work at hand to create a new emergency projects.

• From relying on its own technology to help you technology. When do technology, to understand what they can do on it. But neither did the manager or architect, you need to bring people to do things, and this time you need to be familiar with the team's technical situation everyone knew who qualified to do something, for what you do, then go to the aid of everyone's technology work.

In summary you can see, even give up management go back to technology, but also need to have advanced from engineers to architects, too have a lot of perspective needs to be converted, there are a lot of capacity needs exercise.

So, the third prescription is: Since inevitable, as struggling to move forward. Master a new thing will not be easy, advancing the process is full of challenges, but we did not "go back" option. You do not think of some ways to relieve "worries", but need to realize that you have no chance, "looking back" the.

In short, technology transfer management of the tangle, in the final analysis is "to manage the risk and have to suffer the loss of technology." Now that you have seen, do management will not let you "have to suffer," will not let you "suffer loss," then you are not able to feel at ease it?

This article is taken from the book shelves just "knowing and technology human management of the road" , author: Liu Jianguo.

• Time Geeks column "Technology Management 36 combat stress" Supplement book
• Internet technology management textbooks, the Internet management theory and practice summary
• Each book requires a clear answer to a question - what to whom about one thing? This book is no exception.

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★ you are a want to manage the "aspiring" engineer, but do not know how to work hard;
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In short, whether you want to do technical people management, or the technical team of managers, this book will give you open a new window.