The best way to manage tech teams

You’ve been there, right? You’re leading a team of software developers, and somehow, you’ve become their personal help desk.

Every little question, every tiny bug—it all falls back on you. And suddenly, you’re not leading a team anymore; you’re babysitting them.

But here’s the truth: the more you micromanage, the slower things get. You’re bottlenecking your own team. And the kicker? It’s exhausting, for them and for you. There’s a better way.

The Micromanagement Death Trap

Let me guess: you feel like you need to oversee everything.

You want things done right, but that means answering a million Slack messages, reviewing every pull request, and basically having your team on a leash.

Sound familiar?

Here’s the deal: that constant micromanaging kills productivity.

You’re bogged down in every little task while your devs are stuck waiting for you to approve the next move.

Instead of your team flying through tasks, they’re crawling, and it’s your fault. Ouch.

From Boss to System Builder

It doesn’t have to be this way. The trick isn’t in managing harder, it’s in managing smarter.

You need a system that lets your team self-organize and thrive without you hovering.

Think of it like an ant colony—those little guys just get the job done without the queen barking orders all day.

And how do you get there? Simple rules. Here’s what I’ve found works like a charm.

Rule #1: One Story, One Record

This one’s a no-brainer. Every feature gets its own user story, and everything—mockups, code questions, discussions—lives in that one place.

It doesn’t matter if you use Jira, Trello, or some new fancy tool.

One record. One home.

No more random Slack threads, no more scattered docs. Just clarity.

Rule #2: Attach Everything

Attach everything to the user story. I’m talking mockups, code snippets, comments—everything.

Your developers can go into that story and get all the details they need in one go.

They don’t need to ping you for clarifications. It’s like giving them a map and saying, “Go find the treasure.”

Rule #3: Simple, Predictable Workflow

Your team needs a roadmap. Keep it stupid simple:

1. Wireframe

2. Mockup

3. Backend

4. Frontend

5. Testing

6. Deployment

No guesswork. No confusion. They move from step to step like a well-oiled machine.

Rule #4: Stay in Your Lane

This one’s huge. In a Kanban-style board, everyone sticks to their lane. If you’re on backend, that’s your jam. Frontend?

Cool, stick to that. No bouncing between tasks, no crossing wires. It’s laser focus that keeps things moving.

Rule #5: Keep the Flow Going

Here’s where the magic happens. When someone finishes a task, they move it forward.

When they’re stuck? They move it back to whoever can unblock them. No waiting around, no guessing, no bottlenecks. The work just flows.

Trust Your Team to Crush It

This is the secret sauce. None of this works without trust. You can’t give your team autonomy and then micromanage every detail. Trust your developers.

Let them make decisions and own their work. The freedom you give them will pay off tenfold in productivity.

When to Step In (Hint: Rarely)

Your job isn’t to step in every five minutes.

Your job is to keep the project moving, not micromanage.

You step in when your team genuinely needs you—when there’s a roadblock, not when they’re figuring out a minor bug.

The takeaway?

Stop being the bottleneck. Let your team work without you hovering.

Trust them to get the job done, build clear systems, and watch how fast they can move without you in the way.