Should You Continue to Code as an Engineering Manager?

Find out the reason that people stop coding after becoming Engineering Managers

After I became an Engineering Manager, one of the first things I asked my manager was whether I should keep coding.

My manager said: "Sure, if you can."

I didn’t get what he meant. I wanted to stay close technically and stay close to the team.

But after a few weeks, I realized managers don't have time to code 😅. I needed to prioritize other responsibilities most of the time.

In today's post, I'll explore why most managers code less and what they do instead.

Why Don’t Most Managers Code?

Managers have a different measurement of success: it's measured by the team.

The team's success is the manager's success. On the other hand, if the team has insufficient output, it's the manager’s responsibility.

Some examples of managers’ responsibilities:

• Aligning the team with business goals

• Mentoring individuals

• Resolving conflicts

• All the other technical, project, and people management

Imagine a manager who does hands-on coding 100% of the time, then how is that going to help others besides themselves?

Moving the entire team forward requires a different strategy.

So What Do Managers Do Instead?

In most cases, managers need to do other things to move the team forward. For example:

• Create guidelines so that the entire team can follow

• Help individual team members during 1-on-1 to spot and resolve blockers

• Prioritize impactful tasks so the team’s time is spent wisely

These are the tasks that only managers can do. They can also ask team members to do it, but they need to oversee it.

That's one of the main reasons why managers are always in meetings.

They align, brainstorm, and oversee processes.

Then Why Do Some Managers Still Code?

However, not all managers stop coding entirely. Some continue to code for the following reasons:

It’s in Their Job Description

Some managers are responsible for technical work. It is in their job description. We have been seeing more and more hybrid roles that require managers to be hands-on.

Some would require 50% of technical work. In those roles, managers can expect less work from other domains. For example, product managers will handle task prioritization and sprint management.

For those who don’t need to code, they might need to handle a bigger team or have to be PM at the same time.

It Helps With Team Management

Writing or reviewing code can help managers understand the current technical challenges. It helps them understand the technical context better. It’s easier for them to set goals for the team, find out priority issues, and understand what members are talking about.

Because they are hands-on, it also helps them establish credibility with their team.

They Enjoy It

For some, coding is a passion they don’t want to give up entirely. They find coding tasks to work on from time to time.

Should You Continue to Code as a Manager?

In general, I would advise against coding as a manager. Managers should keep their views on a higher level.

In the career ladder, being an Engineering Manager means that you are at the senior level or above. Whether you want to stay technical or not, it’s better if you are involved more in high-level system design or process management. Delegate the coding tasks to other team members.

However, different organizations have different requirements. I would suggest checking the following factors:

Your Job Description

Some organizations expect engineering managers to code regularly, while others prefer them to focus entirely on management.

Team Needs

Consider what your team needs most from you. For example:

• If they're experienced and can handle tasks by themselves, you might have some flexibility to code occasionally.

• If they need guidance and support, you need to prioritize team management.

• If your team does not have a senior developer, you might want to step in and be that gatekeeper. At the same time, you look for someone who can make technical decisions for the team.

Career Goals

You also need to scope in your long-term career goal. If you're aiming for higher management positions, focusing on leadership skills is more valuable. In the future, as you get to senior management or VP positions, coding will be even less relevant.

However, if you want to keep the option open to return to an IC (individual contributor) role, you can consider maintaining technical skills through some hands-on coding.

How to Stay Technical as a Manager if You Don’t Code

Managers don't need to code to stay technical. It's the same logic for staff engineers and above. Coding is not the only way to be involved in technical work.

The following are some common options.

Be Active In Technical Discussions

Participating actively in technical discussions and design reviews within the team. You don't have to know all the implementation details, but you should know the reason for each decision. For example, what are the pros and cons of using Redis for pub/sub instead of Kafka in your system design?

Stay up-to-date with the Core Engineering Group

If the organization has a platform engineering group (or Core Engineering), make sure the team follows their best practices.

Also, if they offer knowledge-sharing sessions, make sure to attend regularly. For example, learning about Kubernetes, security, and new debugging tools.

Connect with Senior Engineers

Keep a close relationship with senior engineers, staff engineers, or principal engineers. They are working closely with the engineers and are more aware of the current technical issues. Have regular 1-on-1 with them and learn from them about how they resolve the current issues. For example, how do they split the microservices, how do they handle logging, and how do they scale the system?

Follow the Industrial Trends

Lastly, follow the latest trends in technology by checking newsletters, YouTube videos, and articles. For example, follow the trend of AI and see how it's changing the technical landscape.

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