Still Managing Like an IC?
You were promoted because you were great at execution. But the habits that made you a strong IC might be the same ones quietly working against you as a manager. Find out in 5 minutes.
Still Managing Like an IC?
By Code to People · Free · 5 minutes
9 questions. 3 areas. A clear picture of where you are.
The self-assessment covers the three areas where IC habits most commonly undermine managers in their first one to three years — and for each pattern, tells you exactly what it's creating on your team and what to do differently.
Execution Patterns
Are you still doing the work yourself — or building a team that can do it without you? This section surfaces the habits that create bottlenecks, burnout, and dependency.
Communication Patterns
How you run 1:1s, give feedback, and make decisions signals more than you think. IC communication habits keep relationships transactional and slow everything down.
Ownership Patterns
The shift from "my work" to "my team's output" is harder than it sounds. This section reveals whether you've made it — or whether you're still measuring yourself the wrong way.
Every week you manage like an IC, the problem compounds.
This isn't about effort. Most managers in IC mode are working harder than everyone else. That's the problem. The hours get longer, the team gets more dependent, and the results stay flat — not because you're not capable, but because no one gave you an operating system for the actual job.
When you solve every problem yourself, your team never builds judgment. They wait for you — and your ceiling becomes their ceiling.
Nothing ships without you. Every decision routes through you. You're not leading anymore — you're just a very stressed senior IC with direct reports.
Senior leaders don't promote managers who execute — they promote managers who multiply. Staying in IC mode signals you haven't made the shift yet.
Written by someone still in the room.
I'm Andrea. I started my career as a senior analyst at one of the world's top investment banks — an IC role, through and through. When I made the jump to people manager, I did it without a playbook, a mentor, or a single training session on what leading people actually looks like day-to-day.
I spent years figuring it out through real teams, real missteps, and a lot of pattern recognition — eventually becoming a Group Manager at one of the world's largest tech platforms, where I actively manage teams today.
This self-assessment is built from the patterns I see most often in new managers — including the ones I had to unlearn myself.
"The patterns that made you a great IC are the same ones quietly working against you as a manager. Awareness is step one — but you need a system to replace the old defaults."
— Andrea, Code to PeopleDon't take my word for it.
"Andrea helped me work through a difficult piece of feedback — and then followed up to make sure I'd actually incorporated it. She didn't just tell me what to do differently. She checked back in, helped me make a plan, and held space for me to grow into it. That kind of intentional development is rare in a manager."
"Clear and systematic planning that keeps the team aligned. A genuine willingness to coach and give constructive feedback that has directly supported my professional growth. And an encouraging, approachable style that makes it easy to ask for help without hesitation."
Find out where you stand.
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