The final weeks of 2023 are in the horizon and with it comes a season where most teams working on the Gaming industry focus their attention on stability, scale and reliability of their engineering systems and the ecosystems that power their experiences.

For me, the end of the year is also a time for reflection; A season where I get to look back and introspect about what worked, what didn't, the commitments we made and how we delivered on them, how did the processes, structure and practices empowered or held back my team.

Coincidentally, around this time I am also completing one more year into my manager journey and two years felt like a good time span to look back and check how this role has shaped my mindset, my career, my aspirations and ultimately my plans for the future.

One of the realizations that hit me hard a few months into my role was how unfamiliar and unprepared I was for the challenges that were ahead. A common practice in the tech industry is that engineers who reach a certain level of expertise, show good people skills and have driven cross team initiatives, get presented with the opportunity of leading a team; I'm not going to lie, having acted as a tech lead in past projects made me feel like I had the skills and knowledge needed to become a manager and succeed at it. While it was not a completely wrong idea it was also far from reality; Especially given the challenges that a global pandemic and a quick changing economic environment presented for companies around the world.

Figuring out how to become successful at my new role took some trying and failing, but soon enough I realized what the gaps were and more importantly that they were rooted in lack of preparation. Once I understood it, I was able to refocus my attention, energy and I put to use one of the greatest skills that my academic life gave me... learning!

Don't get me wrong my engineering experience has been invaluable to help me provide direction, plan the strategy and contributing to the solutions that the team puts together; however, setting appropriate goals for people at different career stages, mentoring, coaching them to understand areas of opportunity, aligning their goals and interests with projects, required a distinct set of skills. And like every other skill in life, mastering it requires knowledge, practice and discipline.

Coming back to the topic at hand, I wanted to share with you the highlights of my experience looking back after my first two years at it, particularly as I think of the path I traveled, the experiences I've had and my plans going forward:

• There were choices that I made that didn't quite go as expected, still even with the experience I have now the only thing I'm confident is that a different choice would have resulted in a distinct set of learnings; but regardless the outcome wouldn't have been perfect (interestingly enough, like most problems in the engineering space it's all about trade-offs).
• As cliche as it sounds, keeping a growth mindset and a learn-it-all attitude goes a long way for continuous growth and to master all skills related to people management. One of the concepts that has become clearer for me over time is that things are never black and white, but instead they are an infinite shade of greys, and there's always something to be learnt.
• Coming up with a strategy and vision for your team is not something that happens overnight and there's no single one that will work timelessly. Unlike code where the SOLID principles teach you that "open for extension closed for modification" are key for good long-term solutions; a team strategy requires almost the opposite you have to be aware the conditions around you, changes in the direction of the business and work on a plan that adapts and evolves without introducing abrupt disruption to team members or their career goals.

All in all, I am happy with the decision of switching my career path to management. I feel rewarded by my team accomplishments and enjoy watching team members working along with me grow, become better software engineers while meeting their own career goals. In fact, I have heard from a couple of people that my path is an example for them, they have asked me for advice on how to go about carving a similar one for their own careers and now that I'm also a father knowing that I can be someone that others look up to makes me feel reassured that I can likely do it in other areas of my life hoping that my kid has similar aspirations and feelings towards me.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who has been with me along the way. Especially those who have given me guidance and feedback to continue improving to become a better version of myself (both at work and at a personal level). I'll always be grateful for the opportunities and the trust that has been put in me, rest assured that I'll continue doing my best and when I fail, I'll take a step back, learn from it and give it another go.