Top 3 Reasons ICs Should Not Become Managers
Think thrice before you make the jump.
Everyone starts out as an individual contributor (IC).
As you progress in your career, you need to decide if it stays that way or if you should become a manager.
Many people make the jump with the wrong intentions.
When you do, you alienate yourself, your direct reports, and your boss.
There are good reasons for becoming a manager, but there are also good reasons to stay an IC.
1) You don't want to be responsible for other people
It's the hard truth of the management promotion:
You move from being responsible for your own work to being responsible for other people's work.
If you have a strong aversion to this, management isn't for you.
Not only are you responsible for other people's work, you're responsible for improving their performance. You're responsible for giving them direct, constructive feedback. You're responsible for team outcomes. You're responsible for setting direction. You're responsible for the team's mistakes.
If the thought of this responsibility makes you want to throw-up, stay an IC.
2) You have an insatiable appetite for technology
You love technology and the technical part of your job.
You are borderline obsessed with the tech, new tools, and AI.
You get deep satisfaction from solving technical problems. You're living in heaven when you architect a solution, write optimized code, or automate a process. You're the go-to person when peers need help on a technical problem.
Being a people leader will take time away from all this.
Sure, as a manager, you will still be involved with the technology, but it's not the same. A manager's focus is people, an IC's focus is technology.
If you can't bare the idea of being pulled away from the tech, stay an IC.
3) You're unsure of your path
The worst. thing you can do is become a manager when you're not sure that you want to be one.
You will be frustrated, your team members will be frustrated, and your boss will be frustrated.
Managers are integral to the career paths of the people on their team. How can you lead them if you're unsure of your own path?
You'll be stuck between two poles.
One urging you to do your own technical work, the other one pulling you to fully adopt your management responsibilities. You can't serve these two masters at once. You will do each poorly. Don't try.
You can't have both.
If you're unsure, stay an IC.