A common career decision.
WHAT MANAGEMENT INVOLVES
Developing people Deciding priorities Removing obstacles Handling performance and conflict Representing the team
WHAT IT DOES NOT INVOLVE MUCH OF
Building things yourself.
WHY THAT SURPRISES PEOPLE
Many move into management and miss the work.
WHAT A SENIOR TECHNICAL TRACK INVOLVES
Harder technical problems Architecture and direction Influence without authority Mentoring
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT YOURSELF
Whether you enjoy people problems or technical ones.
WHY THAT IS THE ACTUAL QUESTION
Management is mostly people problems.
WHAT TO TRY BEFORE COMMITTING
Leading a project Mentoring someone Running a process
WHAT THAT REVEALS
Whether you find it satisfying or draining.
WHAT TO BE CAREFUL OF
Taking management because it is the only route to more money.
WHY
It produces unhappy managers and poorly managed teams.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT YOUR EMPLOYER
Whether a senior technical track genuinely exists.
HOW TO TELL
Whether anyone occupies it, at the level you want.
WHAT TO KNOW
That the move is reversible, though it becomes harder over time.
WHAT TO DISCUSS
With people who have done both.
