The Art of Delegation: How to Manage Others by Letting Go

The Trade Desk explains why engineering leaders must assign authority to others — and trust them to succeed.
Written by Erik Fassnacht
August 27, 2021Updated: September 14, 2021

Delegating isn’t easy, and for former coders there’s an additional irony in the task: Most engineering managers got to where they are by taking on more than their share of work, not less.

As managers, however, these formerly outstanding individual contributors are suddenly tasked with allowing others to do what they once did to succeed. There’s a unique element to management — and delegation in particular — that can make team leaders feel like they are on the other side of the looking glass, watching greener versions of themselves grow as engineers and slowly achieve excellence.

In short, these virtuosos of code must finally learn to let go. The minute they take the position, it’s all about the team.

“As you move from an individual contributor to lead to manager, the way that you contribute will change dramatically,” said The Trade Desks Engineering Manager Marko Miklo. “Therefore, in order for you and your team to be successful, your perception of success has to shift from ‘how much code do I produce’ to ‘how much code does my team produce.’”

Determining who to trust and with which work to trust them with is a game of anticipatory chess that no single algorithm can solve. Yet Miklo has many answers on the subject, and we sat down with him to learn more about the ins and outs of delegation in engineering.

 

Marko Miklo
Engineering Manager • The Trade Desk

 

The Trade Desk At a Glance

The Trade Desk aims to change the way brands and their agencies advertise to audiences around the world — with targeted display, video, Connected TV, audio, native and social ads across every device. In short, their goal is to keep the internet free and open to everyone.

 

Give us a brief idea of your career trajectory at your current company. When did you get promoted into a leadership role and what did you do to get there?

I had experience in management from my previous company, but at my current company I started as a senior software engineer learning the codebase, business and how everything works. This really allowed me to understand how the engineering team works and what helps developers be successful. About seven months into my role, I transitioned into leading the team I was on because my manager decided to step back from the management role and we worked on the transition plan to ensure minimal disruption.

 

What surprised you most about your new leadership role? 

I would say that initially the surprising thing was that sometimes giving people bigger roles and responsibilities leads to more success for the team. Ultimately, it is not that surprising, but sometimes new managers might think that they have to oversee and control everything. However, if that is the path that they go down on, they will soon realize that their time is spent too much on overseeing and micromanaging. 

If managers can empower other members of their team and shift responsibilities and project management on them, they will realize that the team can produce better results as the manager can shift their focus on other topics. This does not mean completely losing oversight — on the contrary, it is very good to keep having a strong understanding of where projects are heading so that the manager can always help with corrections or suggestions on the progress. The hard thing is figuring out when people are ready for the increased responsibility — this might be tough for managers who feel the pressure of making sure that projects are successful.

 

The hard thing is figuring out when people are ready for the increased responsibility — this might be tough for managers who feel the pressure of making sure that projects are successful.

 

What advice do you have for engineers looking to move into a leadership role?

When you become a leader or manager, you need to learn how to put yourself last. Once you start thinking in those terms, you can start solving problems that will allow you to unlock more potential in your team as a whole. As a result, your team will produce better results, even though you as an individual might not provide a large technical contribution.

 

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