This year has been terrible for my ego.
Multiple stellar engineers with long tenures at the company have switched teams, ended up reporting to me and then resigned within a couple months. I must be a terrible manager!
Weirdly enough, when each of these individuals gave notice, I wasn’t surprised. Through our conversations, it became clearer that they felt their tour of duty was up. Newer engineers were ready to take their lead roles, with a novel excitement that they couldn’t muster anymore.
Internally I considered what it might take to retain these folks but it was never as simple as comp, promo or a specific project. A very specific kind of growth awaited them elsewhere.
As a manager you never want to lose a great engineer but also as a manager you often know what’s best for each individual. When those are at odds, what do you choose?
Originally posted on LinkedIn.