Is your line manager helpful?
The greatest thing you can do is to keep in mind that every senior developer started out as a newbie, is your line manager helpful in providing the training and guidance you need?
Newbies are often overwhelmed by the number of things they don’t know. They might even feel like quitting at some point because they feel that there is no way they will ever learn all those things. That’s why it’s important for newbies to have a senior developer who is willing to help them along their journey.
A senior developer can be instrumental in guiding junior devs through their first few programming assignments, helping them understand all aspects of software development, and even giving advice on how to develop good coding habits.
Some companies encourage their senior developers to mentor junior developers, while others have a formal mentoring program in place where all new programmers are assigned mentors according to their area of expertise.
Who is a line manager?
A line manager supervises other employees and processes while reporting directly to the senior manager.
Getting to know your boss and learning from them.
Your manager is the one who sets the tone for your team and helps determine what tasks are most important. If you understand how they like to work, it will make collaborating with them much easier.
Observe how your manager interacts with others. You can often tell a lot about how someone works by watching how they interact with others.
Share information with your manager about what you’re working on, how far along you are, and any challenges you’re facing. This will help make sure that he/she has an accurate picture of the situation and knows how to help.
Ask your manager frequently for feedback on how you’re doing at work. You want to make sure that you’re both on the same page about expectations and goals so that there aren’t any misunderstandings or miscommunications.
If you’re asking for feedback, it’s helpful to make sure that the time you ask doesn’t interfere with when your manager is already working on something.
If there are things you need to change or do differently at work, try applying them and then letting your manager know how it went. If you don’t see any changes after a week or so, ask for more specific feedback.
It’s easy to go to your manager with a problem or issue that you’re having at work. However, it’s even more helpful if you go with some solutions in mind.
Don’t be afraid to ask your manager for help if you’re feeling overwhelmed by a task or project
What if the line manager is not helpful?
No matter what, your line manager deserves respect and friendliness. If they’re not receptive, try finding someone else with more experience than you at something you’d like to learn. You can also ask your colleagues for advice about improving certain skills.
What should you do if there is no one in the company with more experience than you?
In this case, consider looking outside your company for someone with more experience with whom you may be able to learn. You may have to pay for their time, but it will be worth it because they can give you a different perspective on things and prevent you from making mistakes others made before you.
How to be a good line manager?
Your top priority is your employee’s career growth — you know their strengths and opportunities and can recommend internal and external classes to help them develop their skills.
Think, not do — Teach people how to think to outlast your time on the team
Make extraordinary standards your own, then live them — It’s your job to create a culture that makes you uncomfortable. Be a role model.
Ask for feedback constantly — Consciously invest in self-awareness. Take notice of the things that make them so effective at disappointing you.
If you hire Brian to paint the entire stadium, don’t hold his hand while he paints — Your job is to hire the best and let them shine.
Develop a strategy and, most importantly, explain why it is a strategy — Set aside time to expose all of this continually
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