10 Mistakes To Avoid as a Software Development Manager

Speaking from experience — with a second chance in a software leadership position

Photo by Leon on Unsplash

In my early software development career, with much hard work, I am very fortunate to become a software manager relatively early. Being relatively young and naive as a new manager, my focus has been on commitments and project deliveries.

Still, I did well and climbed the management ladder to become a senior manager without even realizing I had missed out on so much of what I should or should not do as a manager. As I look back today, I met the bottom line back then, but I failed in many ways.

After resetting my career and moving into a new industry, i.e., mobile development for the last seven years, now I’m going back to some level of management. Below are the mistakes I will avoid during this second chance I am very fortunate to have.

1. The Project Is Not the Top Priority — People Are

As developers, what’s most important to deliver? Our projects and deadlines! The only means to prove our worth and capabilities to our boss is to ensure we deliver committed deliveries.

I brought that mentality on even after being promoted to supervisor, manager, and later promoted to senior manager. I impressed my boss by showing them all projects were delivered on time.

Of course, I do have people working under me. They are resources to make projects feasible and delivered on time. When we lose one person, let’s look for another one.

I was so wrong.

Yes, I delivered projects, but now after ten years, all these projects are obsolete. They are history. Soon most of them will be forgotten. But the people we worked with ten years ago are still very much alive. I didn’t mistreat them back then, and we are still friends.

But then I asked myself: How much did I invest in making them better as a person? How much did I concern myself with their growth, so they can be better in what they are doing, not just to get the project going? How much did I know them as a person? What are their passions and aspirations?