Management values I didn't expect to learn

"I was an individual contributor (IC) for over 20 years before moving into management. Even then, I was reluctant to take the job because I enjoyed doing the work so much. So I'm familiar with ICs, how they think, and what sorts of things they think about. Things like craft, product quality, three-month timelines, career development, and recognition. Now that I've been in management for a while, I also see how leadership thinks too. They're thinking about strategy, year-long roadmaps, revenue, and the overall health of the organization."

"Giving people both async and live ways to contribute, so it's not just the loudest voice or one in an optimal timezone that wins. Making it normal to share work early, not just when someone "feels it's ready for critique." We're going to get leadership's feedback at some point, better to get it early when there's still time to address it and possibly change direction."

Experience as both an individual contributor and a manager supports bridging craft-focused IC concerns with leadership strategy and organizational priorities. Team health is foundational: stress, burnout, and fear undermine performance and collaboration. Trust and honest, non-personal feedback create space for productive work. Provide both asynchronous and live contribution channels to avoid dominance by loud voices or timezones. Encourage early sharing of work to surface leadership feedback when change is still possible. Be realistic about bandwidth to prevent overcommitments. Support experimentation and safe failure as roles converge, and normalize vulnerability to model psychological safety.

Read at Medium