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ccmiller2018 profile image
Christopher Miller

I recon the Manager i have right now is the pinnacle of examples when it comes to managing people in the dev world.

He's a developer, so he gets his hands dirty so to speak. He will literally dig in on a project, and honestly i think he prefers it when he is.

He's a leader, so he can guide people when it's needed. he can take a person and lead them forward, without it being a struggle.

He's a manager, so he can manage multiple projects. he can juggle his time well, and can make sure people are always keeping as close to time as possible.

He's a people person, so he gets on with every single member of the team, with us all working together to make the dream work.

He's a sympathiser, so he gets it when a project or task is too much. he will help you, he'll put in hours with you to make it work.

He's a friend, so he can tell when you're having a bad day - and will do what he can to make it easier for you.

He's an empowerer, so he will push people to do things they didn't think they could, but not in a nasty, or down-on-you way.

He's a blame-taker, so he won't let you say "I mucked up" it's always "We mucked up".

He's a solution-finder, so he won't say "don't do it again" if something goes wrong - he'll say "how can we make sure that there's something in place to make sure that none of us do this again"

He's an appreciator, so he will do things like buy coffee for the team, pay for licenses for stuff for us, and use a word i don't hear in the dev world often - THANKYOU!

Best of all, he's my boss, and i wouldn't change it for the world!

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katiekodes profile image
Katie

Love this comment. A lot of the original questions aren't things I have preferences over (I care more about how someone manages than whether they got there as a career manager or a former dev). This does a pretty good job summing up what I love in a boss!

I will say that being detail-oriented and skeptical and willing to say "no" is something I prefer in a boss. Sometimes that comes from being a former dev and understanding how hard things that "sound easy" to business users can be to actually do. Other times non-devs just seem to "get it" and respect that if "on-the-ground" folks are intimidated by a flood of projects, they probably have a good reason. In other words, I definitely like "umbrella bosses" who serve as gatekeepers to their employees' work-life balance, hold back the floods, and triage.