So, you're thinking of moving from developer into a management role? Or maybe you've already made the jump and now wondering why didn't anyone warn me that my days will be filled with meetings, feedback, and a never-ending Slack/Email inbox?

Well... I've been there.

I started as a developer, stepped into a tech lead role (aka wearing many hats- scoping requirements, estimating and delegating tasks, mentoring, occasional therapist), and eventually made the move into engineering management. And let me tell you, it's not just a title change. It's a total shift in how you define success, spend your time, and (perhaps most challenging) - how you cope with not shipping code every day.

If you’re thinking about making the move (or still getting used to it), here are some hard-earned lessons that I wish someone had shared with me earlier.

1️⃣ Being a Good Developer Won't Make You a Good Manager

As a developer, your success is about what you build. You write great code, solve hard problems, and maybe even win a few debates over semicolons. But as a manager, your success is measured differently: It's not about what you do, but what your team(s) accomplishes.

Instead of debugging code, you're debugging people and processes. Instead of making every technical decision, you're guiding others to make them. And instead of focusing on your output, your focus becomes removing roadblocks so your team(s) can do their best work.

It's no longer about "Look what I built", it's about "Look what my team(s) built".

🌟 Takeaway - If you measure your worth by how much you ship, you’ll struggle as a manager. Your new job is about unlocking your team’s potential... not being the smartest coder in the room!

2️⃣ Your Technical Skills Still Matter, Just in a Different Way

You won't be coding full-time anymore... and that's okay! Your tech skills won't go to waste, they take on a new supporting role. Now you use them to:

  • Guide architectural discussions without making every decision yourself.
  • Mentor team members instead of fixing their code.
  • Advocate for smart technical investments in leadership meetings.

The challenge is staying technical enough to be helpful and informed, without becoming the bottleneck. For me, that’s meant asking better questions, keeping a pulse on key decisions, and letting lead/senior engineers take the lead on deep technical work.

🌟 Takeaway - Be the person who helps others do their best work. And then step back so they can do it.

3️⃣ People Are Harder Than Code (And That's a Good Thing)

You thought debugging a multi-threaded race condition was tough? Try giving feedback to a struggling team member without crushing their spirit.

Management is a mix of people problems, process tuning, and occasionally explaining to leadership why things take time. The toughest challenges I’ve faced haven’t been technical, they’ve been human:

  • Navigating conflicts between team members with wildly different working styles.
  • Figuring out how to give constructive feedback without sounding like a jerk.
  • Convincing leadership that something like hiring and/or onboarding should have enough iterations and time in order to reap the best benefits.

The trick here is learning to debug people and processes instead of just code. This means listening more than you speak, because sometimes people don't need a solution, they just need to be heard. It means being direct, but kind. Giving feedback that is honest, specific, and actionable. And most importantly, it means protecting your team! Shielding them from unnecessary chaos while keeping them informed and engaged.

🌟 Takeaway - Leading well means understanding, motivating, and supporting your team. Just as much as (if not more than) understanding your tech stack.

4️⃣ Feedback & Communication Are Your Most Important Tools

No, seriously. If you don’t communicate clearly and regularly, your team(s) will drift into chaos.

One of the biggest mindset shifts for me was realizing that feedback works best when it’s frequent and light, not just saved for formal reviews. Real-time, actionable feedback creates momentum.

  • Regular 1:1s that go beyond status updates. Real conversations about goals, blockers, and growth
  • Reinforcing the good stuff, not just pointing out problems
  • Encouraging peer feedback so improvement becomes a shared responsibility

🌟 Takeaway - The best teams talk a lot! About what’s working, what’s not, and how they’re improving together.

5️⃣ Managing Up & Across is Just as Important as Managing Your Team

Eventually, you realize that supporting your team isn’t enough. You also have to navigate the environment around them. Your team’s success depends on how well you manage relationships with leadership, product, design, and beyond.

That means translating technical challenges into business terms that leadership actually understands (and cares about). Pushing back on unrealistic timelines without sounding like you’re just making excuses. All the while building trust with other teams.

Because the truth is good engineering doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens when the entire organization is aligned and rowing in the same direction.

🌟 Takeaway - Want your team to succeed? Make sure other teams, stakeholders, and leadership understand their goals (& you to have their back).

Final Thoughts - The Best Managers are Multipliers

Making the move from Developer or Tech Lead to Engineering Manager was a full-on mindset shift for me. I had to stop measuring my success by what I personally built, and start looking at what my team accomplished. That wasn’t always easy, but it’s where the real impact lives.

If you’re stepping into this role, here’s what I’d share from my own experience:

  • Embrace the shift! Your job really becomes more about people, processes, and strategy than perfecting pull requests.
  • Stay technical, but learn to let go of control. Your team(s) need space to lead, grow, and yes, sometimes stumble.
  • Learn to coach, not just direct. Mentorship beats micromanagement every time.
  • Feedback is your most powerful tool. Give it often. Ask for it even more. Use it to build trust and momentum.
  • Managing up & across is just as important as managing down.

The most rewarding part? Realizing that your best work is no longer what you personally ship—it’s what you empower others to build. 🚀