I've been programming for over 10 years, and I think that Agile methodologies are KEY for any IT field, but when I moved to management there was something missing: I did not know how to manage my team.
I joined a start-up company focused on the Latin American market and SMS applications. I started as a senior developer and eventually senior management made me Director of Technology. I was under the influence that not much was going to change. I had only a handful of directs, and I worked with them for quiet some time. Therefore, I continued doing my stand-up meetings, showcases, Sprint Planning Meetings, retrospectives, etc. However, many incidents quickly made me realize that I didn't know my directs as well as I thought.
One incident happened right after I joined the company. One of my developers (who was also a senior) became very distant and also showed some attitude. Also, some of the developers started coming in late. Worse of all, I was terrible on providing feedback. I was stressed and always talking bad to them.
Lucky enough, I stumbled on the podcast "Manager Tools". They had a podcast named "Boss One-on-Ones - Professional Updates". It really changed the way I managed my team. The model works awesome and it's very simple. The model is based on weekly meeting with each direct for 30 minutes.
- The first 10 minutes is for them,
- Next 10 minutes for you
- Last 10 minutes for development.
It took a while for my team to open-up, but later I realize that one of my developers wanted my position, the other developer said that he always needed help meeting deadlines and coming on time. Not only was I able to know my directs, but I was becoming a better manager. Because I knew my directs better I was able to help them with their careers, and I was able to efficiently delegate since I knew their strengths and weakness. Highly recommend it!
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