There’s a limit to the impact you can create as an IC. Managing unlocks infinite upside.
IC primarily creates value through their own output, while a manager creates value by multiplying the output of an entire team.
Let’s see it with the help of concrete numbers.
Say you’re an engineering manager at 50 LPA managing a team of 5 software developers at 30 LPA each. Your team’s total compensation is 1.5 Cr.
-
If you’re able to make your team 20% more productive, you’re creating 30 LPA of value just by managing them better. On top of this, you’ll be creating value by doing other work as well (that’s not directly related to your direct reports, viz. strategy, cross team alignment, stakeholder management, etc.).
-
If you’re able to make your team 50% more productive, you’re creating 75 LPA of value. In this case, you’ve already unlocked more value for the company wrt your personal compensation.
-
If you’re able to make your team 100% more productive, you’re creating 1.5 Cr of value. 3x ROI for the company.
-
If you’re able to make your team 200% more productive, you’re creating 3 Cr of value. 6x ROI for the company.
Keep rising and you start managing more people, say 10 or even 15, further increasing your leverage.
The main struggle here is to let go of perfectionism. You’ll always feel you can do the thing better yourself than the person you’re delegating to. Also, it will take time and patience to mentor juniors.
But the upside is infinite. It again multiplies as you go higher up the ladder.
After a few years, you’re managing 10 teams, which means you’re effectively managing 50 people. You do the math.