I was in management before I moved to engineering full time. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed my team and watching them grow and develop their skills. I also learned a lot about things that I wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise.
The key role of a good leader is to remove “log jams” and then get out of the way. But I was log-jammed out. An incredibly toxic workplace has a way of doing that. I fought hard for my employees. They deserved that. They had my respect and they earned it. If I had to go back and fight for them again, I would. But man, it’s been nice to get away from all that for the past few years.
So this is me a couple weeks ago when my boss tells me he wants me to take over as one of the team leads and on the outside I’m like, “Thanks for the opportunity! I appreciate the vote of confidence.” And on the inside I’m like, “…please no.”