This video provides a guide for tech leads transitioning to management. The speaker, Puja VN, shares her personal struggles when she first became a manager, likening the experience to gardening where each plant (person) has different needs. She outlines a blueprint for new managers, focusing on building trust, establishing team ownership, developing people, and mastering delegation and feedback. The video emphasizes that management is a career change, not just a promotion.
Key Takeaways
1
Transitioning from a tech lead to a manager is a career change, not just a promotion, and involves different responsibilities like debugging conflicts and enabling others.
2
Effective management is like gardening; understanding each individual's unique needs and creating an environment where they can flourish is key to building a successful team.
3
Trust is the fundamental foundation of people management, akin to good soil in a garden, and is built through consistent, empathetic communication and follow-through.
4
In the first few weeks as a manager, focus on actively listening, building context, and earning trust by being candid, consistent, and prioritizing one-on-one interactions.
5
By the second and third month, a manager should shift to ownership, aligning the team's work with business goals, establishing clear meeting rhythms, and communicating progress effectively.
6
From four to six months, the focus should be on developing people by understanding their strengths, setting smart goals, and providing consistent, constructive feedback.
7
Delegation is crucial for scaling your impact as a manager and involves defining outcomes, matching work to strengths, providing context, checking in without micromanaging, and celebrating wins.
8
Receiving feedback gracefully is an important skill for managers, which involves thanking the person, listening without defending, admitting mistakes, and closing the loop on actions taken.
9
To continuously grow as a manager, it's essential to build a strong network, find mentors, prepare for tough conversations, protect reflection time, cultivate hobbies, and develop a writing habit.
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0:08
Thank you everyone. Good afternoon New
0:10
York. This is my first time at lead.
0:12
Thanks for having me. Wow, Angie's talk
0:16
was amazing. It inspired me to build an
0:18
MCP server to do my own job and then go
0:22
back to coding.
0:26
So I stepped into management thinking
0:28
it's just an extension of my previous
0:30
role and then reality gave me a crash
0:33
course as a new manager. My calendar
0:36
exploded. Focus time was replaced by
0:39
meetings and then I wondered when can I
0:42
do real work. Then came loneliness. My
0:46
peer group shrank shrank very quickly
0:49
and leadership felt like a quiet room
0:51
with huge responsibilities.
0:54
imposter syndrome crept in. I was
0:56
leading people who who knew things I
0:59
didn't know and I wondered, am I really
1:02
ready for this? Even giving feedback
1:05
felt hard. I wanted to be liked, but I
1:09
needed to be honest. And that's when it
1:12
clicked. Management isn't a promotion,
1:16
it's a career change. I went from
1:19
debugging crashes to debugging
1:20
conflicts. from writing code to writing
1:23
reviews and from solving problems to
1:26
enabling others to solve them.
1:29
My name is Puja VN. I have been in tech
1:32
for about 20 years. I have seen servers
1:34
vanish into clouds, engineers become
1:36
Slack philosophers and now seeing
1:38
customer support being replaced by AI
1:41
bots.
1:42
Over the course of my career, I have
1:44
worn many hats and I've worked in two
1:47
different countries. I have been an
1:49
engineer, a product manager, a
1:51
engineering manager and now I'm a
1:52
manager of managers.
1:55
When I started my role work as a
1:57
manager, I joined a new company. I had a
2:00
new team, new challenges. I was super
2:02
excited. I showed up to work. My team
2:06
members welcomed me, said hello,
2:08
introduced themselves and said, "Hey,
2:11
let us know if you need anything." And
2:13
that was it. Then I sat on my desk for a
2:16
couple of days wondering what's going
2:19
on. There is no onboarding checklist, no
2:22
task list. This feels very odd. And then
2:26
the light bulb went off. Aha, I am the
2:29
manager. I'm supposed to figure it out.
2:32
So I started doing what managers do. I
2:34
started setting up meetings, asking
2:37
questions, managing the mapping out the
2:40
org and talking to my peers, direct
2:42
reports, managers and understanding what
2:45
the job is. So this is how I stumbled
2:48
into management and today I'm going to
2:50
share the blueprint I wish was given to
2:53
me when I started.
2:56
While I was sharpening my leadership
2:58
skills, I also picked up a new hobby,
3:01
gardening. I had moved into a new house
3:04
and I wanted to change my backyard into
3:06
a English garden. Think of aalas,
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hostas, peonyies, roses, bees and
3:13
butterflies. So I went to work thinking
3:16
how hard can it be.
3:19
I'll be done in a few months and I'll
3:21
enjoy the garden. Work from there.
3:23
[laughter]
3:24
I went to the nursery. I picked up a few
3:26
plants and planted them and thought I'll
3:29
just water them and sunshine will do its
3:32
job.
3:33
Well, it didn't go as I planned it.
3:37
Few plants thrived, some survived, and
3:41
some never made it. Some of them became
3:44
deer snacks.
3:46
And that's when I started learning that
3:48
each plant requires different things.
3:51
Different soil, sunlight, and different
3:54
watering schedules. Some needed acidic
3:57
soil, some needed less watering, some
3:59
wanted pruning, and some just needed
4:02
patience and time. So, after a lot of
4:05
trial and error, my garden worked. It
4:08
started thriving.
4:10
And somewhere along the way I realized
4:12
gardening and managing people isn't very
4:15
different from each other.
4:17
So what do managers do really?
4:22
They're responsible for people
4:24
and the business.
4:27
Management is where empathy meets IITA.
4:32
[snorts] Here's the definition if you
4:34
don't remember it.
4:36
So now let's get back to my gardening
4:38
analogy.
4:40
Think of people as plants. Each one has
4:42
different needs. A gardener's job isn't
4:45
to force every plant to grow the same
4:48
way. It's to create the ecosystem that
4:51
lets each one of them flourish.
4:54
And the gardener's business is the
4:56
garden itself.
4:58
So when you group the right plants
5:00
together, ones that complement and
5:02
balance each other, you bring you create
5:06
something which is far greater than the
5:07
sum of its parts. And that's what
5:10
managers do. They find talent and
5:13
nurture individuals to build a team that
5:15
can deliver real business value.
5:18
As [snorts] part of this work, they also
5:20
help them through transitions like
5:22
layoffs and AI and other things.
5:26
And if you're enjoying this, Lee Dev has
5:28
a ton more to offer.
5:30
>> I'm [music] quite fond of the articles.
5:32
>> I feel like Lee Dev blogs are my
5:35
favorite and it's been really really
5:36
useful to kind of create this more
5:38
meaningful [music] connections as well.
5:40
>> If there's something you're struggling
5:41
with as an engineering leader, there's a
5:42
pretty good chance that Lee Dev has
5:43
published something that addresses it.
5:45
>> So make sure you check out leadv.com.
5:53
Trust is the core foundation of people
5:55
management. It's like soil in a garden.
5:59
No matter how talented your team is,
6:02
nothing thrives in poor soil. Trust
6:06
anchors relationships, fuels motivation,
6:09
and helps team weather challenges,
6:11
conflicts, and miscommunications.
6:14
In your first few weeks as a manager,
6:16
focus on listening, building context,
6:18
and earning trust. If you're in a new
6:21
team, it might look different. If you
6:23
are switching from being a tech lead to
6:25
a manager on the same team, you will
6:27
notice the kind of meetings you're in.
6:29
They will change. The information you
6:31
are gathering will start looking
6:33
different. You have to build trust with
6:34
your reports. Your peers have changed
6:37
into your reports and that would look
6:39
different.
6:40
So in your first week, focus on
6:42
listening, building context, and earning
6:45
it. How do you build?
6:47
Lead with empathy. Listen to learn, not
6:50
to react.
6:53
Communicate with cander. Be honest,
6:56
proactive, and respectful.
7:00
Be consistent. Follow through on what
7:02
you say and prioritize your one-on-
7:05
ones. Trust is not built in big moments.
7:09
It grows quietly through the small ones
7:11
day after day. And if it's broken, it
7:14
takes a long time to repair it.
7:16
So focus there. By your second or third
7:20
month, you move from observation to
7:21
ownership. You have learned the
7:23
landscape and now it's time to shape it
7:26
through OKRs and road maps. Align your
7:28
team's work with business goals. Use
7:31
data to define success metrics and
7:33
milestones.
7:35
Establish your team's meeting rhythms,
7:38
check-ins for progress, syncs for
7:40
discussions, retros for improvement.
7:43
This is not micromanagement. It provides
7:45
clarity to your teams. They know what
7:47
the schedule is. Share wins early black
7:51
flock flag blockers and communicate
7:54
progress very often and communicate it
7:57
clearly. You might have to change the
7:59
language based on the audience.
8:02
It needs to look different for your team
8:04
members and different for your
8:06
leadership.
8:08
Um
8:10
it's how you earn your own manager's
8:12
trust.
8:14
Next, your focus shifts to developing
8:16
people in the in the next four to six
8:20
months. Each person is unique. Learn
8:22
their strengths and motivators.
8:26
Align expectations and set smart goals
8:29
together.
8:30
Feedback isn't just for review sessions.
8:33
It's an everyday tool for growth. Give
8:36
real-time feedback and praise for wins
8:39
and thoughtful constructive feedback for
8:41
improvement.
8:43
Think of feedback like pruning. When
8:45
done well, it helps people grow
8:47
stronger.
8:50
Beyond these first six months, continue
8:53
repeat the process and keep practicing
8:55
and growing your skills. There are a lot
8:57
of them I cannot cover all. Lead dev has
9:00
tons of material that covers this
9:02
material. So I encourage you to check it
9:04
out. But I do want to talk about two
9:06
critical skills.
9:08
First one is delegation. One of the
9:11
biggest mindset shift for me as a
9:13
manager was learning how to delegate.
9:16
Delegation isn't about offloading work.
9:18
It's about scaling yourself. You cannot
9:21
grow your impact if everything depends
9:23
on you. So to do it well,
9:27
define the outcome. Explain what's the
9:30
problem, why it matters, and what
9:32
success looks like. Then match work to
9:35
people. Delegate based on people's
9:38
strengths and stretch goals, not just
9:40
based on availability.
9:42
Provide context. Share the why. Then
9:45
trust them to figure out the how.
9:48
Check in. Don't hover. Guide through
9:51
milestones, not micromanagement.
9:55
Celebrate wins. Make recognition public.
9:58
And own the misses privately. Because
10:01
real leadership isn't about doing more.
10:04
It's about enabling more.
10:08
One of the hardest thing for me to learn
10:10
as a manager was to receive feedback
10:12
with gra with grace.
10:15
Start with thanks. When someone gives
10:17
you feedback, they're taking a risk. So
10:20
say a thank you. That builds safety. And
10:23
then listen and dig deeper.
10:26
Don't defend or explain, just absorb.
10:29
Sometimes silence is the most powerful
10:31
response.
10:35
Pause before reacting and paraphrasing
10:37
to confirm your understanding and admit
10:39
when you are wrong. Vulnerability builds
10:42
trust faster than perfection.
10:45
Later reflect and decide what you want
10:47
to act on and then close the loop. Share
10:50
what you will change and ask for
10:52
feedback regularly. This helps build the
10:55
muscle and normalizes it for you and
10:57
your reports. Here's my check
10:59
recommended checklist for managers.
11:01
Build a strong network. Find mentors.
11:04
Expand your knowledge of expand your
11:06
circle of information. Join peer groups.
11:09
We learn faster together. Prepare for
11:12
tough conversations. They get easier
11:14
with practice. Protect reflection time
11:17
and cultivate hobbies to stay grounded.
11:20
And build a writing habit. It sharpens
11:22
thinking and clarifies your leadership
11:24
voice.
11:27
Here
11:30
are a few resources that I have found
11:32
helpful during my journey. Whatever
11:34
format works for you and again lead
11:37
offers a lot and all the talks are also
11:39
great. Thank you for listening.
11:50
[music]
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Tech lead to manager: A blueprint for successful transition
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