Got a new job as an App Dev Manager

Just a smattering of advice having moved from individual contributor to director over the last couple years.

• Take this one seriously: It's easier to start strict and loosen up than the opposite. Think seriously about your expectations around begin online/in the office, communication, admin practices, time of requests, etc. Lean towards a bit stricter. You can loosen up a bit over time as your build rapport with your team. But you want to lay a foundation of expectation so that if someone drifts outside the reasonable bounds it is an easier conversation to reference previously understood expectations.
• Figure out how you will track and manage projects. Keep on top of it.
• Document management and process decisions! A team member will flag a decision with you, you'll make a decision, record what you decided because you'll want to be consistent when similar decisions come up. Or at least have a justification for differing with precedent.
• Try to keep tabs on your level of influence. I say this because occasionally I will say something in passing and be surprised at the reach. You want to be conscientious of when a comment could incidentally make someone else's life harder.
• Go outside your comfort zone. Your team wants to see you advocating for them, they want to be on a team that has influence, and you will want to highlight your team members on as large a stage as you can.
• Being corny is okay. Employee recognition awards, team building, etc. No one likes it, it's corny, etc. But it works. Your team members might roll their eyes at a quarterly recognition award. But they'd prefer to be in the running for it than not.

While my management experience has been mostly transient / informal, I highly recommend Alison Green's Ask A Manager advice blog. My wife is a manager and has used her book with the managers she supervises as well.

Most of the columns are pretty fun/interesting to read, so reading the backlog will be pretty useful. She aggressively moderates the comments section, so it's probably tildes level or better for healthy discussion, which is good if you want a deeper dive or more viewpoints on a particular article.

What's really useful about a lot of it is the little mini scripts she gives to help people in different situations. Obviously you can't memorize them all, but having thought through a variety of situations ahead of time means you will be flying by the seat of your pants less often.

It can also be interesting to read only the letter/question and think about what you would do first, then compare your reaction with her advice.

Tips and Tricks? Prayers?

Prayers mostly? :P Most tips I can give are mostly from the sideline as I have focussed my career mostly on a technical path avoiding any outright management roles. I feel I can give some general advice, though. Most of which you likely already know, but doesn't hurt to be reminded of.

Be aware of snake oil advice out there. There is a lot of it, both online and within companies. One growth path at the company I am at is one that leads towards more managerial roles, and I have participated in two initiatives/programs intended to "motivate" and "inspire" people to take that path. The amount of sheer pseudo-science, new age, wishful thinking bullshit that is touted in there already made me steer clear away from that growth path. The same outright bad advice I often see being touted in blogs, linkedin, etc.

I guess what I am saying is be aware of who is giving you advice, where they are coming from and what their own goals might be.

Other than that, don't get pulled into any artificial crisis and panic. If one thing is harmful for teams is managers who go fully along with anything touted as a crisis.

I'll second someone else's suggestion of manager tools podcast. I would start with the manager tools basics list. The short list is have regular 1-1's with your direct reports, learn how to give good feedback, and learn to delegate.

I think a good structure to your management goes a long way to setting you and the team up for success. It's better to make small frequent adjustments than infrequent but dramatic turns. For years I did team meetings with each teams successively Monday morning to quickly lay out the week and chat. Midweek 1-1's, and a optional social hour on Friday for things like Pictionary, IRL or virtual.

I never seemed to struggle with the stuff most of my leadership peers did, like hiring, firing, and promotion, and I think it's because of this structure and the notes and documentation that goes with it. It's real work, but it means when there is a problem or opportunity, you can move quickly rather than start an 18 month clock where you have to start documenting fresh.

Don't be afraid to try new things and don't be afraid to take input. Also, your big job now is helping the team understand the why's of business decisions that impact them, so stay plugged into that stuff so you can explain it.

Manager tools has been my go to for over 10 years.

Master one on ones, feedback, coaching, and delegation, and you’ll be killing it as a manager.

https://www.manager-tools.com/