I gave this talk twice in 2024: first at Reversim Summit 2024 (in Hebrew) and later at LeadingEng Berlin 2024 (in English).
Technical debt has a cousin and it’s more harmful to your organization than you realize.
The shortcuts that leaders take in managing their teams can have far-reaching consequences. A decision that may seem reasonable now, can come back to bite you down the line. And just like its technical counterpart, these instances of management debt accumulate under the radar to negatively impact an organization.
I first encountered the term “management debt” around 10 years ago, when I took my first steps into engineering management. At the time, it was a fascinating concept for me but wasn’t practical enough to fit into my day-to-day. Then, a few years ago, when I entered the role of director of engineering and started managing managers, I started to notice how some of my day-to-day issues fell into the definition of management debt. And at that point, I began to try and create a practical framework for myself to manage those challenges.
The main lesson of management debt is that it builds up over time and can create serious problems if ignored. This is the reason why it’s essential to maintain awareness and have a monitoring system in place. It is also important to have a plan for reducing this debt while being cautious about accumulating new debt. It’s not just a managerial concern, it’s an organizational one. Many of the decisions that we make, or maybe that we’ve inherited, can affect the people on our teams. If engineering is having a serious delivery problem where their teams cannot execute to target, this becomes an organizational issue.
About the Talk
Amidst the buzz about technical debt, there’s another crucial matter that warrants our attention: management debt.
These are the shortcuts we take in management, which could come back to haunt us later – a bit like how tech debt works. Sometimes, these decisions seem reasonable, but they can add up to trouble over time.
In this session, we’ll delve into management debt – the collection of inefficiencies, unresolved issues, and missed opportunities in how we manage teams. Just like its technical counterpart, management debt accumulates, quietly impacting the organization over time. Drawing insights from real-life scenarios in managing engineering managers, I’ll uncover various forms of management debt. From lacking a performance management or employee feedback process to having unbalanced teams and inflated titles and compensation, we’ll explore practical ways to tackle these challenges. Throughout the talk, I’ll share personal stories that highlight the vital importance of addressing management debt.
Together, we’ll work through actionable solutions to confront and manage this debt. It’s time to monitor, account for, and start paying down our management debt, ensuring we don’t go management bankrupt and keep our organization healthy.
Key Takeaways
- Understanding of the concept of Management Debt, including its definition and the significant impact it can have on organizations.
- Tactics for identifying and assessing existing debt within your own organizations.
- Practical tools and a structured framework designed to help track, manage, and mitigate Management Debt.
Resources
- English Version: LeadingEng Berlin 2024
- Hebrew Version: Reversim Summit 2024 (Video recording)
- Slides: PDF Download