Seize the Day: How Opportunity and Preparation Make ICs into Great Managers

Many great leaders came from humble beginnings. Thrust into the spotlight, they share a connective thread of leadership qualities and resilience that enabled them to meet the demands of their respective fields.  

Whether it’s LeBron James shouldering the mantle of the NBA right out of high school, or cashier-turned-Finnish-politician Sanna Marin stepping into the political arena as the world’s youngest prime minister, opportunity begets learning and career advancement.

It’s a lesson that independent contributors at tech companies who grow into successful managers have also come to experience. 

The transition from a largely self-sufficient role to one responsible for the growth of direct reports is a drastic change, so support and mentorship go a long way toward a friction-free adjustment.

Kyle Burford, manager of internal controls at Squarespace, experienced this firsthand when his previous director gave him the freedom to juggle multiple tasks in preparation for management. To pay it forward, he gives his reports ample opportunities to flex their respective strengths. 

“Understand and embrace that you’re only as strong as your team is, so it is important to make the time to invest in them,” Burford advised. 

For David Romee, iCapital’s senior vice president of platform engineering, the foundational relationship between manager and IC helped build out his leadership career. “Once you’ve built that trust, it gets easier to take on more new responsibilities, and the cycle continues,” he explained.

Flex’s director of partner success, MJ Oommen, would agree. “I always say I am a product of the people around me,” he said. “So my journey from individual contributor to manager is a direct result of being surrounded by the right mentors, leaders and team.”

To hear more about their journeys to becoming people managers, Built In NYC spoke to four former ICs about the lessons they found to be most important and the advice they would give to those that aspire to go down similar paths.

 

Squarespace is a website design and hosting platform that makes it easy for businesses and individuals to build an online presence. Whether it’s about marketing a brand or growing a business, the company’s suite of templates and tools aims to help customers streamline their e-commerce ambitions.  

 

Describe your growth journey from individual contributor to manager. 

My director created an environment that allowed me the latitude to work on interesting and meaningful projects outside of my primary work, so I can understand how to manage several large objectives at the same time. This gave me the opportunity to practice what it would take to manage people while reaching work objectives. She also did a great job providing support and guidance whenever it was needed, as well as giving constructive feedback on areas that I could take action on. 

Additionally, I participated in the company’s leadership accelerator program designed for senior managers across departments. The program included an outside professor, group coursework, and one-on-one coaching on a variety of workplace topics. This program supported my growth as a manager and leader for my team.

 

What is the biggest challenge of transitioning into management, and how are you overcoming that challenge?

Aligning the team’s goals with the interest and strengths of the individuals to whom you’re assigning work. Whether explicitly communicated or implicitly noticed through interactions, I find that individuals are far more motivated to put energy and effort into work and projects that align with their interest. In turn, there are better results and output from the team. 

To overcome this challenge, I frequently meet with my direct reports to better understand them as individuals, their perspectives and where their strengths and interests are.

Create space and have open communication so your direct reports can identify what they are good at.”

 

What advice do you have for individual contributors who have recently been promoted to a management role or hope to be in the future?

Create space and have open communication so your direct reports can identify what they are good at and are given the opportunity to leverage those skills. If you can align company and team goals with individual strengths, it makes work far more efficient, allowing you to step back so your reports can execute and learn on their own with less intervention from you.

 

 

iCapital offers digital solutions for private market and hedge fund transactions, powering what it calls the world’s alternative investment marketplace. The company’s platform caters to financial advisors and asset managers as it seeks to innovate wealth management in the alternatives technology space. 

 

Describe your growth journey from individual contributor to manager.

I joined iCapital early in its existence when you could count the entirety of the technology team on one hand — and I was the fifth finger. With such a small team, it was easy to take on responsibilities that wouldn’t occur as readily on a larger team. I also never turned down an offer to do so. With that came an opportunity to prove myself, as well as build trust within my team and the firm. As the company and technology team grew, the opportunities to take on more responsibility also grew.

The trust that you build with your managers — through a willingness to take on added tasks and carrying them out in an effective and thoughtful manner — goes a long way in getting leaders to view you as someone capable of moving up. 

Taking on new responsibilities is almost always accompanied by learning new things. I welcomed that and tried to learn as much and as quickly as I could. Within these new endeavors, a lot of questions were asked, mistakes were sometimes made and lessons were learned from those mistakes. But it led to me becoming more knowledgeable and capable.

Taking on new responsibilities is almost always accompanied by learning new things.”

 

What is the biggest challenge of transitioning into management, and how are you overcoming that challenge?

For me, the biggest challenges in my day-to-day leadership responsibilities are time management and prioritization of tasks that have to be completed. Throw in the constant interruptions of something or another and it gets even more challenging. I haven’t come up with an ideal system to address these issues, but I continue to try different approaches to see what works best for me. The solution will come with time and experience; it’s very much a work in progress. 

As far as management of my team, the challenge there is figuring out how to best help them in the development of their careers at iCapital. This is a challenge that I think takes some experience to figure out what works well and what doesn’t. There is also the added challenge that the right approach will vary depending on the person, because they all have different personalities, circumstances, career levels and more. That’s why being adaptable and able to adjust your approach accordingly is important in a management role.

 

What advice do you have for individual contributors who have recently been promoted to a management role or hope to be in the future?

Don’t be shy about taking on new responsibilities, whether it’s from management asking you, or you offering to do so yourself. When you do take on more, always take it seriously and learn as much as you can about whatever that new responsibility may entail. Also, don’t hesitate to ask questions if you are unsure about anything. Asking questions will help you learn faster and show that you are approaching things in a thoughtful manner.

 

 

ActionIQ offers a customer data platform that aims to streamline the customer experience process. Combining data management with business autonomy, the company’s digital solutions help streamline the customer journey across teams, from acquisition to retention. 

 

Describe your growth journey from individual contributor to manager. 

When I joined ActionIQ in 2019, I was ready to dig in and get my hands dirty with a new product in a highly-competitive market. I quickly realized that before I could lead, I needed to conquer my own personal mountain and get competent at selling our product. I had been determined to work in a leadership capacity for several years, but I knew I had to earn it first. I was ready to learn everything I could along the way. 

After selling on our east coast team for almost two years, I shared with my manager my intent and aspiration to grow into a leadership role. I knew I could change the game with some additional rigor and a fresh take on processes. I asked our CRO if the company would support me enrolling in a women’s leadership program hosted by Yale School of Management, and he enthusiastically agreed. I spent two quarters attending seminars in my off-hours, a bit tricky with two toddlers and a full time job, but I was determined. I read dozens of leadership, management, and behavioral psychology books. When the conversation came up a few months later and I was offered the role, the transition was smooth and felt fairly natural.

 

What is the biggest challenge of transitioning into management, and how are you overcoming that challenge?

The hardest personal challenge I’ve encountered is similar to what I’ve experienced in becoming a parent. I subscribe to the servant leadership school of thought, and I feel it’s my duty to serve the people that work on my team, not the other way around. 

With that orientation, I’ll certainly prioritize if I end up double-booked or have scheduling conflicts, but my calendar is absolutely the final authority on what my work experience looks like each day, and that can be hard. 

Nearly every day, I’m scheduled in meetings all day, so finding time to do basic things like take my dog outside or put my head down needs to happen outside the hours of 9-to-5. That has been quite an adjustment, coming from the world of being an individual contributor who worked from home and was only in a handful of internal meetings and client pitches each week. 

 

What advice do you have for individual contributors who have recently been promoted to a management role or hope to be in the future?

Start today, exactly where you are. You don’t need an invitation, a fancy title or compensation increase to enable and hone your craft as a leader. You can give your time, energy, and expertise to people; reach out to others outside of your organization for mentorship or opportunities to help; and grow your own skill set to be ready for your next leadership role. 

You don’t need an invitation, a fancy title or compensation increase to enable and hone your craft as a leader.”

 

And lastly: Don’t be afraid to ask for it. Make your intentions, along with your credibility, known to those around you and the leadership at your company, so that you are top of mind as soon as an opportunity becomes available. You can’t get what you never ask for, so ask!

 

 

Flex is a fintech company that — true to its name — offers flexible payments to recurring bills. The company started out tackling rent, but eventually transitioned into a multi-bill platform that enables customers to pay throughout the month on a more flexible schedule. 

 

Describe your growth journey from individual contributor to manager. 

Initially, my goal was simply to learn and apply what I had learned as much as possible. I sat in on as many meetings as I could — even meetings that were not associated with partner success. I also pinged ICs from various departments to glean their wisdom and perspective. 

As I started to understand more about the business and connect deeply with our organizational mission, my next goal was to be valuable in every conversation I was a part of. Continuing down that path, my managers presented opportunities where I was able to display what I had learned and my value. I believe being consistent in both of those areas and trying to be as authentic as possible helped me earn the opportunity to serve Flex in my current capacity.

 

What is the biggest challenge of transitioning into management, and how are you overcoming that challenge?

The biggest challenge of transitioning into management is often the shift from being an individual contributor to leading a team and managing its work. This can be challenging, as it involves developing and continuing to strengthen skills like delegating, communicating, conflict resolution and setting expectations. 

 

 

What advice do you have for individual contributors who have recently been promoted to a management role or hope to be in the future?

Remember that becoming a successful manager takes time and effort, but by being open to learning, seeking guidance and continuously improving, you can effectively lead your team and achieve your goals.