Strong technical employees are often promoted into management because they have a history of solving difficult problems and producing reliable results. When something goes wrong, they know how to step in and fix it.
That strength can become a challenge once they are responsible for managing other people.
The work of a manager requires a different approach. Instead of personally solving every important problem, managers have to decide when to provide direction, when to step in, and when to allow someone else to own the work. For a new technical manager, that can be a difficult shift.
Delegation is more than assigning tasks to someone else. It involves giving another person meaningful responsibility and some authority over how the work gets done.
Research by Van Triest and Williams examined how managers balance the benefits and risks of giving employees autonomy. Their research found that managers were more likely to delegate authority when employees had specialized knowledge and when the work could be monitored more easily. The decision to delegate involves a tradeoff: managers can benefit from the knowledge and judgment of employees, but they also give up some control over how the work is performed.
That tradeoff can be particularly difficult for someone whose previous success came from having direct control over technical outcomes.
An experienced engineer may know exactly how they would design a solution, troubleshoot a problem, or approach a technical decision. As a manager, however, knowing how to solve the problem does not necessarily mean they should solve it themselves.
The problem often becomes visible when the stakes increase.
A production issue appears, and the new manager knows they could probably resolve it faster themselves.
An engineer proposes an approach that is technically reasonable but different from the one the manager would choose.
A deadline is approaching, and the manager begins taking work back rather than allowing the employee to finish it.
In each case, stepping in may feel efficient. Sometimes it may even be necessary. But if taking control becomes the manager's normal response, the manager can remain heavily involved in individual contributor work while also trying to manage the team.
The issue is not simply whether someone is willing to delegate. It is whether they can determine when intervention is actually necessary and when they need to allow someone else to retain ownership.
Effective management does not mean giving employees complete independence in every situation.
Research by Richardson examining authority sharing found that both too little and too much authority sharing can produce different effects on employee empowerment and performance. The amount of authority that should be shared depends in part on the type of decision involved.
That distinction matters for technical managers.
There will be situations where a manager should intervene. A serious technical risk, an inexperienced employee, or a decision with significant consequences may require more involvement. Other situations may require the manager to provide context or guidance while leaving the actual decision and execution with the employee.
The challenge is recognizing the difference.
A manager who avoids intervening when necessary can create problems. But a manager who repeatedly takes control whenever they disagree with an approach can prevent other people from developing real ownership.
Research on empowering leadership also helps explain why this matters.
A meta-analysis by Lee, Willis, and Tian covering 105 independent samples found positive relationships between empowering leadership and outcomes including employee performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and creativity. Psychological empowerment and trust helped explain some of those relationships.
For a technical team, meaningful ownership gives engineers opportunities to make decisions, solve problems, and develop their own judgment.
If the manager continues to make the important decisions and personally handles the difficult work, employees may be completing assigned tasks without actually gaining much responsibility.
This can also create a practical problem for the manager. The more work they continue to own personally, the less capacity they have for the responsibilities that only the manager can perform.
Delegation is often treated as something a new manager will learn after being promoted. Some of it certainly can be learned.
But organizations can also look for behaviors related to delegation before making the promotion.
Consider what happens when a strong technical employee is responsible for an important outcome but another person is doing the work.
What happens when that person chooses a different approach?
Does the candidate provide direction and allow the other person to continue, or do they take over?
Can they give someone meaningful ownership without controlling every step?
When they intervene, is it because the situation actually requires it, or because doing the work themselves feels more comfortable?
Can they accept a good solution that is different from the solution they would have created?
These situations can reveal something that technical performance alone cannot.
A strong engineer's ability to solve technical problems remains valuable after a promotion. The challenge is learning when that expertise should be used directly and when it should be used to help someone else succeed.
That requires more than simply assigning work to other people. It requires judgment about control, intervention, autonomy, and responsibility.
Before promoting a technical employee into management, organizations should consider not only whether the person can do the work themselves, but also how they respond when the responsibility for doing that work has to belong to someone else.
Van Triest, S., & Williams, C. - Following the Chain of Command? How Managers Balance Benefits and Risks in Granting Autonomy to Employees. European Management Journal (2024).
Richardson, H. A. - Too Little and Too Much Authority Sharing: Differential Relationships With Psychological Empowerment and In-Role and Extra-Role Performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior (2021).
Lee, A., Willis, S., & Tian, A. W. - Empowering Leadership: A Meta-Analytic Examination of Incremental Contribution, Mediation, and Moderation. Journal of Organizational Behavior (2018).