Manager README
Hello lovely people!
The goal of this article is to help you, as much as possible, to understand me as a manager, and have better clarity on how I work with my team. If you want to learn more about working with me in general, read this article.
Before continuing
Keep a couple of things in mind before reading further:
- In no way it’s replacing the professional relationship we will build along the way, nor override the understanding we’ll have while working together.
- I will never use this as an “I told you so”.
- I’ve never had myself as a manager, so take this with a grain of salt.
- I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, but this is the first time I’m writing that down, so there is definitely improvements to be made on my manager README.
My role as a Developer Relations Manager
I see my role as a three-part function:
- I’m leading the developer relations department or team.
- I’m managing people within the developer relations realm.
- I’m also an individual contributor.
Leadership
Leading the developer relations team or department means that I’m accountable for the decisions the team makes and our actions. I need to ensure the quality of what we do and that we are working toward helping the company’s mission and goals while staying true to the developer relations’ principles. I’m also representing developer relations, which means our victories and our missed opportunities. I’m responsible to show the real impact we are having within our targetted markets and audience as a whole, but also about all products within our grasp.
I want to build a world-class developer relations’ team, but it’s absolutely impossible for me to achieve that without you!
Management
My job as a manager is to ensure that you, and our entire team is successful. It may not be a popular take, but I firmly believe that for us to be successful, we need to be happy. Let’s be honest; we all work because we need money for a living, but it does not mean that we cannot enjoy our time, or be passionate about what we do. If you are not happy or successful, our team is not happy or successful. If you or our team struggle, the quality of our work will also.
To achieve that, here are a non-exhaustive list, in no particular order, of what I will do to help you and the team during this journey together:
- We will clearly define your goals, and identify how we can measure them.
- I will always make sure you have everything you need from me, your teammates or other departments to be successful.
- I will ensure you are doing your best work, focusing on the right things to maximize your impact and the scalability of your efforts.
- I will try as much as possible to unblock you or shield you from politics.
- I will be your champion to the rest of the business.
- I will share constructive feedback when needed and as soon as possible. See the Feedback section for more information.
In the end, I also want you to continue to improve your hard & soft skills, while growing your career.
Individual Contributor
No matter how many direct reports I have, I will always be a Developer Advocate. I’m passionate about winning the heart and minds of developers, and help them being successful. I’m excited to speak at conferences, record video tutorials, write some great documentation, and much more. I also firmly believe that to be a great leader, you need to contribute, and keep your hands dirty.
What I value the most
There are four things, in no particular order, I value the most when it comes to the people I’m working with.
Communication
Effective communication minimizes misunderstandings, help resolves conflicts more easily, and empower collaboration, leading to better relationships, which translate into greater success. It also helps me better understand how I can help you. Find the medium you prefer, and use it. In addition to that, most of us are remote so it lower down the possible feeling of isolation.
Transparency
I value honesty, but I prefer transparency. Let’s share information in addition to our good or less successful moves without being asked. It relates a lot to the first point, communication.
Accountability
Be responsible for your actions, always. We will take bad decisions. We will make mistakes. It’s fine, as long as we stay accountable for those. I’m a big fan of the lean startup principles. Try things, measure, but fail fast if needed, and most important, learn along the process.
Compassion
Understanding and acknowledging that mistakes and challenges are inevitable allows us to be compassionate toward the developers community, our colleagues or even situations. We do not know what is happening in people’s personal life that can affect how they interact with us. It also means being compassionate toward our users and customers. Yes, sometimes it’s a code 18 (the problem is 18 inches away from their screen). More often than not, the issue will be on our side: a bug, a missing feature, an unclear resource or a missing one. Let’s always help be compassionate toward others.
It does not mean accepting any form of violence! If you find it difficult to work with someone, or find a developer to be a little “too passionate”, let me know so I can handle the situation myself.
Feedback
About you
I will give you feedback on how you are doing continuously. If things are going well, you will know. If I’m worried about your performance, you will know. My goal is for you to always have an understanding of what I’m thinking. To help me with that, I need to have a clear idea of what you are working on: not in detail, but at a high level.
When we do great things, whether we thrive with peer recognition or not, a warm feeling of positive feedback is always welcome. When there is uncertainty, it’s also important to know right away to give a chance to rectify the situation sooner than later. You shouldn’t have to ask to know if you are doing well. Nothing should be a surprise once we sit down during the performance review season.
About Me
I expect the same from you in my regards. Never wait to tell me something you appreciate, you would like to improve or share some feedback on my work or management style. I wish that our collaboration will always be professional and amicable, but if something is bothering you with me on the personal level, I sincerely hope that we can discuss it as adults, and try to resolve the problem as soon as possible. If it’s not working, or you feel like you cannot talk to me at all, for any reasons, please feel empowered to talk to my manager.
Please know that I always welcome feedback, even the less positive ones. It is really hard to hurt my feelings, but please always approach those with a constructive mindset. I also value someone who brings solutions while raising problems when possible.
On the topic of feedback, feel free to share some about this manager README. Is it useful? Are there some important things missing? Was something clear in my head, but not as much once I wrote it down? Are there some part that are misguided now that you started working with me? My goal is to always improve this document.
1:1s
One of ones are about you: they are your meeting. Take this opportunity to check in, and highlight how I can better support you. I usually schedule a 30-minute video meeting every week, but we can adjust the frequency or length based on your needs. If you have to reschedule at a better time or another day, please do: my calendar is always up-to-date.
Always be proactive, and let’s catch up in the format you prefer as soon as needed: never wait for our next 1:1 if it’s time-sensitive or bothering you. For uninterrupted productivity reason, I block my Fridays, but for impromptu meetings, it does not apply to you.
Work Schedule
Unless I’m traveling, and with some exceptions, my usual working hours are more or less from 9AM to 6PM. I live in the east coast of Canada, so my time zone is ET (Eastern Time). Do not be afraid to message me even outside of that time on Slack: I’m snoozing the notifications when I’m not working.
Since our work schedule may be different, and because my team is usually distributed across multiple time zones, I expect you to also manage your own notifications properly. It’s important to me that I can message you at any moment, while knowing that I don’t disturb your personal time. It’s my way to ensure I don’t forget sharing something with you, but work-life balance is important, so I don’t want you to get back to me when you are off the clock. Unless we are on the road at an event together, nothing can’t wait for the next morning, or Monday.
Unless the company policies are stating otherwise, I don’t care when or where you are working. What is important for me is that we have at least a couple of overlapping hours each day so we can have synchronized discussion or video meetings if needed.
Need Something
If you need anything, don’t wait or hesitate. Send me a message on Slack or add a meeting in my calendar. Yep, it’s that simple.
In the End
I hope this document was useful to understand better who I am as a manager, how I work, and my expectations. Obviously, those are generalities, and we will discuss a lot more about all of these and much more once we start working together.
Yes, this should have been a README.md file in some repository since it’s a Manager README, but even if I spend much time on GitHub, I try to consolidate things as much as possible on my site.
Photo by Jiroe (Matia Rengel) on Unsplash