Day 13: Ask to be a pseudo-manager

You don’t need a formal title to start building management skills.

𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗱𝗼-𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 by handling certain management responsibilities while your manager remains the final decision-maker.

When I was managing 20+ directs, Shadi Khalek, PhD raised his hand for this. The pseudo-management turned into a real management opportunity for him which led to multiple promotions to senior manager.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵: "I'm interested in developing management skills and would love to take on some management tasks to help the team and grow my capabilities. Could I help with [specific activities like day-to-day coordination for junior members, team reporting, or organizing team events]? You'd still make all the final decisions, but this would give me great experience."

𝗦𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
• Managing daily activities and check-ins for junior team members
• Handling team reporting, metrics, and status updates
• Organizing team morale events and social activities
• Coordinating cross-team communications
• Leading team retrospectives or planning sessions

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲: "This would help me develop skills in delegation, communication, and team coordination. I'd also learn how to balance individual needs with team goals, which I think would make me more effective in any future role."

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗻-𝘄𝗶𝗻 - your manager gets help with time-consuming tasks, and you get hands-on experience with management responsibilities.

𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆. Even if you decide people management isn’t for you, these skills make you a stronger IC and a more trusted teammate.

Leadership starts before the title. You just have to ask.

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✅ Want to get even better at asking? I still have a limited number of seats left in the July 25 cohort of my course. Last cohort of this year! https://maven.com/chaitali-narla/outstanding-tech-career