Is people management in tech important? · Women in Tech Power Network

Is people management in tech important?

Apologies upfront. This is a bit of a brain dump of stuff I've been thinking about. I'm posting here because I'm hoping it leads to some interesting conversations!

I see so much focus on AI at the moment and it feels like everything is pushing towards upskilling in that area. However I feel that there is a conversation missing around people management in tech that is becoming more important in this new AI driven world.

People management feels like it gets a bad rep. It's the touchy feely stuff that often gets put at the bottom of the requirements when hiring team leads and above. However from my own experience it is what underpins productivity and helps team members grow. It's that thing that keeps the ship steady and helps us adapt with all the changes going on around us.

The reason I'm thinking about it is that I met up with one of our software users (a scientist) for a cuppa on Friday afternoon. During the course of the conversation they noted how improved the team is since I took over and that they wished there were more managers like me. This is a customer, not a team member. They are seeing things from the outside and so their opinion is based on what they are receiving in terms of software and support. I don't really think about the impact managing has beyond each individual but it was a reminder that there is a wider impact.

I've not managed non-tech teams but I do think they might be different to other areas. For starters there is the gender balance with the majority of the team identifying as male. Then there is neurodiversity - as well as those who openly disclose a diagnosis with me there are a number who display characteristics associated with certain forms of neurodiversity and often work better with classic adjustments for those.

Where does AI come into this? Well I firmly believe that work is shifting and software development skills are changing. Communication, reviewing code, requirements gathering are just some of the skills that are needed more than just writing code. How are software developers going to acquire and flex these skills? This here is the role of people management. The upskilling team members, the leadership direction, the leading by example.

Not sure where I am going with this but what do you think?

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Is people management in tech important?