Three Steps for Programmers to Become Senior Managers

Latest update time：2020-11-07

Reads：

Many of my fans have talked to me about their career confusions, some of them have just graduated, and some have been working for more than 10 years.

Basically, it revolves around how to continuously improve and how to be promoted to senior management.

In this article, I will talk about the path from programmer to executive.

After graduating from the ivory tower and entering the society, after 3 to 5 years, there are three extremely important leaps in the process of growth. If you can't make it, your height will stop there.

- 1 -

Technological leap

The so-called technological leap is: from an individual beginner to an individual contributor

The first leap is from a beginner to an individual contributor. This leap is from a layman to a capable person.

This leap forward has truly opened the door to doing things right.

When you are a beginner, your abilities are as follows:

Once you become an individual contributor, your capabilities have been enhanced:

So How can you improve your abilities? Here are a few things you need to achieve.

The first one is target upgrade.

It means to have strict requirements on yourself, and change from having no goals or clear goals before to having clear and achievable goals.

Many students in school are full of confidence, ambition, dreams and desire for success.

But after entering the company, if you suddenly lose your goals and fail to adjust your mindset in time, you will fall into a state of complacency and lack of ambition.

So you must have your own goals, your own goals that need to be upgraded.

So how should you set goals?

Be sure to meet the smart principles and don't set unattainable goals for yourself.

Once this goal is not achieved, it will become a reason for you to release your guilt.

Set stage goals for yourself.

What studies should be completed within 1 year?

What systems should I be familiar with within 2 years?

What skills should be improved within 3 years?

…

Target upgrading is the most basic requirement for capacity leap.

If a person doesn't even have a goal, what's the difference between him and a salted fish?

The second is learning upgrade.

When we are students, we learn new knowledge.

This way of learning is systematic learning.

But once you enter a company, you obviously don't have much time for systematic learning.

The purpose of an enterprise is to achieve commercial goals, which is its only purpose.

So how do you learn efficiently?

It is necessary to upgrade from system learning method to multi-dimensional learning method.

What's the meaning?

It is a method that mainly uses the point-to-surface approach, supplemented by the systematic learning method.

At work, you often only need to focus on solving a specific problem.

But there must be a more complete and in-depth knowledge structure behind these problems.

Therefore, after completing the work, you still need to continue learning the knowledge structure behind it.

Taking network programming as an example, I made a tool in 2015, a device discovery tool, which used UDP multicast technology and was developed quickly and smoothly.

But learning has just begun, and there are many technologies that can be explored in depth:

Expanding from udp, it can extend to every corner of network technology, from user state to kernel state, from API to specific implementation methods, from data structure to algorithm. This is a complete knowledge system.

The third is to think about upgrading

You need to upgrade from simple thinking mode to deep thinking .

What's the meaning?

We will face many difficult problems at work. You can rely on experience to solve the problems, but if new problems arise, you will be helpless.

Why is this?

Because you lack the ability to think, especially the ability to think deeply.

Deep thinking is not innate, it can be cultivated.

Learn deep thinking by mastering methodology.

First, the 5why analysis method, also known as the "5 questions method", is to ask yourself 5 "whys" in a row about a problem in order to find out its root cause.

Second, reverse thinking. The so-called reverse thinking means that when you don’t know what to do, you should think about things in the opposite direction of the public’s daily thinking. In other words, it is not [cause] -> [result], but [result] -> [cause].

Third, make deliberate connections and apply what you have learned . Deep thinking is a habit, and since it is a habit, you need to practice it. And it requires a lot of deliberate practice.

The fourth is perseverance upgrade

You need to upgrade from giving up when you encounter a problem to getting to the bottom of it and persisting.

You must learn to persevere, but we are all born with laziness, and laziness can easily defeat us.

We also often find that it is easy to set goals, but difficult to achieve them.

Let's look back and see if there are many failures caused by our lack of long-term persistence and perseverance .

As the saying goes, "If you keep thinking about it, there will be a response."

You have to identify the goal, work hard and don't give up easily. In the end, we will find that you are the only one left on this track .

The above 4 upgrades, goals, learning, thinking, and perseverance , can be completed step by step.

I believe your abilities can be improved.

- 2 -

Management Leap

The second leap was from an individual contributor to a grassroots manager. This leap was from working alone to working as a team.

This leap forward has truly opened the door to management for you.

Although it is just knocking on the door, for you, it is a change in the entire ability system.

When you are an individual contributor, your capabilities are:

When you are a grassroots manager, your ability requirements have completely changed:

My job has completely changed, and the requirements have become coordination, organization, and feedback .

So the following 4 upgrades must be done.

The first upgrade is called responsibility upgrade

When you are an individual contributor, you are responsible for the task. You are given a task, told the details of the task, and informed of the deadline.

You just need to get it done before the deadline and everything will be OK.

And now you need to be responsible for the outcome of this matter.

That is, for the same thing, you don't do it yourself, but you assign the task to your subordinates, and the coach guides the subordinates to complete the task.

The outcome of this task, whether good or bad, is entirely yours .

Suppose your leader gives you a difficult task and orders you to complete it within one week, but you mess it up and fail to finish it on time. Your boss asks you why this happened?

You must never shirk responsibility. Even if your subordinates fail to complete the task, it is your responsibility.

Remember that there are many bumps in the road. As a grassroots manager, you need to find ways to achieve your goals because it is your responsibility.

The second upgrade is called action upgrade

You have now gone from working alone to being the manager of a team.

Because of your outstanding technical abilities, you may be promoted to team leader or manager (grassroots manager).

As a new manager, one mistake I always make is "always thinking that others are not doing it well, so I do it myself."

This idea is very stupid.

No matter how capable a person is, he cannot beat an organized team.

When you are an individual contributor, your work is relatively pure . Just use your brain and hands to get the job done.

When you are already a grassroots manager, you need to upgrade from using your brain and hands to act directly to using your brain to guide actions. This is a thorough action upgrade.

When you encounter difficult problems that need to be solved, you need to demonstrate your organizational skills, make plans, assign appropriate responsibilities, and issue your task orders.

Let your subordinates understand your ideas, understand your methods, and ultimately successfully solve the problem.

Remember, never solve their problems for them.

The third upgrade is called collaborative upgrade

When you are an individual contributor, your working relationships are relatively simple, consisting of colleagues and leaders in the group.

When you become a manager, your working relationships will become complicated, including leaders, subordinates, colleagues, external customers, etc.

At this time, the way of collaboration needs to undergo major changes. You not only need to consider subordinates and leaders, but also other external relationships.

Relationships become complex and the way work is done collaboratively needs to be upgraded.

From simple technical collaboration between colleagues within the group, it has been upgraded to a mixed mode of coordinated collaboration and technical collaboration between groups.

Upgrade from a closed collaboration scope to an open collaboration scope.

When you need to start a project, you should not only focus on the work within the group, but also consider the work between groups.

Just as the mathematical concept of a surface is upgraded to a three-dimensional space, the way of collaboration also needs to be completely upgraded .

The fourth upgrade is called achievement upgrade

Now you need to upgrade from personal achievement to team achievement.

What's the meaning?

In Maslow's model of human needs, there are progressive levels from physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, respect needs, to self-actualization.

The same is true for people’s pursuits. To achieve self-pursuit through one’s own efforts is the most basic pursuit. This is also personal achievement.

Through your management, your subordinates continue to grow and the team's capabilities become stronger and stronger. This is team achievement.

As grassroots managers, if we only achieve personal success and do not focus on achieving success for our subordinates, it will be difficult for our team to become strong.

if:

What would you think when one of your subordinates becomes more and more influential and is recognized by more and more people?

If you feel threatened and your position is no longer secure, then you can only be a grassroots manager.

You have to know that you represent your entire team. The success of your subordinates is your success; the recognition your subordinates receive is your recognition.

If a team is not strong, can you still get promoted?

As the leader of a team, you need to have the ambition to achieve success for your subordinates in order to go further.

If you can complete the responsibility upgrade, action upgrade, collaboration upgrade, and achievement upgrade , then you have completed the management leap and become a real manager.

— 3 —

Leadership Leap

This leap is from a grassroots manager to a team leader.

To become a leader, you need to change from local control to overall control, lead your team to strategize, overcome difficulties, defeat the strong with the weak, and ultimately achieve victory.

To complete this leap, the following two upgrades are required.

The first is strategic upgrade.

The word strategy was originally a military concept. It is a plan to achieve overall goals from a global perspective.

It is a long-term plan and an ambitious goal. It often takes a long time to plan strategies, formulate strategies, and achieve strategic goals.

Tactics are only one of the means to achieve strategy, and grassroots managers are responsible for tactics.

If you want to win a short-term battle, you can use tactics to achieve it! If you want to "fight for the whole life", you need to plan from the overall situation, which is strategy!

What's the meaning?

Applying it to the enterprise means " doing the right thing "

From the tactical level of grassroots management, doing things right can be upgraded to the strategic level of "doing the right things".

The most important responsibility of grassroots managers is to lead their subordinates to achieve the company's strategic goals faster and better.

The most important responsibility of a team leader is to set the company's strategic goals.

What goals do you want to achieve, how do you work with suppliers, and what do you plan to do in the next 3 to 5 years?

The second is the upgrade of influence

Influence is the ability to change the thoughts and actions of others in a way that they are willing to accept .

Influence comes from many places, it may be your position in the company, your technical ability, your personal charm, or your personality traits.

Influence is a very important weapon. Once you have influence, whether it is stating your point of view, removing obstacles , or resolving conflicts, these things will be easily done.

You can also establish values and vision within the company, lead by example, motivate the team, and generate tremendous cohesion.