Before joining Autodesk back in 2017, I didn’t really have a proper manager. I either worked in family-like companies, where hierarchy was somewhat

How to be a great manager

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2024-11-28 18:30:07

Before joining Autodesk back in 2017, I didn’t really have a proper manager. I either worked in family-like companies, where hierarchy was somewhat flat, or early stage companies where hierarchy was just developing. It’s only at Autodesk where I’ve been exposed to career ladders, and proper company hierarchy.

And while I do have managerial and leadership experience, I believe that a good manager can be judged only by the team he manages, rather than by his manager. I was managed by a great manager at Autodesk. He was so good that I even submitted a talk proposal titled “How to be a great manager - an insight from a non manager perspective”, to the internal knowledge sharing conference at Autodesk. My talk was rejected (don’t know why), but my observations stayed with me for the past 7 years. And now, after 7 years, a few more managers in my career, and a fairly popular blog, I decided to share my insights here. Let’s begin.

Being a great manager is being down there with your team. I joined Autodesk at a stage where the office I worked at was transitioning from a startup like environment, to a proper chain of responsibilities, and new teams were forming. My manager was my co-worker. We’ve both been software engineers working on the same product. I don’t think it’s a necessity for your teammates to see how you are being promoted to a manager in order to be a great manager, but I do think it’s important that as a manager—either one who was promoted to from inside the team, or hired outside—you need to stay close to your team.