Individual Contributor or Manager
So you’ve reached a point in your life where you’re thinking, “Should I stay as an individual contributor or move into a management career?” Good! I’m glad to hear you’re taking ownership of your present by intentionally considering future possibilities.
If you’re reading this, it means you’re someone who’s intentional about the steps in their career. You’re not scared of learning new stuff and embracing the discomfort of chasing new ways to deliver value.
Let’s dive into a couple of topics, and hopefully, by the end of this article, you’ll have a clearer idea of the questions you need to ask yourself to make this decision.
What Stays the Same No Matter Which Path You Take
Once you hit a certain point in your career, just being technically good at your job isn’t enough. Unless you’re in the top 0.5% of experts in a specific area—and let’s be real, most of us aren’t—people will start expecting more from you. Whether you’re an individual contributor (IC) or a manager, you’ll need to mentor others, speak up, and know how to influence people.
Even as an IC, depending on the company, you might be asked to lead projects. You won’t have to manage people directly, but you’ll still be responsible for how things turn out, and you’ll find yourself needing to collaborate across teams to get the job done.
At some point, you’ll also need to start thinking strategically. It’s no longer just about doing your part but understanding the bigger picture and how your work fits into it, whether you’re leading a team or flying solo.
Learning never stops. It doesn’t matter if you stay technical or move into management—you’ll constantly be picking up new skills. It’s just part of the deal if you want to keep delivering value and growing in your role.
Then there’s problem-solving and teamwork, which are huge no matter what. Communication, emotional intelligence, and influencing others are key skills in both tracks, so you’ll want to work on those. It’s not necessarily the most visible but it will make a difference.
Lastly, culture is everything. Whether you’re a manager or a senior IC, people will look to you to help shape a productive, positive work environment. Managers might have a more direct role in guiding their teams, but ICs are expected to lead by example and help carry the flag for the company’s values.
And What’s Specific to Management?
It’s no longer just about you. This may sound obvious, but it’s a crucial shift to understand. As a manager, your evaluation is now tied to how your team performs and the collective impact of your combined efforts. If your team excels, fantastic! You’ll be recognized for that success. If your team fails, that's on you as well, it’s your role to support them in developing the skills they need to thrive. This means enhancing your ability to understand the context and provide the right challenges tailored to your team.
You’ll transition from focusing solely on tasks to engaging with real people—each with their own expectations, emotions, personalities, and career aspirations. They will also have their own problems that will inevitably find their way into the workplace and to your attention.
Your mindset will shift from “How do I get this done?” to “How do I ensure this gets done effectively?” This encompasses everything from establishing a solid strategy to creating a holiday schedule that keeps the team functioning smoothly. It’s less about fixing issues yourself and more about finding ways to ensure they are fixed, ideally without you having to do all the details.
Time management becomes a whole different beast as well. Your role is now to support your team, which means that you will be involved in a wider range of topics at a much lower level of detail. This often means more meetings and less time for deep work. You will need to focus more on what your team needs from you and less on the technical aspects of the problems being solved ensuring the right balance between support and autonomy.
Reflecting on Your Path
Now that you have a high-level understanding of some key points about management and individual contribution, here are a few questions to help you find your own answers:
Do you find fulfillment in helping others navigate the uncertainties of their careers?
Are you excited about sharing your knowledge and helping others grow but not necessarily managing their careers?What motivates you?
Do you light up when someone on your team has success? Or do you enjoy getting deep into the technical details and understanding how a product is built from the ground up?Are you comfortable with uncertainty?
How much control do you need over what impacts you? Are you okay with others making decisions that will affect you, even when success isn’t 100% under your control?How do you handle interpersonal relationships?
Do you thrive in environments with diverse opinions? Is open discussion and negotiation something you enjoy?What’s your approach to receiving feedback?
Are you comfortable giving and receiving constructive criticism? How would you react if someone told you that you aren’t being an effective manager?Do you prefer informal leadership?
Do you thrive by leading by example, showing how something should be done without necessarily taking on the responsibility of managing others?
Conclusion
You picked IC? Good, now go find ways to increase your impact by deepening your technical knowledge and find ways to communicate it effectively to whoever needs that information. It can be mentees you are trying to help or it can be C levels trying to understand the right decision. Don’t shy away from improving your influencing skills and assert your leadership to maximize the impact of what you know and what’s to come!
You picked manager? Good, now go find ways to increase your impact by understanding the space your team operates in and finding ways to maximize their value delivery. Go deep in your knowledge on how to interact with human beings to have a constantly motivated team that is performing at their maximum potential. While you are there, practice your strategic awareness and build a strong network that will help you unlock space for your team to operate in. Remember, you are the ceiling for your team’s success. Your ability to support, challenge, and provide opportunities and context determines how far they can go. If you limit their freedom, micromanage, or underestimate the value they can deliver that ceiling stays low. But if you provide the right resources, encouragement, and trust, you raise that ceiling, allowing them to grow taller than initially looked possible.
Choosing between being an individual contributor or moving into management isn’t about right or wrong; it’s about what makes you happy in your situation. Your satisfaction will be heavily dependent on context; your company, your coworkers, the management structure, and your skills.
Where you are in life matters too. Balance might be tight, time for big changes might not be right and remember what works for you now might not be the same down the line. It’s important to experiment and reflect when making decisions.
Even though there’s no wrong choice, being intentional about your decision can really help. It can boost your chances of success and help you spot growth opportunities along the way.
So, take some time to think it through and find what fits you best. This is a process you’ll revisit as things change. If you keep getting the same answer, great—you might just be on the right path. If your answers change, that’s okay! Life evolves, and so do you. What feels right today might not hold true for future you, regardless of how long it has passed.
Just remember: a fixed mindset won’t help you grow. Stay open to change and keep learning!
Tiago
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of any organizations or institutions. This content is based on personal experiences and reflections, rather than extensive research or peer-reviewed data. Readers are encouraged to form their own opinions and conduct further research on the topics discussed.