It is likely no longer your job each day to be hands on, in the critical path, delivering via ‘doing’ once you are in management. You may remain somewhat hands on depending upon your local environment and needs, but as a manager within your domain, it’s worth being clear that this is no longer your priority.
- Domain Process - as an individual contributor, you may have created some of these yourself. Team processes (e.g. in software engineering, it may be a code review process, or agreement on pairing up to solve problems) were likely something you took part in. As a manager, you may well be involved in helping to define what good looks like within your area of expertise, and working with your team to create effective process around these areas.
- Technical Mastery Within Your Domain - before you became a manager, you were likely an individual contributor within your field. You are likely to have built up a solid depth of knowledge and can hold engaging and meaningful conversations with your team as domain specific work is discussed. For example, in software engineering, you may well engage in curious conversation around proposed software architectures, or the security posture the team are taking with a particular product. You are also likely to continue to broaden your knowledge
- Ways of Working - autonomous teams will focus on the flow of work, and continuous improvement. As a manager and an experienced worker with history, you are likely to have a greater breadth of experience and assist and advise on approaches on that work delivery.