Passed&Over:&Why&Great&Programmers&Don’t&Get&Promoted

Hello,&diligent&programmer.

If#this#headline#immediately#grabbed#your#a4en5on,#my#guess#is#that#you’ve#been#watching#peers#around#you#get#hired,#and#then#get#promoted#above#you,#even#though#you’ve#been#in#the#company#longer.#

I’m$sure$that$you’re$hardworking,$dependable,$and$probably$even$a$senior$programmer$with$a$significant$amount$of$responsibility,$which$makes$the$scenario$seem$more$illogical.$Clearly,$you$have$more$experience!$BeAer$programming$skills!$You$know$the$company$inside$and$out!$

But$for$some$reason,$you$just$can’t$seem$to$make$the$leap$from$programmer$to$management,$and$you$don’t$know$why.$

Before&you&start&blaming&your&manager,&the&company,&or&some&hidden&flaw&you’re&afraid&you&have,&let&me&stop&you.&A=er&being&part&of&and&managing&dozens&of&teams&over&the&years,&I’ve&seen&this&scenario&happen&many&@mes.&

So#let#me#give#you#a#manager’s2eye#view.

While&you’re&probably&a&fantas3c&programmer&who&has&loyally&cranked&out&near:perfect&code&year&in&and&year&out,&that&might&be&part&of&the&problem.&

You$need$to$start$thinking$less$like$a$programmer$and$more$a$manager.!!

Majoring)in)Minors:)A)Case)Study

To#give#you#a#li,le#more#insight,#let#me#introduce#you#to#Alejandro.

Alejandro*is*a*great*guy.*He’s*known*as*an*eager*programmer*who’s*smart,*he*really*digs*in,*and*he’s*trusted*by*his*CEO.**

His$company$had$a$bad$experience$with$a$vendor$recently,$and$the$CEO$didn’t$want$to$run$into$the$same$problem$a$second$<me.$He$charged$Alejandro$with$finding$a$CTO$(chief$technology$officer)$to$help$build$an$inGhouse$tech$team,$and$so$Alejandro$called$me$for$some$advice.

What%I%discovered%a/er%just%a%couple%of%minutes%of%discussion%was%that%Alejandro%wanted%to%be#that#CTO.

As#soon#as#Alejandro#announced#his#management#inten3ons#in#our#conversa3on,#he#hit#me#with#a#pile#of#ques3ons#about#code.#He#spent#a#lot#of#3me#comparing#and#contras3ng#Ruby#on#Rails,#closure#and#PHP,#then#wondering#which#stack#I#thought#was#the#best#so#that#he#could#impress#his#boss#with#his#technical#exper3se.

He#flat'out#asked#me,#“What#technology#stack#would#you#use?”

I"answered"honestly."“You’re"not"thinking"like"a"CTO."You’re"not"ac;ng"like"a"CTO."A"CTO"wouldn’t"be"focusing"on"this"right"now.”

I"pushed"on."“Think"about"this."You’re"trying"to"impress"your"CEO"with"your"problem>solving"skills."What’s"the"most"important"factor"in"the"success"of"a"soCware"project>>the"soCware"stack"or"the"people"creaEng"it?”

Silence.(I(could(tell(this(was(not(the(answer(he(an3cipated.

“Let%me%put%it%this%way,”%I%said.%“Are%there%websites%out%there%that%are%servicing%millions%of%people%a%day%using%any%of%those%so>ware%stacks?”

“Sure,”(said(Alejandro.(

“Right,”)I)said.)“So)focus)on)the)people)making)the)so8ware.)What)language)do)most)programmers)use)in)your)area?”

Suddenly,)we)were)moving)in)the)right)direc4on.)Alexandro)knew)right)away)that)since)most)start;ups)in)his)area)used)Ruby)on)Rails,)he)was)likely)to)have)a)good)pool)of)skilled)programmers)to)choose)from,)and)good)programmers)would)help)them)build)solid)so@ware)that)everyone)could)depend)on.

With%this%perspec+ve,%Alejandro%had%an%excellent%founda+on%to%prepare%and%present%a%proposal%to%his%CEO%that%not%only%helped%solve%a%pressing%problem%for%his%company,%but%demonstrated%that%he%is%someone%with%management%chops.%

What%I%wanted%Alejandro%to%see%was%that%managers%don’t%get%caught%up%in%ni8y:gri8y%technical%ba8les%that%tend%to%soak%up%most%of%the%bandwidth%of%most%programmers’%brains.%Managers%are%there%to%assemble%and%support%a%great%team,%create%a%clear%path%for%their%work,%and%then%help%them%strategize%when%obstacles%appear.%

With%a%bit%of%nudging,%Alejandro%was%able%to%move%out%of%short8focus%programmer%thinking%into%a%wide8focus%management%mindset.

It’s%the%Photographer,%Not%the%Camera

Many%programmers%make%the%same%mistake%that%Alejandro%did%when%they%decide%that%the%tools%make%the%the%person%and%the%project.%

In#fact,#almost#every#enthusiast#in#every#special#interest#falls#for#the#allure#of#new,#shiny#gear#or#the#latest,#greatest#approach.#Programmers#take#great#pride#in#their#special#realm#of#knowledge#on#technical#ma;ers#that#baffle#the#general#popula>on,#so#they#spend#lots#of#>me#learning#new#tricks#and#knowing#subtle#differences#in#equipment.

I’m$the$same.$During$my$fascina4on$with$photography,$I$got$my$geek$on$while$learning$about$minute$differences$in$shu>er$speeds,$lenses,$camera$brands$and$digital$processing.$I$bought$a$beau4ful$camera$and$loved$playing$with$all$of$the$micro@adjustments$that$were$possible.

One$day,$I$watched$a$close$friend$who’s$a$professional$photographer$at$work.$As$I$asked$him$what$I$thought$were$insider$ques=ons$about$the$camera$he$was$using$and$the$new$(ahem)$superior$camera$I$purchased,$he$stopped$shoo=ng$and$looked$up.

He#said,#“You#know#that’s#it’s#about#the#photographer,#not#the#camera,#right?#I#can#take#any#camera#and#use#it#to#take#a#great#photo.”

Of#course,#he’s#right.#The#best#camera#won’t#compensate#for#knowing#how#to#perfectly#compose#a#shot,#wai;ng#for#the#right#ligh;ng,#or#telling#a#joke#to#get#the#right#expression.#Without#a#skilled#operator,#a#professional#camera#will#produce#amateur#photos.#

I"shut"up"and"pondered"the"lesson.""""

What%programmers%get%wrong

Programmers)have)the)same)problem.)Their)spend)massive)amounts)of)7me)inves7ng)in)an)exquisite)toolbox)of)skills,)forge<ng)that)those)tools)will)only)take)them)so)far)if)they)don’t)know)how)to)use)them)strategically)in)the)context)of)the)en7re)project.)

When%I%hear%or%see%programmers%spending%a%lot%of%3me%on%these%issues%below,%I%know%they’re%stuck%in%programmer%perspec3ve,%which%could%keep%them%in%the%same%cubicle%for%a%long%3me.

Coding'wars!Too!o$en,!I!hear!programmers!like!Alejandro!waste!8me!on!flame!wars!over!a!specific!coding!language!and!with!a!passion!that!approaches!religious!fervor.!

Let’s&face&it.&Novel0es&will&come&and&go,&especially&in&technology,&so&spend&your&energy&building&exper0se&in&long>range&skills&instead&of&being&the&Grand&Master&of&PHP&frameworks.&&

Tech%minu*aeTech%experts%in%any%field%love%finding%out%about%the%li7le8known%features%that%other%tech%aficionados%have%built%into%so<ware%or%equipment.%Programmers%o<en%pore%over%li7le%nuances%in%code,%which%makes%us%feel%really%smart.%But%does%it%actually%%help%users%or%the%project%overall?%Not%really.%%

What%rising%managers%get%right

Managers(to(be,-in-contrast,-do-really-good-work,-but-keep-their-heads-up-to-the-issues-that-are-impac9ng-the-team-and-the-impact-of-their-work-on-the-users.-Here’s-what-I-see-them-paying-a?en9on-to:

The$big$picturePre$managers*are*curious*about*how*their*work*dovetails*with*the*en7re*project:*how*it’s*used,*why*it’s*needed,*how*it*fits*or*doesn’t*into*major*trends*in*the*industry.*Having*this*perspec7ve*allows*these*programmers*to*make*decisions*with*more*wide$ranging*impact*than*just*the*code*on*their*screen.

The$boss’$priori,esProgrammers)who)move)up)the)ladder)and)have)more)influence)in)their)daily)work)tend)to)know)what’s)important)to)the)people)above)them.)They)know)where)their)manager)feels)pressure,)and)so)they)understand)which)parts)of)the)project)need)extra)a@enAon)or)a)speedy)wrapBup.)When)you)understand)that)not)every)phase)of)the)project)is)created)equal,)it’s)easier)to)know)how)to)allocate)resources.

From%Programmer%to%Manager:%4%Ways%to%Build%Management%Skills%that%Ma:er

If#you#are#just#waking#up#to#the#issues#that#the#management#minded#tend#to#consider,#no#problem.#This#isn’t#mys=cal#knowledge#that’s#only#handed#to#a#chosen#few.

This%perspec*ve%can%be%learned,%and%if%you’re%as%eager%about%making%the%switch%as%Alejandro%was,%you’ll%assimilate%them%quickly.%If%you’re%truly%intent%on%moving%from%programmer%to%manager,%then%treat%the%transi*on%as%seriously%as%you%would%a%complete%career%move.

In#fact,#the#best#way#to#get#promoted#is#start#ac6ng#like#a#manager#before&you’re&a&manager.##

Here’s&some&of&my&best&advice&on&pu5ng&that&transforma8on&in&mo8on.

• Start%focusing%on%outcomes."To"build"perspec/ve,"go"to"your"boss"and"ask"about"the"end"results"of"previous"projects."Hear"how"things"worked"out"a>er"months"of"development."If"your"boss"brushes"off"the"ques/on,"saying"that"you"don’t"need"to"understand,"ask"again."Tell"them"that"the"informa/on"helps"you"make"beDer"decisions,"which"helps"the"en/re"team."

• Start%helping%others."It’s"easy"to"get"stuck"in"front"of"your"screen,"focusing"en4rely"on"your"own"work."Managers"look"to"promote"people"who"interact"well"with"others"and"solve"problems,"so"move"past"the"s4ngy"idea"that"other"people"have"to"learn"the"hard"way."Start"sharing"your"magic"strategies"and"shortcuts"so"you"are"recognized"for"crea4ng"posi4ve"momentum"that"helps"build"your"team"from"within."

• Drop%the%pe)y,%self/righteous%wars."Quit"iden*fying"so"completely"with"a"single"coding"language,"framework,""or"philosophy"that’s"just"going"to"become"obsolete"in"a"few"years."Learn"from"computer"engineer"and"so?ware"architect"Fred"Brooks"who"insisted"that"a"single"magic"solu*on"will"never"resolve"the"complexity"of"computer"programming."Think"bigger."

• Develop'user'empathy."I"know"this"sounds"radical,"but"start"finding"out"how"customers"interact"with"your"products"in"real"life."Get"your"backside"out"of"the"cubicle"and"discover"what"features"they"care"about,"which"they"could"live"without,"and"which"are"desperately"needed."Understanding"actual"needs"and"preferences"can"really"help"you"save"?me"and"money"by"elimina?ng"unrealis?c"percep?ons."

If#I#had#to#boil#down#my#best#advice#for#management#hopefuls,#it#would#be#this:

Pick%your%head%up.

Pulling'your'focus'out'and'back'a'bit'from'your'daily'workflow'can'help'increase'your'job'sa:sfac:on'by'allowing'you'to'see'how'your'work'ma;ers'in'the'overall'scheme'of'things.'And'if'you'have'your'sights'set'on'becoming'a'leader'in'your'company,'you’ll'need'that'extra'perspec:ve'to'learn'how'everyone’s'role'fits'togetherCCand'make'smarter'decisions.

Become&a&Be(er&Technical&Manager

I"get"paid"to"coach"newly"minted"technical"managers."My"clients"quickly"feel"drama:cally"more"confident"and"capable"and"start"seeing"be=er"performance"from"themselves"and"their"team"within"weeks.

I"am"taking"the"same"insigh-ul,"ac2onable"lessons"I"teach"in"my"coaching"and"pu8ng"them"out"as"a"free"newsle<er."

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