A Tale of the Flip Floppers. From Engineer to Manager and Back Again

I've flip flopped between engineer and manager three times already. I'm quite aware that this is not an unusual thing to do. There's a heap of flip floppers out there! At Atlassian I'm in a new managers group. Interestingly there are many managers in the group that have previously been managers but joined Atlassian as an engineer.
So what's wrong with us? Why do we keep changing our role? Is it boredom? Are we crazy? I think there's actually method to the madness. Each time we make a change it's intentional and there's a purpose, and whilst some say it can hurt your career, I'd like to take you on a journey to explore why flip floppers are a very valuable breed!

This talk has been presented at React Day Berlin 2023, check out the latest edition of this React Conference.

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FAQ

Switching roles between engineering and management enhances a variety of skills, making individuals more versatile and adaptable. It allows for a deeper understanding of both technical and managerial perspectives, which can lead to better decision-making and leadership in technology environments.

Moving from a developer to a manager is not necessarily a promotion but can be seen as a lateral move. Companies might define these transitions differently, but at Atlassian, such moves are encouraged to explore different career paths without the implications of a traditional promotion.

Yes, engineering managers can benefit from coding while managing, especially in smaller teams. It helps in maintaining technical skills, understanding team challenges better, and contributing to projects directly when needed.

Atlassian supports flip-flopping roles as it encourages employees to gain a broad range of experiences and skills, which can enhance their career growth. This policy promotes understanding and flexibility in professional development.

Skills gained from management that benefit developers include improved communication, strategic planning, and leadership abilities. These skills enhance a developer's capacity to lead projects, mentor others, and manage complex problems more effectively.

Flip-flopping between roles can reinvigorate a career, prevent burnout, and provide new challenges and learning opportunities. It allows professionals to build a diverse skill set that can lead to higher job satisfaction and better career longevity.

Matt Coleman encourages those considering a switch to management to go for it and take the leap. He emphasizes the importance of the diverse experiences and perspectives gained from such a move, which can enrich one's professional life and capabilities.

Matt Colman
Matt Colman
7 min
12 Dec, 2023

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Video Summary and Transcription
This talk explores the experience of flip-flopping between being an engineer and a manager in the software development field. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining hands-on technical skills for effective engineering management. The talk also highlights the value of managers having recent technical experience and the importance of leadership from both managers and senior engineers. Overall, the talk encourages those considering a transition to management to go for it and emphasizes the unique role of an engineering manager.

1. Flip-Flopping Between Engineer and Manager

Short description:

Hey, I'm Matt Coleman, an engineering manager at Atlassian, excited to talk about flip-flopping between engineer and manager. It's a good career move. Started as a developer, became a manager, learned React, missed being a manager, became a manager again. This talk is for flip-floppers, those considering management, and managers who miss coding.

Hey, I'm Matt Coleman. I'm an engineering manager at Atlassian. And I'm so excited to be here today at React Day Berlin to talk to you about flip-flopping back and forth between engineer and manager. Now, that's something I've done many times in my career. I've probably got a few more in me to be honest. But I'm not crazy. You know, this is something that people actually do. And I want to talk to you about how it's actually a really good career move.

So, let's have a look at my career. This is it, in a picture. I started at Blake as a And about two or three years later, I got offered a promotion into management. And so there I was running about four developers and that turned into 10. A really great job. I loved it. But I started to miss the code a little bit. And I was very interested in React. So, I went over here at Play Up, and I learned React. And then a few years later, I kind of missed having the impact that a manager has. So, I moved to domain as a manager. Then over to Atlassian as a dev, where again, I learned some new technologies, GraphQL, Relay, a bunch of other different things that I didn't know about. And then once again, I got offered a role as a manager. This time it was a sideways move at Atlassian. And at Atlassian, the sideways move is quite encouraged. So, there's a lot of flip-floppers at Atlassian.

Now, who is this talk for? Well, it's for the flip-floppers, of course. And also, you know, if you're thinking, I might be a good manager, I'm not sure. Then this talks for you. Or maybe you are already a manager and you kind of miss being a dev. You miss the code. So, this talk's for you.

2. Dog Lovers and the Role of an Engineering Manager

Short description:

Dog lovers, this talk's for you. The best frontline eng managers are never more than two to three years removed from hands-on work. The best individual contributors are the ones who have done time in management. If you're managing people and writing code, you're doing a poor job at both. If you're managing three devs, then you probably should be writing code. If you're managing eight devs, your velocity is no longer significant. There are still reasons you might write code as a manager. Becoming an engineering manager is a completely different role.

Dog lovers, this talk's for you. I mean, this talk's got something for everyone.

Now actually, the second time I did a flip-flop, a friend of mine said, oh, have you seen the engineer manager pendulum blog post by Mipsy Tipsy? And I hadn't, but I checked it out. It's a two-minute read and it's fantastic. I mean, it really resonated with me when I read this blog. And there are some great quotes here. Let me read one out for you. The best frontline eng managers in the world are the ones that are never more than two to three years removed from hands-on work. Full-time, down in the trenches. The best individual contributors are the ones who have done time in management. I couldn't agree more, go and check it out. It's a great blog.

All right, things that people tweet. It is still called Twitter, and it is still called a tweet. So if you're managing people and writing code, then you're doing a poor job at both. Have you ever heard this one before? Look, it's a great tweet, but Twitter lacks a lot of context. So, you know, it's actually maybe not a great tweet. It's kind of confusing for some people. I would say if you're managing three devs, then you probably should be writing code, because you won't have enough work to do otherwise, and you'll probably just spend your time annoying the three devs. So you keep writing code. However, if you're managing eight devs, then you have to understand that your velocity is no longer really significant. You've got enough devs to write code. So, you wouldn't write code for velocity. But there are still other reasons you might write code. Simply put, if the best thing for you to do that day is writing code, then you should do it. So, you might have a really difficult deadline, or you might want to pair-program with someone to build relationships or to learn. There are still a bunch of reasons why you can write code as a manager. And I say go for it. Becoming an engineering manager is a completely different role. It's a career change.

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