5.1 - Changing the goalpost: Defining success through collective growth
When you are a Senior Engineer or an Architect, your definition of success is personal and highly tangible. You wrote the elegant algorithm. You designed the scalable database schema. You shipped the critical feature.
When you become an Engineering Manager, the hardest psychological shift is redefining what success looks like. If you still measure your worth by the code you personally write, you will feel empty and frustrated at the end of the day.
The shift from "I" to "We"
Your success is no longer tied to your personal output. Your success is entirely defined by the output, growth, and autonomy of your team.
You have to change the goalpost:
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Old Goal: "I fixed the critical bug in production".
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New Goal: "I coached a junior engineer through the debugging process so they could fix it themselves".
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Old Goal: "I designed the perfect system architecture".
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New Goal: "I facilitated a whiteboard session where the team collaborated to design a scalable architecture they feel ownership over".
The invisible work
Much of an EM's work is invisible. When you successfully shield the team from a chaotic stakeholder request, nothing happens. The team just codes in peace. When you resolve a conflict between two engineers in a 1:1, the project simply stays on track.
You must find satisfaction in this invisible work. A quiet, smooth-running team is the loudest indicator of a great manager.
Celebrate the moments when your team solves a major problem without needing to ask for your help. That is the ultimate proof that you have built a resilient, capable organization.
🎯 Self-Reflection for You
- At the end of the week, do you feel unaccomplished if you didn't write any code, even if your team hit all their sprint goals?
- Are you actively creating spaces for your team to solve complex problems independently?
Redefining your professional identity from IC to Manager is psychologically challenging. If you are struggling with the loss of your technical output, let's talk through the transition in a virtual coffee chat.