Good managers don’t seek out the role for its own sake; they naturally become one. The best managers I’ve seen (and have had the pleasure of working with) were extremely talented ICs who got along really well with others, and naturally transitioned to management roles when their own projects became too big in scope to handle on their own.
The absolute worst managers I’ve seen (thankfully, none were my manager) only became managers because they were drawn to the power of the position. They had no other qualities that would have led to them assuming the role naturally. These people generally became managers by brownnosing their way into the role, or straight up lying about their previous work experience. Don’t do this.
So, how to become a good manager? It will happen naturally if you are an excellent IC at a place where your skills and contributions are recognized and valued. Sometimes excellent ICs are overlooked and undervalued; if that’s the case, find another team/company that actually recognizes your contributions. But most of the time, people just don’t have the skills/qualities to be manager material, and that’s fine too—there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a lifelong IC! I know many people who were great ICs, were promoted to management as a result, hated it, and went back to being hackers.
I think the best thing to do is to pay managers less than developers and also disqualify anyone who demands to be a manager, that removes all the folks doing it for the wrong incentives.
I know of a few managers that hate being a manager, and are not the best at it but they've done so because they needed the money.
We already do, the tech industry has a separate individual contributor path for a reason. Most middle managers below the VP level don't make more than the people they are managing. Engineers are very expensive.
That's one part. I think another part is that the power dynamics need to change. Managers should be servant leaders. Instead, I see so many managers abuse their power to enrich their own position.
> Good managers don’t seek out the role for its own sake;
Depends on what you mean by this, but I will disagree. I didn't naturally become a manager. I sought it out because I believed I could do it better than the managers I have. I believe I am a good manager - not a perfect one as I have made mistakes and I still have improvements to make. When I have left a couple of jobs to make the next step (team lead to manager to director), my employees were sad I was leaving - they told me that directly.
And I've found many times that doing it naturally is hard. Companies are resistant to promotion, even for great ICs. You often have to seek it out, unless you get lucky (or are the bad brown noser as you mentioned). It's hard work to get it, but I worked hard and got it.
I'm in the exact same position as you, I get positive feedback on my management style but I'll be honest: I am paranoid that it's just people engaging in "people-pleasing", after all: there's no value to frustrating or being overly honest to your manager.
I think that's why I've had issues with management too, I've always seem them as doing a job that's different from mine, as in: we are the same level working on different areas. -- Whereas perhaps they seem themselves as superior.
Regardless: I really wish I could trust the feedback I get, I want to improve, I want to be the best, I will always fail in some area but I am completely blind to my faults since all I ever hear is praise.
I do not believe for one second that I'm worthy of such praise, I work hard for sure, but I don't doubt that my managers (whom I didn't enjoy working with) did also.
I hear you. It's very tough to get constructive criticism as a manager. I've found you generally force others to answer more than just "how am I doing", but specific situations "how did I handle that". You'll have to interpret their answers, because often your reports especially will not want to give full answers. But you can get closer over time as you build trust and when you take slight "negative" feedback that you take it well and you don't retaliate, than they will give more stronger, closer to the truth feedback.
The absolute worst managers I’ve seen (thankfully, none were my manager) only became managers because they were drawn to the power of the position. They had no other qualities that would have led to them assuming the role naturally. These people generally became managers by brownnosing their way into the role, or straight up lying about their previous work experience. Don’t do this.
So, how to become a good manager? It will happen naturally if you are an excellent IC at a place where your skills and contributions are recognized and valued. Sometimes excellent ICs are overlooked and undervalued; if that’s the case, find another team/company that actually recognizes your contributions. But most of the time, people just don’t have the skills/qualities to be manager material, and that’s fine too—there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a lifelong IC! I know many people who were great ICs, were promoted to management as a result, hated it, and went back to being hackers.