Manager changes are always turbulent. In this situation, your manager is being asked to transition dozens of items before they leave, and they may not get to everything. Similarly, your new interim manager now has two full time jobs and won't have time to be involved in all the details. As a result, my advice is to be proactive and make it very clear what you need from both individuals as part of the transition.

> What can I do in the next 2 weeks to ensure that the work I've done with my manager is captured well for other people in the org to notice?

Write a document outlining a) your accomplishments so far in the role b) your ongoing projects and c) what support you need. Additionally, briefly describe your career goals and working style. *Keep it to 1-2 pages*. Circulate this doc to your departing and new managers and ask if they have any questions.

> - How do I best approach the last one-on-one with my manager?

 As Rahul said, ask for honest feedback. Thank them for their mentorship. Wish them good luck in their next adventure. Offer to keep in touch. Not too much to do in this meeting. If you actually need any specific help from them, be sure to ask for that well in advance of their last day.

> - And how can I make a good impression with my new interim manager?

Don't complain. Demonstrate maturity and a willingness to help the company succeed.

Your interim manager is going to hear a bunch of people complaining about how disruptive it is to lose their manager, how they are lacking direction with their manager gone, etc. 

You can flip the script by offering to go above and beyond. Understand that your interim manager will be swamped, and offer to help wherever you can take work off their plate. Onboard them to the codebase, help run sprint ceremonies, etc.

Also, assume they know nothing about you. Make it easy for them to get to know you. Continue reminding them what you're working on at the first several 1:1s, as they are absorbing a lot of new info at once. Continue to execute well against your own work so you can earn their trust.

Good luck!

Senior Director of Engineering at AKASA

Sanjay Siddhanti

It's very normal to feel overwhelmed early in your career. Remember not to be too hard on yourself.

I would highly encourage you to discuss your concerns with your manager. No good manager will fire you for admitting that you're stressed and having some self doubt. Think of your manager as a coach whose goal is to help you improve. They likely want to help but don't know how, either because they have too much going on or they don't know you well enough. Their job becomes easier if you can tell them what support or coaching you need.

It's important to go into these conversations truly open to feedback. Building a regular cadence of sharing and receiving feedback with your manager will help your performance over the long run. 

In addition, you can start building relationships with more experienced peers who may be able to give you advice and feedback. Look for 1-2 engineers on your team or adjacent teams who are eager to help and set up a monthly 1:1 with them. Always make it an easy experience for them - show up on time, don't take too much of their time, send a thank you note if their advice helped you later on, etc.

Great question! First, it's important to clarify your motivations. There are clear ways to grow your skills, make a bigger impact, and increase your compensation both as an IC or as a manager. I often hear people interested in management because they think it's the only way to advance in their career. That's misguided, and most good companies provide a path for ICs to continue growing. Forcing people into management is an example of the Peter Principle.

As an IC, your main contributions will be technology. As you grow, you will be responsible for driving projects of increasing complexity that make a bigger impact on the company. You'll need to think strategically to find opportunities to improve the business, and you'll need great communication and project management skills to get things done. This is a great role if you like building products and learning new technologies.

As a manager, you're responsible for work that you won't be doing yourself. This is a different paradigm. Being a great technologist is table stakes, and leadership skills will set you apart. You'll need to motivate and coach people to improve their work; hire and retain great talent; and have tough conversations about job performance. You'll also need to make decisions about what to build and provide direction to the team. Your performance is directly correlated to how much value you can deliver with your team. To be successful, you need to define the work, delegate it, supervise it, and change people's performance if the bar isn't being met. There are many side effects of this different role, such as managers often having more meetings than ICs.

Since management is so different than IC work, I suggest prototyping it before committing to it. You can do this by managing an intern for a summer, or being a tech lead for a 1-2 quarter long project.