During the last years, I've been mentoring and coaching developers and I can tell you, the most common question I get asked is always the same.
Should I become a manager or should I stay on a technical track?
I'm not going to minimize the problem. When you reach a certain level of seniority and you still want to grow, this is the question that pops up in your mind, during the night, usually around 2:00AM, after a tough working day.
Now, my dear developer, I know what you are going through. I can feel your anxiety. I can relate, simply because I found myself in the same situation.
I know, it's not easy.
I can almost hear your thoughts. Becoming an Engineering Manager or a team leader would be a nice step.
You'll lead a team and you'll finally have the "power" to build the architecture you always wanted to build, hire the best developers and fight back against the evil product owner who doesn't want to split the monolith or prioritize that "important" refactoring.
Being a leader is charming, it will make you feel empowered.
It's going to be different tho, you will have to leave your toys, you will code less, you will have to take care of people, have 1:1 meetings, interview, and interact with stakeholders.
The good old days spent hunting a bug while listening to your favorite band are gone, forever.
You will not be the expert anymore. You will rust.
On the other side of the spectrum, there is a technical path. You could become a Principal Engineer. An expert, able to solve complex problems across the whole organization.
This is attractive as well but it comes with a cost. You will probably stop working with a single team and will be treated as a consultant inside the company.
At the end of the day, you don't really know if you'll like it or if you'll miss out on becoming a manager.
Again, I know, it's not easy.
An answer from Middle Earth
People who know me can tell you, without any doubt, that The Lord of the Rings has been my favorite book since I was a kid.
I don't like J.R.R. Tolkien, I literally worship him.
Tolkien created characters able to talk directly to the reader, in a unique and personal way. Relating to those imaginary heroes is easy because they have the same fears, concerns, and anxieties that we all have. They are humans, like us.
Other than that, The Lord of the Rings contains a lot of valuable leadership lessons and a lot of team dynamics can be analyzed using the Fellowship of the Ring as an example.
Every time someone asks me if they should become a manager or stay technical, I simply tell them to read Tolkien's masterpiece and answer a very simple question:
If you look deep inside your soul, are you Legolas or are you Aragorn?
Those two characters perfectly represent the Expert and the Leader or, if you prefer, the Principal Engineer and the Engineering Manager.
Legolas is an archer. Actually, he's not a simple archer, he's probably the most talented archer in the whole Middle-earth. In the movie he's even more spectacular and can kill an orc from a thousand meters, he flips onto a running horse, never runs out of arrows and, while doing all that stuff, his hair looks perfect, always perfect.
This guy is just amazing, I was thirteen when I watched the movie for the first time and I was astonished. I wanted to be like him.
There is only one point that people seem to be missing about Legolas: everybody would like to be like him but nobody would follow him.
Legolas is good with his bow, very good with it and that's it.
Nothing else. No vision, no goal, no identity. Tolkien didn't even consider him in the first draft of the book.
And you know what? There is nothing bad with that.
Legolas is still a great character. He is perfect as he is and fills the role perfectly. The Fellowship of the Ring needs him because of his huge talent. This is the value that he adds to the team.
Aragorn, on the flip side, is a completely different story.
Aragorn really shines as a guide. He is aware of the weight on his shoulders, he knows the mistakes that his people made, he knows how important the mission is and he delivers this message every time he talks.
Aragorn takes decisions, hard decisions sometimes. He makes mistakes and holds himself accountable for those. He apologizes when he has to and tries his best to fix a problem he creates. He is a communicator and very good at influencing people.
In a nutshell, Aragorn talks the talk and walks the walk, throughout the whole book, in a very candid and unapologetic way.
This is what a leader does, Aragorn is a Leader.
But what about Aragorn's technical skills? He is a good swordsman and a decent archer, this is undeniable. Let's say that he's a solid senior warrior, not mind-blowing but definitely above the average. But he is not the best warrior on the team, he will never be the most technical guy, and he is not the expert.
Again, this is ok, he brings a completely different skill set to the team. He complements the expert (Legolas) and fills the gaps while acting as a glue and a guide.
Creating Aragorn and Legolas
But what can a company or a manager do to help people make the right decision? How can we create more people like Aragorn or Legolas?
I might have a couple of hints.
Have a career ladder
I know, it really sounds odd but many companies don't have a clear career ladder.
And no, I'm not only talking about startups in an embryonic phase.
I got in touch with many companies that simply operate without having a career ladder, for years.
A ladder is extremely important because it defines a list of expectations and criteria that a person has to fulfill to reach a given position.
A career ladder basically defines the role and helps people to better understand what they will be doing if they step into that role.
Other than that, a clear career ladder fosters an unbiased hiring and promotion process.
In other words, people don't get promoted because the manager thinks that they are cool or because they play together online games after work.
Let people try
When I started leading people my manager told me: I will support you but being a manager is something that you will learn by doing, there is no book for it.
Now, this is not completely true, there are a lot of amazing books that can help you navigate the struggles of an Engineering Manager, but the statement is basically correct. You cannot learn management the way you learn coding, it's more a trial and error approach.
A company should be flexible enough to let people try and move them back if they realize that being a manager is not what they want. Often people don't take this step because it feels like a point of no return, this should not happen.
Even shadowing a manager or a principal could be beneficial for a person who is trying to find some guidance about their next career move. Giving people this opportunity could be immensely beneficial.
Create multipliers
A good developer develops good code, a good manager develops good people.
While a company grows, it goes through different phases.
A leader in this field is required to change their approach and their management style depending on those phases.
A young company requires a hands-on manager, very flexible, focused on tech, and able to wear many hats. When the company grows and reaches a more mature state, those tech leads should slowly transition into people managers, able to delegate and empower the developers.
In this state, a manager should focus on mentoring and growing people in their team and become a multiplier.
Finding managers who are able and willing to act as coaches or mentors is not easy, but the return on investment is worth the recruiting effort.
Conclusion
If you were looking for a clear answer to the initial dilemma, sorry, I can't help you.
There is no right or wrong here. In the end, it's up to you.
You are the maker of your own destiny and you'll have to find what is going to work for you.
You will never become a Principal Engineer without a strong discipline and passion for this subject. On the other side, being a leader without having a clear vocation is going to make you feel miserable and will make your team members miserable as well.
Take your time, have a talk with yourself, and don't forget to read Tolkien.