I think this is a sad reflection on the industry, being technical and being a good manager are two different skillsets. Being a strategic CTO is a third.
This obsession with technical skills means we often shoehorn a technically strong person into a role that requires more of one or both of the other skillset.
I agree we need managers who are great at managing people and process. I also wrote in my latest post about how critical it is for companies to have people that have the vision to get things accomplished, which those managers also help with. https://blog.visionarycto.com/p/startups-need-3-types-of-visionaries
I still believe in my sentiment that it is harder to find a job though.
Some people love the focusing on managing people and process and that is OK. I would call that the VP of Engineering role. If you want to keep your technical skills fresh you just need to figure out how to spend 5-10 hours a week doing various special projects or coding. Prototyping is one of the best things you can do to help the team and flex your skills.
Agreed. I’m an engineering manager coming from being VP of a startup company (didn’t go well), and I decided to move back into a Lead/Manager role but still find it hard in this role as I’m doing more project/product management and prioritizing. I dedicate some time each week to make sure I’m running through PRs, always have a working local environment running and doing some POC work.
I think this is a sad reflection on the industry, being technical and being a good manager are two different skillsets. Being a strategic CTO is a third.
This obsession with technical skills means we often shoehorn a technically strong person into a role that requires more of one or both of the other skillset.
I agree we need managers who are great at managing people and process. I also wrote in my latest post about how critical it is for companies to have people that have the vision to get things accomplished, which those managers also help with. https://blog.visionarycto.com/p/startups-need-3-types-of-visionaries
I still believe in my sentiment that it is harder to find a job though.
Yup, definitely harder.
How do you recommend getting out of this position? Go back to an IC role?
Some people love the focusing on managing people and process and that is OK. I would call that the VP of Engineering role. If you want to keep your technical skills fresh you just need to figure out how to spend 5-10 hours a week doing various special projects or coding. Prototyping is one of the best things you can do to help the team and flex your skills.
Agreed. I’m an engineering manager coming from being VP of a startup company (didn’t go well), and I decided to move back into a Lead/Manager role but still find it hard in this role as I’m doing more project/product management and prioritizing. I dedicate some time each week to make sure I’m running through PRs, always have a working local environment running and doing some POC work.
It's always a hard balance as a manager