What are the key differences between an individual contributor (IC) and a manager?

The transition from IC to manager involves a shift in focus from deep technical execution to broader team enablement. Managers need to develop skills in interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, career guidance, and strategic planning, which are distinct from the coding and technical problem-solving core to an IC role.

What should a new manager focus on in their first 90 days?

Key priorities for new managers include establishing regular one-on-one meetings, fostering team identity and cohesion through team meetings, developing empathy and psychological safety, and learning to manage overwhelm by delegating and dropping less critical tasks.

How can managers build trust and psychological safety with their teams?

Building trust involves consistent, regular one-on-ones where team members feel safe to bring up issues without fear of interruption. Managers should also practice opening up a little about themselves, treating team members as human beings, and showing empathy to create an environment where vulnerability and learning are encouraged.

What are common mistakes new engineering managers make?

Two major mistakes are defaulting to writing code to solve team problems instead of addressing underlying issues like planning or resource constraints, and neglecting to proactively deal with interpersonal conflicts within the team. Both hinder long-term team effectiveness.

When should a manager consider firing an employee?

Obvious reasons include stealing, lying, harassment, or screaming. More nuanced reasons involve consistently poor performance that doesn't improve despite feedback and a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), or a consistently negative attitude that drains team morale and productivity, making them a poor cultural fit.

How can managers stay technically credible if they're not coding daily?

Credibility is maintained by staying engaged with senior engineers, discussing system architecture and evolution, attending design reviews, reading design documents, and asking insightful questions. The ability to understand and probe deeply into technical challenges demonstrates continued relevance.

What's the difference between management and leadership?

Management focuses on execution, process, and ensuring the team functions efficiently. Leadership is broader, encompassing vision, strategy, and the ability to inspire and influence people to follow, often through a combination of strong execution, strategic thinking, and interpersonal skills.

Key Moments

Camille Fournier on Managing Technical Teams

Y Combinator

Science & Technology6 min read50 min video

Jul 17, 2019|38,215 views|924|36

YC Y Combinator Camille Fournier Two Sigma Rent The Runway Goldman Sachs Camille Fournier Interview Camille Fournier Podcast The Manager's Path The Manager's Path Author The Manager’s Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change Camille Fournier Author

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TL;DR

Camille Fournier discusses effective technical team management, highlighting the transition from IC to manager and essential skills.

Key Insights

Good management is crucial for engineering team effectiveness, countering the startup myth that management is mere overhead.

The transition from Individual Contributor (IC) to manager requires a shift in focus, comfort with interpersonal interactions, and establishing routines like regular one-on-ones.

Effective team building involves fostering a sense of team identity, encouraging collaboration, and promoting psychological safety.

New managers often err by defaulting to coding solutions, neglecting to address interpersonal conflicts, and avoiding difficult conversations.

Staying technically relevant as a manager involves continuous learning through peer discussions, design reviews, and understanding system architecture.

Leadership can manifest in various skill combinations (execution, strategy, charisma), but effective management inherently requires leadership qualities.

THE CRITICAL ROLE OF EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT

Camille Fournier emphasizes that good management is not overhead but a vital component for engineering team and company success. She notes that early in the tech industry, particularly in startups around 2010-2011, there was a prevalent sentiment that management was bureaucratic and unnecessary. This viewpoint stemmed from observing successful small startups where 'hiring smart people and getting out of their way' seemed sufficient. However, Fournier argues that as teams grow, coordination, structure, and effective management become essential for productivity and achieving shared goals.

TRANSITIONING FROM INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR TO MANAGER

The shift from an Individual Contributor (IC) to a manager is a significant career change, requiring a new skillset and mindset. Fournier highlights that new managers must become comfortable with routines like one-on-one meetings, which can initially feel awkward. These meetings are crucial for building trust, encouraging open communication, and proactively addressing issues before they escalate. It's about moving from a peer-to-peer relationship to one with responsibility and potential influence over career development, benefits, and interpersonal dynamics.

BUILDING TEAM COHESION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY

Fostering a strong team identity is paramount for effective collaboration. Fournier suggests making teams 'teams' by encouraging regular discussions about work, challenges, and successes. This helps engineers see themselves as part of a coherent group, rather than individuals working in 'parallel play.' Psychological safety, where team members feel comfortable admitting mistakes, asking questions without fear of judgment, and learning from each other, is key. Managers can build this by being open themselves, demonstrating empathy, and cherishing people as human beings.

COMMON PITFALLS FOR NEW MANAGERS

Rookie managers often make mistakes like defaulting to coding solutions for team problems, which rarely solves underlying issues and can be counterproductive. Another common error is neglecting to proactively address interpersonal conflicts between team members, allowing them to fester. Furthermore, new managers tend to avoid difficult conversations, which is detrimental to team health and performance. Fournier stresses the importance of learning to delegate effectively and to continually develop the capability to handle challenging discussions.

MAINTAINING TECHNICAL RELEVANCE AND Credibility

Managers need to stay technically grounded to maintain credibility with their engineering teams. While they may not be coding daily, Fournier suggests staying informed through discussions with senior technical peers, attending design reviews, and understanding system architecture. The ability to ask insightful questions demonstrates technical understanding and earns respect. She notes that even as a non-coding manager, engaging with technical details and systems thinking helps in asking relevant questions and understanding the engineering challenges.

LEADERSHIP VS. MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

Fournier distinguishes leadership from management, viewing management as a subset of leadership. While leadership can stem from execution skills, strategic vision, or interpersonal charisma, effective management typically requires a blend of these. She emphasizes that providing clarity during ambiguity is a core leadership trait. Managers can build leadership by demonstrating consistent good decision-making, simplifying complex problems, and improving interpersonal skills to build trust and encourage followership, making themselves approachable and someone people want to look to.

STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH OVERWHELM AND DELEGATION

Feeling overwhelmed is a common experience for new managers, especially in fast-paced startup environments. Fournier advises managers to identify tasks that can be stopped, delegated, or dropped entirely, even if it means accepting a slightly less perfect outcome. Learning to delegate effectively is crucial for regaining time and allowing team members to grow. Managers should also reassess their own high standards to determine if they are unnecessarily applied to less critical tasks, freeing up mental bandwidth for more important responsibilities.

ADDRESSING INTERPERSONAL ISSUES AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Dealing with interpersonal issues and performance problems is a challenging but essential part of management. Fournier explains that allowing conflicts to persist or ignoring underperformance can significantly harm team morale and productivity. She stresses the need to address these issues proactively, which may involve mediation, team restructuring, or in severe cases, termination. Developing a clear performance improvement plan (PIP) with specific, measurable goals is vital for addressing underperformance issues constructively.

THE NUANCES OF FIRING AND TEAM DYNAMICS

Firing is one of the most difficult aspects of management. Fournier outlines obvious reasons for termination, such as theft or harassment, and less obvious, but equally critical, reasons like consistent underperformance or a highly negative impact on team morale. She highlights that removing a negative influence, even from a productive individual, often has a surprisingly positive ripple effect on overall team happiness and productivity that far outweighs the individual's contribution.

THE VALUE OF SIDE PROJECTS AND TECHNICAL DEPTH

Fournier views side projects as beneficial for scratching the 'maker' itch for managers who miss coding. However, she cautions against letting side projects create a false sense of expertise or lead to an obsession with new technologies without practical production experience. While personal projects can be valuable, a manager's primary focus should remain on their team's needs. Staying deeply technical often requires real-world experience with systems under pressure, not just hobbyist-level exploration.

MANAGERS AS CULTURAL STEWARDS AND HIRING PRACTICES

Managers play a crucial role in reinforcing company values and fostering a cohesive team culture, especially when integrating new members or dealing with 'aqua hires.' A mismatch in cultural values, such as differing preferences for collaboration styles or operational excellence, can lead to friction. Fournier notes that hiring processes often fail to adequately screen for cultural fit, making it difficult to predict team dynamics. She advocates for managers to be explicit about cultural expectations and to address mismatches proactively.

GIVING EFFECTIVE RECOGNITION AND PRAISE

Providing effective recognition and praise is vital for motivating team members. Beyond simple verbal affirmation, Fournier emphasizes specificity and understanding individual preferences for public versus private acknowledgment. A powerful method is peer-to-peer recognition during team meetings, fostering a supportive atmosphere where colleagues can appreciate each other's contributions. This practice, carried over from her experience at Rent the Runway, helps build camaraderie and reinforces positive behaviors across the team.

CRITERIA FOR NON-ENGINEERS IN ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP

Fournier generally dislikes the idea of non-engineers leading engineering teams, asserting that engineering management is a technical discipline requiring deep understanding. While senior executives might report to non-engineers, she believes front-line engineering managers should ideally be former engineers for credibility and efficiency. Non-technical managers can fall into 'management telephone,' inefficiently relaying information between technical and business teams, which diminishes their value and understanding of engineering realities.

EMBRACING LEARNING AND SEEKING SUPPORT

For new managers feeling overwhelmed, Fournier's advice is to accept that being overwhelmed is part of the job and to get comfortable making decisions with incomplete information. She encourages seeking help, whether from mentors, coaches, or peers, as it demonstrates self-awareness and a willingness to learn. Managers who shy away from asking for help can be more challenging to support than those who proactively seek guidance when facing complex or unfamiliar situations.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Companies

●Organizations

●Books

●People Referenced

New Manager's First 90 Days: Dos and Don'ts

Practical takeaways from this episode

Do This

Establish regular one-on-ones (weekly or bi-weekly).

Make your team a team: conduct team meetings to discuss work and identity.

Develop empathy and improve your ability to detect cues and encourage openness.

Be open about personal things a little to build psychological safety and trust.

Focus on building camaraderie and team culture, especially in remote settings.

Identify what you can stop doing or delegate to manage overwhelm.

Ask for help when needed; it shows self-awareness and allows others to support you.

Reinforce shared cultural values and align the team around them.

Focus on operational excellence and supporting the software your team builds.

When hiring, try to match candidates to the team's specific cultural values and ways of working.

If a hire isn't a perfect fit for one role, try to find another place for them in the organization based on their strengths.

Praise people by being specific, and encourage peer-to-peer recognition.

Continue to stay technically engaged by talking to senior engineer friends, attending design presentations, and reading design docs.

Provide clarity during times of ambiguity.

Work on interpersonal skills to avoid alienating people.

Avoid This

Don't assume everyone has experienced good management.

Don't dismiss management as overhead or bureaucracy; it's a crucial discipline.

Don't wait for small issues to become major problems; address them early through one-on-ones.

Don't allow interpersonal issues on the team to fester without intervention.

Don't avoid having hard conversations; practice this muscle.

Don't default to writing code to solve team problems; focus on planning and unblocking.

Don't force yourself to be a manager if you consistently dislike the role.

Be careful not to let side projects lead to arrogance or invalid assumptions about scaling complex systems.

Don't try to do everything yourself when feeling overwhelmed; delegate and learn to drop less critical tasks.

Don't think you have to know how to do or solve everything on your own.

Avoid playing 'manager telephone' by having direct communication with your team.

Don't make people afraid to speak up or admit mistakes.

Don't hire people who fundamentally clash with the team's core values and ways of working.

Don't assume trial periods are feasible in the current competitive hiring market.

Don't be condescending or dismissive towards your engineers.

Common Questions

Camille Fournier suggests that historically, there was a strong sentiment in tech, especially startups, viewing management as overhead. Additionally, many engineers are promoted to management roles without adequate training or understanding of it as a distinct discipline, leading to a scarcity of truly effective managers.